+travisl Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 (Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes.) (Link to dinner event cache.) According to Forbes magazine, Longview is one of America's prettiest towns. It's also pretty full of caches. Let's get some. Note that several caches on the route map will be marked with a "do not enter" icon (). Those cache owners have justifiably asked for their cache to not be on the route, and for the cache to not be sought after this weekend. The cache is, in the owner's opinion, in a sensitive area, whether it's ecologially sensitive, socially sensitive, or physically fragile. Just don't get it. It's not like there's a shortage of caches in the area. Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route. Sunrise on Saturday, June 30, is at 5:24 a.m., but feel free to start whenever you'd like, wherever you'd like. Dinner's at 8:00 p.m. Rules: 1) Follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. This is not a race; there are no winners. The only loser will be someone who gets hurt. 2) Respect private property, even if the cache owner didn't. Post your DNFs proudly. 3) One logbook entry for "LCM" is fine for most small and micros. Don't go filling up the logbook just because you want to mark your territory. 100 people's names and dates will fill up most one-sheets. Be kind and bring extra paper to add to caches with full logbooks. 4) As with all cache machines, if you find the cache, you'll be the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found it. Handing it off to someone else and pointing down saying "it goes there" isn't good enough. Don't be a jerk. The extra 45 seconds isn't going to ruin your day. If you’ve already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a hint. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page. ---- The Longview Cache Machine II FAQ: When is it? When is the start time? Saturday, June 30, 2012. Start whenever you want, although if you're ambitious, sunrise is at 5:24 a.m. Dinner is at 8:00 p.m. Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what? I'll suggest a few starting points once I have the route slightly more developed. If you like caching with large groups, you can start at one of those points at sunrise. Or, if you like caching in smaller groups, pick somewhere else to start from. After a dozen caches or so, larger groups tend to fragment, and on a long day like this, you'll probably be on your own by the time most people in town are waking up. Where does the route start? Wherever you want. Pick a spot! I'll have a few suggestions, but it's up to you. Is anything going on before, during, or after? Friday, June 29, at 6:30 p.m., will be a pre-event dinner. Location will be announced later in this thread. Saturday, June 30, at 8:00 p.m., dinner will be at Sizzler, 936 Ocean Beach Highway, N 47° 8.820', W 116° 55.752'. I'll have an event page for this dinner event. Sunday, July 1, get the ones you missed! A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park. Let me know, and I'll incorporate it into the route. If dinner's at 8:00 p.m., why does the route run way past then? Is this a two-day event? The extra time is a buffer, in case you're so good that you'd run out of caches before you run out of daylight. I don't expect anyone would be able to hit all of them between sunrise and sunset. Of course, if you wanted to hit them after dinner, or on Sunday, I'm sure you'll be able to find folks to join you. It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them. Then come laugh at us, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. You don't have X cache on the route. Why aren't we getting that one? I try to avoid most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid. You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a two mile hike. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or will check with the owner (if disabled). X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area. By all means, let me know. I don't want to send 100 people there to stomp all over it. I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't want you finding my cache. Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route. What's this gonna cost me? Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas, hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this. Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms? Lunch: You should probably bring a sack lunch to eat on the road. Breaks and Bathrooms: There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way. Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding? Could be. Do what you safely can, and skip ahead when reality or your capabilities don't match the plan. Be prepared and flexible. What do the map symbols mean? Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 11, 2012 Author Share Posted May 11, 2012 I expect the event page will be approved in the next few days. I plan to have the first draft of the route posted early next week. Any must-do caches in Longview, Kelso, or Rainier, Oregon that I should make sure to include? Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 (edited) Draft 1 is up. Let me know if you see anything I've done that doesn't make much sense. It happens. :-) Longview Cache Machine II route, draft 1. I've also e-mailed every cache owner who has two or more caches within five miles of the center point of the route. If you know of any caches on or near this route that shouldn't be hunted by 100 people in a day, please let me know. (Note that the information about the pre-event dinner is really really drafty. I've not heard from the restaurant yet, and know little about it.) Edited May 14, 2012 by travisl Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted May 15, 2012 Share Posted May 15, 2012 Very few PM caches ... GC2TQQK Regular members can log this one via geocachingadmin.com Lots of problem caches ... GC2A3PC - Disabled GC1V5R4 - last four DNF GC2BFN0 - Disabled GC1VMNA - Problems with the hide and a NA log GC1VV0P - Pass couple DNF, also looks like if gate is closed the hike is more than a quarter mile. GC1M6AD - Need to keep an eye on this one, last two DNF GC39EVE - Disabled GC1X0M3 - Two maintenance requests, cache may be missing GC1X0M3 - Nine DNF's in a row. Missing? Probably. GC1RBYM - Three DNF's and a Found it DNF log GC22XN8 - Interesting. Of the last nine logs 7 were DNF, one was a Found it DNF log and one of the last ones was and easy find Found it log. I'm betting it is gone. GC37M04 - Disabled GC1Z48M - Last two were DNF, probably need to keep an eye on it. Bookmark is being posted. Quote Link to comment
+ThePetersTrio Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 The last log on this cache (NM) indicates the container was found broken: GC1XKQ7 It is a newish cacher who posted the NM log though - maybe just one to watch for now. Quote Link to comment
+ThePetersTrio Posted May 17, 2012 Share Posted May 17, 2012 Possible throw down alert: GC22066 Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 25, 2012 Author Share Posted May 25, 2012 For what it's worth, I just booked the Kelso Best Western on Hotwire for $52 a night. It's the 2.5-star unnamed property with pool, laundry, and breakfast, although I'm not sure I'll still be at the hotel by the time breakfast rolls around. Your mileage may vary. Just tossing these here for your convenience: TripAdvisor rankings for Longview and Kelso. Quote Link to comment
+hydnsek Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 For what it's worth, I just booked the Kelso Best Western on Hotwire for $52 a night. It's the 2.5-star unnamed property with pool, laundry, and breakfast, although I'm not sure I'll still be at the hotel by the time breakfast rolls around. Your mileage may vary. Just tossing these here for your convenience: TripAdvisor rankings for Longview and Kelso. I'm at the Econo Lodge in Kelso for $42/night (AAA rate). Not much liking the TripAdvisor reviews, but hey, it's a Choice hotel, so I get points. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 26, 2012 Author Share Posted May 26, 2012 Thanks to OUTLAW70, Robinson Crusoe Cache (a 2/5) will be on the route. For part of the day, he'll have kayaks, life jackets, and guide service available. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Draft 2 is up. I've incorporated most the notes from JHolly and ThePetersTrio. GC37M04 is back, and GC1M6AD was confirmed to still be there. I'm not quite ready to announce the pre-event dinner yet, so consider the fact that there's a place listed in the draft to be, well, a draft. The route was running really, really late into Sunday, so I lopped off part of the route in the northeast, on the west shore of the Cowlitz -- too much backtracking. I modified the route to dive into Rainier, Oregon a lot earlier in the route, which pushes the estimated arrival time at the 2/5 Robinson Crusoe Cache to the right spot. OUTLAW70 will be there between noon and 3:00 PM with kayaks, life jackets, and advice. I also lopped off the northern edge, along Lone Oak and Columbia Heights roads. Maybe there's a nice view up there, but with Cool View out of commission, it's a bit of driving for a few scattered caches. It's looking like it could be a smaller turnout than other recent cache machines. Only 37 RSVPs at the moment. I suspect that's because lots of cachers have already cleared out Longview, what with it being right on I-5 and probably on people's way back from the Astoria and Long Beach CMs. As always, any tips and advice you're willing to share, I'm happy to hear. Quote Link to comment
+lamoracke Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 well, you can make it 38, I just have not announced it yet so am sure some other chowderheads like me have forgot to post when they realized they could go after all. possible a few folks can't afford to time the Mega in Victoria BC the next weekend and do this one, but we're going to try. a kayak cache on a cache machine, that a first? Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Dinner time and need to log caches. I might make it tonight, but probably tomorrow. Quote Link to comment
+hydnsek Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 a kayak cache on a cache machine, that a first? Nope. The first Longview Cache Machine in April 2006 provided watercraft to get the previous cache on that island. They even provided doughnuts! So now I guess it's a Longview tradition. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Draft 2 bookmark posted Problems: #38 - GC2M6RM - 2 DNF's in a row #55 - GC3JMEA - listed as GC37JMEA #56 - GC1XNPZ - Cache is only log and lid #64 - GC1XYP1 - string of DNF's #79 - GC289G0 - 2 DNF's and a CO note saying he will check on it #86 - GC33VX2 - 3 DNF's in a row #99 - GC1RQK5 - Last 10 logs were a DNF. Betting it is gone. #122 - GC1RMZV - Need to watch, last two were DNF Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 8, 2012 Author Share Posted June 8, 2012 The pre-event dinner location has been confirmed: Pie@trio's, 614 Commerce Ave., Longview, N 46.1249, W 122.9390. Be there no earlier than 6:30. The banquet room is reserved for a wedding party; we're not them. Unlike Sunday, the later you show up, the more likely it is you'll find a seat. With that said, I'll need some assistance that evening in coordinating with the restaurant. My work has an end-of-month project I'm involved with, so I won't be able to make it to town until much later on Friday night. Anybody willing to do the following for me? Monitor this forum until the last moment, Show up at Pie@trios at 6:20ish, Say "hi, I'm here on behalf of Travis" to the restaurant management, Assemble and evaluate cache reports from early searchers at dinner, Announce the last minute route changes near the end of dinner to each table of cachers, And then post those changes to this forum later that night. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Draft 2 bookmark posted Problems: #38 - GC2M6RM - 2 DNF's in a row Now up to 3 DNF's in a row. #55 - GC3JMEA - listed as GC37JMEA #56 - GC1XNPZ - Cache is only log and lid No change #64 - GC1XYP1 - string of DNF's No change #79 - GC289G0 - 2 DNF's and a CO note saying he will check on it Fixed and back in business #86 - GC33VX2 - 3 DNF's in a row Now five. #99 - GC1RQK5 - Last 10 logs were a DNF. Betting it is gone. Good bet. Owner said it was missing and now archived. #122 - GC1RMZV - Need to watch, last two were DNF No change and no new logs. New change #111 - GC1THWZ - Archived Quote Link to comment
+Berta Nick Zoey Posted June 14, 2012 Share Posted June 14, 2012 Several of the caches listed are owned by the same person. I e-mailed him yesterday and he responded back telling me that he had tomorrow set aside to go out and do some work on his caches. He is aware of the upcoming CM. So, hopefully 4 or 5 of those will be ready to go this weekend. I asked him to email me once they were back in place. Also, As you can see, Travisd asked if anyone would help him out with the Friday Pre-Event gathering. I will go ahead and take care of that for him. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 17, 2012 Author Share Posted June 17, 2012 (edited) With two weeks to go until the event, and one week to go until I post the final draft, it looks like it'll be best if I don't create a draft #33 and instead go straight to final, what with the potential of several under-the-weather caches getting owner maintenance in the next few days. Thanks for staying on top of this, JHolly and BN&Z, and also thanks, BN&Z, for agreeing to help out on Friday, June 29. Edited June 17, 2012 by travisl Quote Link to comment
+TheDiver Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 I booked the Econo Lodge Kelso this morning via the link below for $43.99 a night. 2.4 miles from start. http://www.booking.com/hotel/us/econo-lodge-kelso.en-us.html?aid=336408;label=longview-washington-hdM0ND%2Al%2AONNMuLZZ2PcewS23425281587%3Apl%3Ata%3Ap1%3Ap2%3Aac%3Aap1t1%3Aneg;sid=ebfa9587e115a957d54f0e2cd4002bb4;dcid=1;srfid=70cf70a80fc0f55eb60b5a42d6854695X5 Quote Link to comment
+Curious Joe Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 a kayak cache on a cache machine, that a first? Nope. The first Longview Cache Machine in April 2006 provided watercraft to get the previous cache on that island. They even provided doughnuts! So now I guess it's a Longview tradition. Quote Link to comment
+Curious Joe Posted June 21, 2012 Share Posted June 21, 2012 I remember that paddle cache on the CM well. I was first to go after it and really took a good gash on the back of the leg in brambles getting to it. Still have the scar on my leg six years later! Even broke a paddle, but hey, donuts... Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Ouch! Now seven archived ... #3 GC21TCK #14 GC1X9VF #21 GC1M6AD #34 GC1WWPX #86 GC33VX2 #99 GC1RQK5 #111 GC1THWZ There a a number that are currently unavailable but logs indicate a work in progress. Probably won't be able to take a real read until Monday. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 The final route is up! And as soon as I created it, I learned of these last minute changes: These three caches are listed on the route, but they're disabled. and won't be up in time: Stop #44, GC2M6RM Walking the canal Stop #45, GC1VAXW Craig 26 Stop #52, GC1YJGC Katy 27 See you all in Longview! Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 The final bookmark is posted. Pay attention to disabled caches. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Another change: Stop #55, GC1WA4F, is listed in the route as "I'm fairly certain there should be a cache here". It's been renamed to "Miner4699". Please make a note of it. Quote Link to comment
+Kiersolvd Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 The final bookmark is posted. Pay attention to disabled caches. As long as the six "Trail of Doom" caches are included, might as well bookmark GC236ZX - End of trail? Quote Link to comment
Trypanophobia Posted June 27, 2012 Share Posted June 27, 2012 I would love to see GC3MJ6C "Gary's Lost Creek" included, since it's getting quite a few good reviews. I'm sure this wouldn't change the route very much either, because it's barely down Olson road, if you're coming from Columbia Heights road. This little cache would love to put a smile on the participants faces. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Regarding the comments by Kiersolvd and Trypanophobia, the route and event is solely Travis's thing. I just provide the bookmark and I do not deviate from what he publishes. Adding caches into the bookmark that are not on the route might be confusing. My suggestion is that if your using GSAK add them manually and if your dragging and dropping the PQ on to your device just add the extra two .gpx files for those caches. If Travis decides to add them, I will add them to the bookmark, however I suspect the time for these comments would have been after draft 1 or 2 and before the final. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 JHolly's right. At this point in the planning, the only changes I make to the route are to announce which caches need to be skipped. It's not unusual for folks to plan a trip around the cache machine, so I try to make sure that the Monday before, the route's locked down. That said, I wish I would have seen that "End of Trail?" was solvable by hunting the caches that are already on the route. I plan on getting it now. "Gary's Lost Creek" is far enough off the route that it wasn't feasible: after "Cool View" got removed, and I needed to prune caches off the route to make it end before midnight, I took the Columbia Heights Road caches and most of the Westside Highway caches north of SR-4 off the route. Feedback between my first post on May 11 and the final route on June 25 might have made me rethink the route through there. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 I made a mistake in my June 7 posting (I wrote "Sunday"). To be clear: Pre-event dinner, Friday, June 29, Be there no earlier than 6:30. Pie@trio's, 614 Commerce Ave., Longview, N 46° 7.494', W 122° 56.340'. Longview Cache Machine II, Saturday, June 30. Sunrise is at 5:24 AM. The start point is up to you. Longview Cache Machine II Dinner, Saturday, June 30. 8:00 p.m., dinner will be at Sizzler, 936 Ocean Beach Highway, N 47° 8.820', W 116° 55.752'. I'll see you in Longview! Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 I almost forgot to alert the local police. I've just left voice mails for Longview and the Cowlitz County Sheriff, spoken with the dispatch center, and e-mailed Kelso and Rainier. As I said in rule #1 in post #1 above, follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. It looks like the forecast is 73º and drizzly tomorrow -- not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, and the dust stays down. Perfect weather for a cache machine! Quote Link to comment
+Berta Nick Zoey Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) I've been running the route and I want to report that stop 4-GC2A3PC -- Pioneer Lions Island, we found a lid to a a container that is the same container as an earier find. However, we weren't able to locate the cache. It's either missing , OR I need to go back to Geochache High School. Also Stop 13-- GC24YRC -- Nuclear Meltdown, we found a magnet but nothing else. A previous post mentioned that the cache was barely hanging on and it may not be there. Also,stop number #86 GC1HNZ8 A Long View-- is reported as missing. A portion of the cache was brought to the pre-event gathering. Stops 84 and 85 Hwy 30 TB Hotel and What a View cannont be reached coming down the hill. Edited June 30, 2012 by Berta, Nick and Zoey Quote Link to comment
shadow101 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 I made a mistake in my June 7 posting (I wrote "Sunday"). To be clear: Pre-event dinner, Friday, June 29, Be there no earlier than 6:30. Pie@trio's, 614 Commerce Ave., Longview, N 46° 7.494', W 122° 56.340'. Longview Cache Machine II, Saturday, June 30. Sunrise is at 5:24 AM. The start point is up to you. Longview Cache Machine II Dinner, Saturday, June 30. 8:00 p.m., dinner will be at Sizzler, 936 Ocean Beach Highway, N 47° 8.820', W 116° 55.752'. I'll see you in Longview! The coordinates you give here for Saturday dinner are way off. They should be N 46° 08.820', W 122° 55.752'. Quote Link to comment
+WineGuyTodd Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Stop #132 (GC1RMZV) is listed as "Garden On The Cowlitz" but I think it is entitled "Gerhart Gardens Park". Either that, or I am reading something the wrong way. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Stop #132 (GC1RMZV) is listed as "Garden On The Cowlitz" but I think it is entitled "Gerhart Gardens Park". Either that, or I am reading something the wrong way. The cache was disabled as Garden on the Cowlitz. When it was repaired and re-enabled there was a disruption in the space-time continuum and the name was changed to Gerhart Gardens Park. Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.