Wenatchee Cache Machine III

[+travisl]

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. If you think you've seen this all before, focus on the unique-to-this-event information in red.

(Link to dinner event cache)

Wenatchee: Apple capital of the world -- and a whole lot of caches.

So fill up the tank, grab your gear, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route at the north end of the Fred Meyer parking lot in Wenatchee, where we'll hike the first 8 caches on the route. From there, move at your own pace and get as many as you can.

Dinner's going to be at Rail Station & Ale House, 29 N Columbia St, Wenatchee (N 47° 25.572 W 120° 18.660). Please log your "will attends" on the event page so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect.

Note that some caches on the route map may 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 during the cache machine. The cache is, in the owner's opinion, in a sensitive area, whether it's environmentally unwise, socially sensitive, or physically fragile. Just don't get it. It's not like there's a shortage of caches in the area.

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. When someone asks what you're doing, the right answer is honesty: "geocaching".

2) Respect private property, even if the cache owner didn't. Post your DNFs proudly.

3) One logbook entry for "WCM3" is fine for most small and micros. Don't go filling up the logbook just because you want to mark your territory. 50 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.

5) Be gentle. Some cache containers are fragile, delicate, or weather sensitive. Take your time, double check the cache description, do it right.

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 Wenatchee Machine III FAQ:

When is it? When is the start time?

Saturday, March 24, 2018. Start time is 6:30 a.m at north end of the Fred Meyer parking lot.

Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what?

We'll start as one large group, but after a dozen caches or so, the large groups will likely 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. If you want to go off-route to find Munzees, letterboxes, Pokémon, portals, or Starbucks, well, you do you.

Is anything going on before, during, or after?

An unofficial pre-event dinner is in the works; stay tuned. The official event dinner is this event cache.

Hey, there's a cache *right there!* Why aren't we getting that one?

My standard answer here is that 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. The route is built around highly-favorited caches, so some just didn't make the cut.

A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park. // Hey, that road doesn't exist! // What's with making us ford the creek?

Thanks for catching that! Let me know, and I'll incorporate it your fix into the route.

Why does the route go way past the dinner time? 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, try to remember where they were, look at the old logbook signatures, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. Maybe pass your phone number around for us to call when we get stumped.

You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a long hike.

Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or may check with the owner (if disabled).

X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area. // My cache is physically fragile and I don't want it broken.

By all means, let me know. I don't want to send 50 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?

There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way.

Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding? Rattlesnakes?

Probably, yes. 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?

Turquoise lines show my suggested route, but if there's a brown trail or grey road that I've drawn in, ignore the turquoise. Red car icons show places to park a car for a short time (usually a trailhead).

[+travisl]

The first draft of the route is up. Kinda. Well, it's version 1.1, since I shared version 1 with a few folks on Facebook. But it's the first super-available official draft route. As always, take a look and let me know if you see mistakes or have suggestions. 

The event page has been submitted and is being reviewed. Restaurant reservations have been confirmed.

Next on my to-do list: check with cache owners to make sure they're OK keeping their caches on the route.

Looking forward to it!

[+the tc life]

Love the fact that there are some walking/hiking caches. Really looking forward to our visit. Thank you for setting this up!

[+Terrible Ts]

Due to a family emergency, I am not sure when I will be able to get the bookmark list up.  I will try and work on it after we get back up to Bellingham tonight or tomorrow.

 

[+wasurf]

I can make the list to help out. Sorry to hear about your Dad. You will see it soon.

[+wasurf]

The bookmark list has been posted.

[+Terrible Ts]

I found some time to get the bookmark list put together but without the route numbers.  I will have them on the next list.  You can find Drat 1.1 HERE

[+The Jester]

Sadly, #32 Hooters! & #71 Attack of the Micro Nano Cache - Part 2  have been archived.

#6 Having a Ball is disabled for the CM - I guess they don't want that one on the list.

#94 Railfan is down for maintenance.

 

[+The Jester]

Has anyone else noted that this falls in the middle of the Planetary Pursuit promotion?  If you find all the caches on the route (not counting the four disabled/archived noted above) you'll earn 660* points, well above the 500 needed to get all souvenirs.

*57 finds with less than 10 Fav (5 each) + 24 finds with 10+ Fav (15 each) + the dinner Event (15 points)

[+Terrible Ts]

I just saw that #63 - Chain of Command has been archived.

[+The Jester]

52 minutes ago, Terrible Ts said:

I just saw that #63 - Chain of Command has been archived.

Hmm, this remindeds me, my last post is inaccurate.  It didn't take in account the caches I've already found (which 63 is one of)...

Too bad about Chain of Command, it was a fun one.  But I agree it isn't CM "friendly".

 

[+Mr. Gadget #2]

Travisl,  Where is the pre event gathering going to be held on Friday evening 3-23-18? I recall seeing something posted earlier and I failed to make note of it.

[+travisl]

On 3/16/2018 at 6:12 PM, Mr. Gadget #2 said:

Travisl,  Where is the pre event gathering going to be held on Friday evening 3-23-18? I recall seeing something posted earlier and I failed to make note of it.

Nope, there wasn't anything posted before. But when I post the final route on Monday, I was going to announce that it'll be at McGlinn's Public House, 111 Orondo Ave, Wenatchee. But now I've done that here, so... yeah. That's where it's going to be.

Edited March 18, 2018 by travisl

[+LFLibrarian]

10 hours ago, travisl said:

Nope, there wasn't anything posted before. But when I post the final route on Monday, I was going to announce that it'll be at McGlinn's Public House, 111 Orondo Ave, Wenatchee. But now I've done that here, so... yeah. That's where it's going to be.

What time?  Looks like a great place!

[+Ambrosia]

I have decided to disable two of my caches that are on the cache machine route.

GC1GBVB - Letters From the Sky: this cache is at a viewpoint that almost always has cars parked at it. I'm worried that a large number of cachers will point out the cache location to non cachers.

GCE3A0 - The Itty Bitty Island Cache: this cache is in an area that is sensitive due to native plants. A few people here and there isn't so bad, but not a bunch at once.

Thanks for understanding.

[+the tc life]

 Just a note that there will be a couple of us with our RV's at the Confluence State Park for the weekend. I wont be coming in until about 7 PM on Friday night. If you see us, feel free to come on over and visit. Of course we will be out caching during the Saturday day. We also plan on going to the dinner on Saturday night. 

You cant miss my camper as seen in my user ID picture. It even says "the tc life" on the front. 

[+travisl]

The final route is up. I've posted it here. There's a few additions, a few more Do Not Hunts, and yet another stop on the morning walk.

(And yes, I see there's some font issues. I'm using a different setup than usual, so I've done my best with what I've got.)

Note that the pre-event informal unofficial dinner on Friday is at 6 PM at McGinn's in Wenatchee. The event dinner on Saturday hasn't changed.

And, sadly, I'll be missing out on my third cache machine ever. Work's got me travelling. On the bright side, I'm getting a lot of new state souvenirs (greetings from Minnesota, by the way). But the down side is no river sunrise for me, no morning hike, no dinner camaraderie.

Mr. Gadget #2 has agreed to help out in my absence. He'll be the one posting last minute changes on Friday after the pre-event dinner.

Have fun! I'll be thinking about you all when I wake up Saturday in New Jersey. (Dang, already got that one).

[+Sagefox]

Thank you Mr. L for all that you put into this event.  I fully expect that, as is typical, you will have arranged breaks in the weather to make this a comfortable day for us.  I hope you've done the same for you back there where it looks like you might wish you had packed your skis and snowshoes.  I hear that Washington and Boston are in for it but it will be milder around New York.

[+SirKarp]

Noticed that stop #38 GCRFGM Hooters was archived on 3-8-18

[+Terrible Ts]

I have the Wenatchee Cache machine III files ready HERE.  As of 10:00 pm Mar 19, 2018, I have removed all the archived caches from the lists (including #38 GCRFGM Hooters ).

BTW, My dad is doing much better now. He is out of the hospital and improving daily.  Thanks everyone for the kind thoughts and offers of help.

 

[+The Jester]

#6 Railfan is currently disabled.

#22 Recognition Plaza has a string of 6 DNF's going back to last July.

#66 Water Logged has a NM-Possibly Missing posted last.

[+travisl]

8 hours ago, SirKarp said:

Noticed that stop #38 GCRFGM Hooters was archived on 3-8-18

Dang it. I deleted the cache off the map, but forgot to delete the "parking for" stop. Yeah, this shouldn't be here.

6 hours ago, The Jester said:

#6 Railfan is currently disabled.

#22 Recognition Plaza has a string of 6 DNF's going back to last July.

#66 Water Logged has a NM-Possibly Missing posted last.

Yeah, I saw Railfan was disabled, but I'm hoping the CO gets it up and running by Saturday. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

Recognition Plaza does appear to be missing. I wouldn't spend much time looking for it.

Water Logged also appears to have been washed away, but I'd keep it on the route, because it seems like such a neat spot.

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

Friday night get together to discuss.... Whatever is where? Or is this CM we get to wing it?

[+Sagefox]

On 3/20/2018 at 8:51 AM, MtnMutt-ProDuckShins said:

Friday night get together to discuss.... Whatever is where? Or is this CM we get to wing it?

It is posted on the route list.  6:00pm,  McGlinn's Public House, 111 Orondo Ave, Wenatchee.

[+MtnMutt-ProDuckShins]

How did I miss that? I should log that as a DNF.

[+bdp]

On 3/20/2018 at 8:51 AM, MtnMutt-ProDuckShins said:

Friday night get together to discuss.... Whatever is where? Or is this CM we get to wing it?

From a previous pos the Friday night is at 6 pm  at McGlinn's Public House, 111 Orondo Ave, Wenatchee.

[+The Jester]

This was fun Cache Machine.  A lot more walking than others, but many of those were Gadget Caches so they were worth it.

I didn't quite make the 500 point total for the Planetary Pursuit promotion during the CM.  I hit 485 with the caches on route and over & back, plus the TBs dropped.  So I ran out and found a Mystery I'd solved months ago and never stopped for.