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Pendleton Cache Machine, March 23, 2019


travisl

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Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon13.gif 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)

 

Pendleton: Where the West is still wild. It's known for its Round-Up rodeo in September and its 110-year-old Woolen Mills. MSN.com called it the most underrated town in Oregon, "anchored by the region's rich horse culture." There's also geocaches in them thar hills.

 

So fill up the tank, grab your gear, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route at GCZK6W Drive-Up Travel Bug Swap Stop. From there, move at your own pace and get as many as you can.

 

Dinner's going to be at Abby's Legendary Pizza, 828 Southgate (N 47° 12.786, W 123° 06.012). 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 icon_disabled.gif. 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 "PCM" 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.

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The Pendleton Cache Machine FAQ:

 

When is it? 

Saturday, March 23, 2019. Start time is 6:30 a.m at GCZK6W Drive-Up Travel Bug Swap Stop.

 

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 letterboxes, Pokémon, portals, or Starbucks, well, you do you.

 

Is anything going on before, during, or after?

An unofficial informal they-don't-know-we're-coming pre-event dinner will be at OMG! Burgers & Brew, 241 S. Main Street, at 7:00 PM on Friday, March 22. 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! // That's a long hike! // What's with making us ford the river?

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 dozens of 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. ? Or find something on the way.

 

Rain? Snow? Heat? 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).

ce16d180-40c2-423d-a3ab-b976b7b4a2b2.jpg

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The event page is live, and if you want to check out the first draft of the route, here it is. If you're familiar with the area and see something dumb that I've done (like fording the river, or driving down a closed road), please don't hesitate to let me know. 

 

Heck, even if you're not familiar with the area, but something seems off, raise the question.

 

My next step: contacting local cache owners to make sure they don't object.

Edited by travisl
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There is 52 inches of snow on the ground in the Meacham area with another foot forecast to fall this weekend.  So finding my hides along Old Emigrant Highway may be a problem next month.  I will try to get up there the week before the event to check them out and will report.

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5 hours ago, SP&S Fan said:

There is 52 inches of snow on the ground in the Meacham area with another foot forecast to fall this weekend.  So finding my hides along Old Emigrant Highway may be a problem next month.  I will try to get up there the week before the event to check them out and will report.

I appreciate it. The March cache machines are always a really close call when it comes to snow impacts. Out of the 12 CMs I've hosted in March, the only snow impact so far was at Yakima II, eleven years ago. There was enough snow to make caching easier -- just follow the footprints -- but not enough to make things difficult. (I did, however, have to drive home to Tacoma via Portland after that one.) This year seems like one of the heaviest snow years we've had, so it's going to be fun to see what things look like in four weeks.

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21 hours ago, SP&S Fan said:

There is 52 inches of snow on the ground in the Meacham area with another foot forecast to fall this weekend.  So finding my hides along Old Emigrant Highway may be a problem next month.  I will try to get up there the week before the event to check them out and will report.

Shovel - check!

Snowshoes - check!

Crampons - check!

This old mountaineer is ready to go! :D

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O.K., I'll start things off:    

 

Hat Rock State Park caches:  This is a great addition to the CM route!  We've camped at the RV park here a few times.  It's a very nice stay-over when on trips to distant places.

 

35, 36, 37 and 38:   Parking for all of these caches is near 35 in the boat launch parking lot then take the foot path near the boat ramp to 35.  The path to 36 and 37 also starts at the boat launch and goes up to the old railroad bed.  These two caches and have great views of the river.  For 38, walk the bridge across the inlet to hike up to the cache for a great view of Hat Rock.  We recall that the bridge is not driveable.

 

34 is above the old railroad bed which is closed to vehicles hence the T rating.  The walk was o.k. and it's historical.  This is the old river line that was abandoned in the 50s when McNary Dam flooded it a couple of miles upstream.  Good view from up here too.

 

39:  I would suggest removing from the route.  The CM routing map thinks the service road is driveable but I'm sure it's not so it would make a long walk.  Also there are two credible sounding dnfs which the COs have not responded to since last summer.  

 

40 and 41:   Map program shows driving the old railroad bed but that is closed to traffic.  It is now called the Lewis and Clark Commemorative Trail.  Access to these caches is from Highway 730.

 

40 is the historical site of old railroad warehouses and apparently a river shipping terminal.

 

Edited 4:08pm with edits underlined.

Edited by Team Sagefox
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#55 Midway to Finnish D1.5/T1.5 - Last for logs DNF.  Long string of Finds before that.

 

#90 Picking up cans D2/T3 - Last four logs DNF (over a four year period).  Solid list of Finds until then.

 

#53 My My Myrick D1.5/T2.5 - Last two logs DNF + NM possible missing.  Hasn't been found in 3.5 years.  CO hasn't been active for eight years.

Edited by The Jester
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Well, hey, Jester did part of my job for me.  To add and reiterate on possible cache issues:

 

006 - Bridge Over The River Umatilla  -  Last 2 DNF. Last find 10/18.

 

013 - Rieth overlook - Last 3 DNF, last find 2/17. Owner verified it was there 6/18; two more DNFs since. It's D4, so probably just very difficult.

 

039 - Abby's Hide - Last 2 DNF; hasn't been found since 10/15; probably gone. (My 10k find in 3/14 after the Hermiston CM, and not that hard.)

 

053 - My My Myrick - Appears to be missing. Last 2 DNF and a NM note. Last found 7/15. CO hasn't been active in 8 years.

 

055 - Midway to Finnish - Last 4 DNF; all finds before that, last one 2/18.

 

090 - Picking up Cans. -  Last 4 DNF (over a four year period). All finds before that, last one 12/14.

 

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Thanks, Sagefox, Jester, and Hydnsek.

 

As a heads up to local cachers, I've just sent out e-mails to each of the owners of 3+ caches on or near the draft route warning them that the cache machine will be rolling through, including the owners of

  • #13 Reith Overlook (I agree that it's probably just a challenging find),
  • #39 Abby's Hide (agreed; probably gone, and removing it makes autorouting work), and
  • #55 Midway to Finnish and #90 Picking up Cans (same owner, curious to get their take on it).

#6 Bridge Over The River Umatilla will stay on the route for now, because it looks like a pretty cool spot for an early morning visit, and there's a good chance that it's just a tricky clever hide.

 

#53 My My Myrick is reviewer-disabled (thanks, The TC Life!) and I'll take it off the route unless that status changes.

Edited by travisl
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On 2/22/2019 at 6:42 PM, SP&S Fan said:

There is 52 inches of snow on the ground in the Meacham area with another foot forecast to fall this weekend.  So finding my hides along Old Emigrant Highway may be a problem next month.  I will try to get up there the week before the event to check them out and will report.

The Oregon DOT cameras at Pendleton are looking much less snow-covered today. I'm still seeing snow on the ground on the Deadman Pass and Meacham cameras, though. With this forecast... it's going to be a close call. Hopefully, we'll be able to follow others' footprints to the caches :laughing:

image.png.530d89a38f744fbf7e1788cad52a142f.png

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I was unable to check on any of my Old Emigrant Road series of caches due to 4 to 5 foot snow ground cover and even higher roadside snow berms caused by snow plows.  Also, there is no place to safely park as the road shoulders have not been cleared.  Snow shoes would work however most of the hides are still covered with snow and would have to be dug out. Recommend avoiding these hides until the snow melts.


 

Edited by SP&S Fan
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The final route is up! There's several changes compared to the draft. Thanks to the folks I named above, and also SP&S Fan, for their help on this and three new caches for the route. Some of the changes:

 

On 3/16/2019 at 7:06 PM, SP&S Fan said:

Old Emigrant Road series of caches [have] 4 to 5 foot snow ground cover and even higher roadside snow berms caused by snow plows.  Also, there is no place to safely park ... Recommend avoiding these hides until the snow melts.

 

I've removed everything on I-84 east of Deadman Pass from the route. Now I'll have a reason to come back in warmer weather! I've added a few more in the northeast into Athena and south into Pilot Rock to keep the route roughly the same length.

 

On 3/16/2019 at 11:38 PM, The Jester said:

#31  GC48EK0 Dragons P&G #2 - Temp Disabled, will it be back by CM?

#42 GC1Q6M4 I Think I Shot Myself - last two logs report No Trespassing signs, NA logged

 

They're off the route. I don't mess with signed No Trespassing areas.

 

On 2/25/2019 at 3:32 PM, travisl said:
  • #13 Reith Overlook (I agree that it's probably just a challenging find),
  • #39 Abby's Hide (agreed; probably gone, and removing it makes autorouting work), and
  • #55 Midway to Finnish and #90 Picking up Cans (same owner, curious to get their take on it).

#6 Bridge Over The River Umatilla will stay on the route for now, because it looks like a pretty cool spot for an early morning visit, and there's a good chance that it's just a tricky clever hide.

 

#53 My My Myrick is reviewer-disabled (thanks, The TC Life!) and I'll take it off the route unless that status changes.

 

Bridge Over and Reith stay on, the rest came off. There's been no word from the owner of Finnish and Cans.

 

On 2/23/2019 at 4:07 PM, The Jester said:

Shovel - check!

Snowshoes - check!

Crampons - check!

This old mountaineer is ready to go! :D

 

You might need them for stops 63-65 on the Umatilla reservation (Cemeteries of Umatilla County: Tutuilla Mission, Gone with the Wind, and High Water). Those look to be higher elevation, so good luck!

 

Also, just noting here, although I've added some of the "Survery Says" series to the route, the series is incomplete. Survey Says..... #8 is reviewer-archived, as is the kinda important Survey Says..... Multi- final. The ones on the route look to be park-and-grabs and should probably be converted to traditionals. As always, how you proceed is up to you.

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1 hour ago, travisl said:

 

Bridge Over and Reith stay on, the rest came off. There's been no word from the owner of Finnish and Cans.

 

Cans is still on the route as #87.

 

A routing note for #5 GC1KVCF  Quick Fix #1:  The route show approaching from the end of SW 8th ST.  The sat maps show it in parking lot accessed from SW Emigrant Ave, I can't tell if you can get there from 8th, a line of trees blocks the view.  But coming down Emigrant from #4 looks better, then turn on SW 10th to #6.

 

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9 minutes ago, The Jester said:

Cans is still on the route as #87.

 

Dagnabbit! I must've added it back on when I was extending the southern leg. :surprise:

 

9 minutes ago, The Jester said:

A routing note for #5 GC1KVCF  Quick Fix #1:  The route show approaching from the end of SW 8th ST.  The sat maps show it in parking lot accessed from SW Emigrant Ave, I can't tell if you can get there from 8th, a line of trees blocks the view.  But coming down Emigrant from #4 looks better, then turn on SW 10th to #6.

 

Good catch. Satellite view shows it as a lamp post cache in the Bi-Mart parking lot. Those trees have a curbed landscaped area under them blocking a drive via 8th Street. Your approach is the way I should have mapped it, but because 8th street is a walkable approach (100 feet versus zero), I don't think that it's a distinction worth making at this point. I'm not going to update the map, but I'll certainly try to remember to navigate my driver that way :-)

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I have the bookmarks and data file for the Pendleton CM Final ready to go. You can grab them HERE.

 

For the cachetur.no users, cachetur has changed their policy about public trips. They have removed that feature, so now all trips are either private, group or password protected.  I choose to password protect the trip and the password is in the box that the link to the cacheturpage is.  You will see it at the above link.

 

Have Fun.

I will see you there if you are going.

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Checking potential cache issues on final draft:

 

New:

076 - 4 Corners- Old School - 2 DNFs; not found in over 2 years but owner indicates it's probably there, just hard (D1, tho).

087 - Picking up Cans. - 4 DNFs, hasn't been found in over 4 years (Dec. 2014). Pretty sure it's not there.

 

Old:

006 - Bridge Over The River Umatilla  -  Last 2 DNF. Last find 10/18.

013 - Rieth overlook - Last 3 DNF, last find 2/17. Confirmed still there on 3/16.

 

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Updates! As learned and announced at the unofficial pre-event dinner:

  • Stop 5, Quick Fix #1, see Jester’s navigation instructions above to save 100 feet of walking,
  • Stop 6, Bridge Over the River Umatilla, is likely missing. I’m still planning to look for it.
  • Stop 65, MC2, was DNFed today
  • Stop 67, Gone with the Wind: The road to the cache is obstructed by 1) a mud hole, and 2) a stream across the road. If you have all wheel drive, sufficient clearance, and a little bit of craziness, you might make it, or you might get stuck. The Cache Menagerie says if you dare, stay to the right and don’the go up on the sloppy-smooth clay.
  • Stops 75 (Survey Says...#6), 76 (4 Corners- Old School), 77 (It’s the cats meow), 78 (Take a Break), and 88 (Survery Says...... #7) were all DNFed today.
  • Stop 87, Picking Up Cans, was mistakenly left on the route. It’s almost assuredly not there.

I’m also told that the caches on the other side of the pass that were removed after draft 1 are still, as expected, buried in snow, but the virtual over there (Snoopers, GCA679) is do-able, if anyone wants to do it.

 

See you in the morning!

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On 3/19/2019 at 8:05 AM, Terrible Ts said:

I have the bookmarks and data file for the Pendleton CM Final ready to go. You can grab them HERE.

 

For the cachetur.no users, cachetur has changed their policy about public trips. They have removed that feature, so now all trips are either private, group or password protected.  I choose to password protect the trip and the password is in the box that the link to the cacheturpage is.  You will see it at the above link.

  

Have Fun.

I will see you there if you are going.

Have you looked into cachetur's group feature, which is a lot better than the public trips?

Edited by cghove
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