Going APE!!!

World Record Attempt

 

Geocachers all over the world came together to collectively try and set a new record for the most cachers caching on a single day. (NOT Caches found in a single day) 

That day was International Geocaching Day on August 20/22. This was the 11th anniversary of International Geocaching day. It was started in 2011. The previous Record of cachers out caching in a single day was Aug 11/2013 when a total of 126,833 cachers logged at least one cache that day.

Cachers everywhere went out to seek at least one cache on Aug. 20th to hopefully set a new record, but unfortunately we came up short with only 112,477 cachers logging in. No one is sure why there was lots of cachers out on the record day of Aug. 11/2013

Groundspeak still awarded those that went out that day with a cool virtual souvenir!!!

Going APE and the Snoqualmie Tunnel

The Snoqualmie Tunnel is a former railroad tunnel near Snoqualmie Pass in the U.S. state of Washington, located east of Seattle. The tunnel crosses the Cascade Range about three miles (5 km) south of the pass, which is used by Interstate 90, on the border between King County and Kittitas County. It is 11,894 feet (2.253 mi; 3.625 km) long and is at an approximate elevation of 2,600 feet (790 m) above sea level, just north of Keechelus Lake. Its east portal is at Hyak.

The tunnel was originally constructed for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad in the early 1910s and was abandoned in 1980. It now serves as part of a rail trail in Iron Horse State Park, known officially as the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail. The trail was formerly known as the John Wayne Pioneer Trail and commonly called the Iron Horse Trail.  A major renovation to the walls, ceiling, and path were completed in July 2011 after a two-year closure.

What the heck is an APE cache? Check it out: Mission 9: Tunnel of Light. Originally placed in conjunction with the release of the Planet of the Ape's movie back in July 2001, 14 caches were placed with a unique icon. 

Alas, our beloved APE cache was stolen and archived in 2011. A tribute cache was placed called Mission 9: Tunnel of Light Reclaimed.

Due to the concerted efforts of a small band of cachers the original container was found about 300 feet down the hill and abandoned in the bushes, with some of the original swag still inside. With Groundspeak's blessing and the input of the community, the last Ape cache in North America was unarchived and reinstated in its place of honor in time for you to once again find the unique icon. At the time of writing this, the APE cache has 6916 finds and 2814 Favorite points!!! It was first placed here on July 18/2001

Seattle Bound!!

On the way down to Seattle we grabbed a few caches. One was called "Crazy Monkey Monopod", which I tried to get several years ago on a different trip. It was up in a tree, but my extendable pole would be of no use. I had to make the climb. 

The first part of the Tree of about 8 feet, there was no branches or anything to grab onto. We brought down a 3 step ladder to get me high enough to grab something to pull myself up. That was our TOTT of the day. lol. 

Here I am retrieving the cache.

Our next stop was Seattle to do a webcam cache, a couple of vituals, an AL and grab some gum. lol

 

We visited Pike Place Market, it was the evening so a lot of stuff was shut down, but that just made it easier to grab the caches and Adventure Labs we needed to get.

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become bigger!!!

There is a cool Virtual at the Market, which takes you to some cool spots, including the First ever Starbucks.

No visit to Seattle and Pikes Place Market is complete unless you visit the famous Gum Wall. The fact that there is a cache there also helps. lol. I found the original cache that was there years ago, but this is a new cache. This one was easier to find.

We even bought some gum, and each left a piece on the wall. Cause that's what you do!!!

Here we are getting a rare Webcam cache, that many have not been able to get as the camera changes from North to south view quite often, and you need to get it when it is pointing South!! That is us at the corner just to the right and Susan is wearing a pink hoodie as you can see in other pics of us this evening at Pikes place Market, and the gum wall!!

After wandering around the area and visiting the pier to grab another Virtual called "BIG WHEEL" we decided to call it a night.

We then headed to the hotel as we planned on getting up early for the next days adventures!!

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, and Instagram, links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

The next morning we headed towards the event, but were able to grab a gadget cache, a couple of traditionals, a TB Hotel and a Virtual along the way. We went to another gadget cache called "It Takes THREE" but we couldn't do it as you needed between 3 and 6 people to access the cache box. We couldn't do it so we thought we will come back thru here anyway after the event and hopefully some people will be here, so it can be done. 

Can you see the cache?? Tricky part was getting it open, as you need at least three people.(PS it's not the port a potty)

WSGA's Going Ape XI

We made it to the event and then went and signed in.
This is the log sheet for the "Going APE XI" event. He was only the first of 4 creatures we would see today.

Didn't we just see this guy at Geowoodstock up in BC, Canada?? He sure does get around!!!

And then it was time to head thru the Tunnel to the APE cache!!!

 You could feel the temperature drop as you got about 200 metres before the tunnel. And it was like entering a whole new world. Such a cool feeling.

Inside the tunnel on the ceiling there are icicle shaped formations hanging from the roof. These are called "Speleothem's." There are similar to the Stalactites, you would find in a cave.We saw a lot of these. Very Cool, and it was also part of an earthcache that I did not get when thru the tunnel last time.

In the middle of the Tunnel there is a cache. It has been here since 2004 and the CO comes here for the event, dresses up like a werewolf and hangs out at the cache to scare cachers and other passerby's. 

I got my picture with him in 2013 when I walked thru the tunnel for the first time. Had to get one this time as well!!

We came out of the 3.625 KM long tunnel and headed up the trail to the coveted APE cache, grabbing other caches as well. While there we got a picture with Sasquatch.

One of the caches we got called "The Iron Horse Express", while here, had this posted on the Cache page:

 July 22nd 2011. 5 or 6 of the caches along the Iron Horse Trail were vandalized / stolen, including this one and the A.P.E. Cache. 

So it wasn't just one cache that was targeted to be destroyed or stolen. We met one of the cachers who organized the hunt for the APE cache, and he showed us where they found the original cache container. Here is the story: "Long Lost APE cache is Found"

Here is a picture of Susan and I, just above where the APE cache was tossed, and 5 years later found, a mere 300 feet from it's original hiding spot. 

Once we spent a bit of time and chatted with others, on this side of the tunnel, we decided to head back thru the Tunnel and to the parking lot. 

We put on our headlamps and off we went.

On the other side of the tunnel we finished up the last of the Adventure Labs that were placed for the event. Next stop would be back to "It takes THREE" to grab it this time. There were several cachers there, so finding it was easy. (We had a plan if no one else was there, that involved tape....shhhh) We then grabbed some gadget caches on the way back to BC.

There are several gadget caches in the Seattle area that were placed by a cacher named "Bouncebounce."

If you get the chance to grab any of his caches, I highly recommend it. The next three caches we grabbed on the way back north, were his and they did not disappoint. Here are some pics of them, but without seeing them in person, you don't get the same feeling.

This one had 100 feet of chain that you had to pull out of the pipe to get the cache at the end of it.

"Super heroes in Jeopardy" was an amazing electronic cache. We were there at least 20 minutes, to solve it, and get into the cache box.

We then headed for a couple more caches on the way back across the border, including a challenge cache and a very spooky cache, which we found in the woods just as it was getting dark.

So in total this weekend(Actually just a day and a half) we found:

35 caches

24 Adventure Lab locations

1 webcam

5 virtual caches

5 gadget caches

1 challenge cache

1 BIG Wheel

1 Gum Wall cache

1 APE cache

2 earthcaches

1 Free little Library cache

1 High Five!!

1 Tree climb

1 Letterbox

1 mega event

2 puzzles

1 multi

1 werewolf

1 Sasquatch

1 Signal the Frog

1 signboard on an Ape

1 Looooong Tunnel

Such an awesome time, looking forward to my next Geoadventure with Susan!!

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

The A.P.E. has been Found, and 200 Things any Geocacher must do....Sooner or Later!!

Lost APE Cache found!!!

The History
In 2001, fourteen geocaches were placed in conjunction with 20th Century Fox to support the movie Planet of the Apes. Each geocache represented a fictional story in which scientists revealed an Alternative Primate Evolution (A.P.E.). These geocaches were made using specially marked ammo containers and contained an original prop from the movie. Mission 9: Tunnel of Light was one of those caches.
We (Angelcheeks, C2C2C, and Toby&Me) went on an awesome trip together back in July 2010 down to Washington and Oregon to head to a Mega Event called Geowoodstock. As awesome as that was gonna be, as it would be my first Mega-Event, that was not the only place we would go. We also went to the Original Stash Tribute plaque

and we decided to hike to the Mission 9: Tunnel of Light A.P.E. cache. (1 of 2 left in the world)

Snoqualmie Tunnel (Closed)

At the time the "Snoqualmie Tunnel" was closed, so we had to make the trek up the back way. It was a long winding trail up the mountain.

But after several hours we found what we were looking for!!! The APE!!!!

A.P.E. Cache

We rejoiced at finding this Historic Cache, and headed back towards the car and off to the Mega Event.
Less than one year later, Sadly, "Mission 9" was muggled and then archived in June 2011.

There is a Mega-Event (Going Ape) created by the Washington State Geocaching Association to honor this famous cache. They also placed a tribute cache at the Original Location.

Beauty and the Beast

Jenna, Oliver (just 1yr old) and Dayton and I went to this event in August 2013. (Going APE)
This time the Tunnel was open and we had an awesome hike in 3.7km of darkness. There was even a cache in the middle of the tunnel. And there was even a werewolf guarding it.

Oliver and I

Cache in the Darkness

Chris Meets the Werewolf!!! But we also found the cache!!!









Walking out of the darkness of the tunnel and up to the "A.P.E. Tribute cache" was like Deja Vous!!! It seemed like only yesterday we were here!!! Yet it was 3 years later.

Original APE Location

A.P.E. Tribute cache

Fast forward to 5 years after the A.P.E. cache was muggled is the newest story of it being found!!!
It was believed since it was a huge, heavy container that maybe it was not hauled very far from its location. A search party was formed and the rest of the full story can be read "Here"

"What do cachers do?"

Just received my new book called 200 Things any geocacher must do!!
Its like a workbook of things cachers do eventually. So I have been looking back thru my caching history to see how many of the 200 I have done. It's cool to go back thru my old caches and sort of relive some of the experiences. Things like being questioned by authorities while looking for a cache, caching while you're supposed to be working, etc. After going thru the book, I will let you know how many of the 200 I have done. lol

As of writing this is my 59th blog. Not too bad for 4 years of blogging!!! Look for my 60th Blog, where I will have a small challenge for a prize to one lucky person!!!

NOTE: The highlighted or underlined words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!! Also if you click on any of the pictures they become bigger!!!

PS: On the right hand side of this webpage is where you can find my YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and Google Plus links. Please feel free to check them out and follow or subscribe!!!

Well that's it for this month

Keep on caching

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Groundspeak HQ and the Snoqualmie Tunnel

Note: Please remember that the highlighted words are links and will take you to a different webpage that will be of interest!!!

The last little while I have been doing a bit of travelling around, due to work and some play.

Molly's Reach

Persephone

Welcome to Beachcombers

While working in Sechelt I was able to grab a bunch of caches including one that was close to Molly's Reach in Gibson's and was a tribute to the show that made the diner famous. While there I had a great supper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



                                                                                        Log book in a Log

 

Block Party and A.P.E. Mega Event

We went down to Seattle for the Groundspeak block party on aug17, and the A.P.E. Event, on the following day.

We got down a day early to relax, check out some sites such as the Seattle Space needle, and of course grab some very cool caches. After taking a ride up to the top of the Space Needle and checking out some of the sights around it.

 

 

 

We then decided to head over to Pike Place Market. Not only is there a Magic store there that was on the agenda, but there was also a cool(OK maybe a bit gross) cache that I had my sights set on. It was a cache that I have been studying for the last couple of months.

It is called  "Double Bubble toil & Trouble"  and it is at the site of a local landmark

 

 

 

I looked at about 300 photos that are on the cache page and was able to come up with one that may help. I saved this pic and the day we left for Seattle I emailed it to myself, so I would have it on hand when at the cache sight. When we arrived there was at least 8 other cachers on the scene who had been looking already for about an hour. I started chatting with them, and gave them my take on the Hint, and showed them the pic I had. Within 10-15 seconds the cache was in hand!!!! (Yes it was in my hand)

 

Geocache in hand!!!

We then did a bit of shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

The following morning it was time to head over to Groundspeak Headquarters for their annual Block Party Event 

We arrived early so we decided to do some of the nearby caches that Groundspeak placed around the event area. Most of the caches were easy to find as there was usually about 10-20 other cachers already there signing the log. One was in a “Chairy Tree”

The "Chairy Tree"

Jenna, Dayton, and Oliver meet the Bridge Troll

 

We had an awesome time hanging out with more than 3000 other cachers on a super sunny Seattle Saturday. We also got to log Groundspeak HQ, while at the event.

 

Got to take a pic with the 2 co-founders, I had already met Jeremy at the Mega event in Drumheller a few years back.

 Bryan and I

Jeremy and I

 

 

Got to discover some cool TB's including one that went to space.

This travel bug, was launched aboard Soyuz TMA 13. Which was also the 100th Soyuz launch to date. It was 10 days aboard the International Space Station and left behind in the Russian segment of the ISS, in locker #218.

The following day was a very exciting day(well for me at least) A few years back we were in Carnation, Wash. For Geowoodstock VIII(My first Mega) and we got to hike into the Snoqualmie Mountains to find one of the last remaining "A.P.E. Caches"

We(Angelcheeks and I) did the hike with our good friends Tom and Heather (Coast2coast2coast and Toby&Me)

But the "Iron Horse Tunnel" was closed for major repairs, so we had to hike up the back side to get it. But it was definitely worth it.

This year for the "Going APE 2013" event the tunnel was open. YAY!!!

We signed into the event by logging our names on the board hanging off the APE.

We(Angelcheeks, Crazyboy02, our little guy and myself) then headed down the trail towards the entrance of the 4.7km long tunnel, that is normally a chilly 5-10 degrees Celsius . As we approached the tunnel you could feel the chill of it even from about 200 metres away. When you enter the tunnel, you feel like you have just entered a different world...a world of the underground. Very Cool!!!

Entrance to Iron Horse Trail

Monsters???

Exit the Snoqualmie Tunnel(Iron Horse Trail)

Halfway thru the tunnel we came across the keeper of the cache in the tunnel.

 

 

Upon coming out of the tunnel you feel as if you have been transported into a whole different world or place. We took a short break, and then headed a bit further up the trail to grab the A.P.E. Tribute cache.

Although the original cache has been archived as it was muggled, they had a tribute cache in its place. While there we met lots of other cachers milling around and telling stories of the original cache. Chatted with a fellow cacher who is a “Geocaching Vlogger”

www.geocachingvlogger.com

We also got to check out another TB at the Tribute cache, that had been to space as well.

After mingling about for a bit, we knew we should get going, so back thru the tunnel it was. This time we decided to time our trip into darkness. We were underground for 43 minutes....one way!!!

Oliver and I ready to make the journey back thru the tunnel

See ya next month

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65