Seattle trip

I headed to Seattle a couple weekends ago. Planned on doing some more unusual caches plus was gonna try to get 8 different icons. (Beating my previous record of 7 different icons in a day) Took a friend of mine with me.(Non cacher) But he enjoyed helping me find caches and was interested in it. He also went to a cache with me in Las Vegas a couple months ago, while we were there for the Magic Live Convention.

The morning looked good, as I quickly got the Webcam Cache, and the puzzle cache out of the way in Bellingham. I wanted to get a Multi while here but it was in a building so it was too early. Got into Seattle, and quickly grabbed a Letterbox, which was HQGT: Geo Post Office part of Groundspeaks geo tour. We then grabbed a challenge cache(puzzle) and a Multi. We then stopped for a bite to eat and went to try a nearby Wherigo. I was not having much luck as I was unsure as to how to play this one. We moved on.

Kerry Veiwpoint Park

We then swung by a couple of Virtual caches, the first one was at a park, and we could see the Space Needle in the distance (photo below) which is where we headed next.

At the Seattle Space Needle, I got the second Virtual which was at the base of it, and also one of the New virtual's which I talked about in last months blog.

We browsed the gift shop and then on our way.

"Those are some big Nuts!!"

We made a stop at Leroy's Suit store which is why I was coming down here in the first place, got what I wanted and then some, and then we headed off to Pikes Place Market.

MMMMM Yummy!!

No visit to Seattle is complete until you visit the famous Seattle Gum Wall. Since Glen had never seen it, I had to take him there. There used to be a cache there, which I have already found, but I believe, It has been removed until more gum accumulates as they just cleaned the walls a few months back. But as you can see by my pic above, it will get filled in no time!!

NOTE: The highlighted words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!!
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On the way home I got another challenge cache which you needed to have at least 100 months filled on your jasmer calendar.

(The Jasmer Challenge requires you to find at least one cache placed every month since Geocaching was invented, in May 2000. This is difficult, as some geographic areas are missing some of the earliest caching months; the full Jasmer challenge may require you to travel significantly from your home location, Therefore, many cachers have created "mini Jasmer challenges" which require you to only find one cache placed during each month of a specific year, i.e. you must find a cache placed during each month of the year 2002.)

As you can see by my Jasmer calendar I have found caches placed on 197 out of 210 months since caching started.

On route home we stopped by this river to get an earthcache. An Erratic!! We then stopped at a rest area to grab one last cache which was a traditional.

I only got 7 different icons this day instead of the 8, possibly 9 (There was an event in Seattle) I was trying for, but still a fun day and had some great company for the trip as well!! The 8 or 9 icon day will have to happen down the road. (#Roadtrip)


Also got an earthcache on International Earthcache day back on October 8th, called mcmillan/brae the evolution of an island, it was out in Fort Langley.

I love doing challenge caches, as you can see by my recent trip to Seattle, I even made sure to get a couple, while there. This is the map of all the nearby challenge caches in my area

I think my next challenge will be to find a cache I need to fill in my Alphanumeric Cache Names, and Alphanumeric Cacher Names.

Just getting packed and ready to head to Victoria on the island for the weekend for a small Magic convention. Will grab a few challenge caches while over there. Well that's it for this month!!

Signal the Frog and I at an event years ago!!

Keep on caching

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

Memorable caches

 

Bolt Cache
 

I have been caching now for just over 6 years and have found caches of all shapes and sizes from a small bolt cache to Canada's Largest Ammo Can. #geocaching



Made in Canada Eh!!
 




 

But it's not usually the size or shape of the cache that makes it memorable. It's most likely the place or the journey to the cache that makes it exciting. I am excited to share some of my more memorable caches that I have found in the past. Trust me when I say these are not all of cool ones I've found, as you can see from the banner above, I have found over 3400 caches and these few are just some of the awesome ones I've found!!!

NOTE: The highlighted words in my blog can be clicked on as they are links to other cool stuff!!
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!!!

 Original Stash
This was a very cool and exciting trip with friends C2C2C & Toby and Me and my wife Angelcheeks, to go to the place that started it all. That's right the first ever geocache was placed at this spot in Beaver Creek, Oregon, and now they have a Tribute Plaque in its place.

On May 3, 2000, a five-gallon bucket was placed right at this very spot by Dave Ulmer containing a Delorme Topo USA, 2 CD Roms, a cassette recorder, a "George of the Jungle" VHS tape, a Ross Perot book, 4 $1 bills, a slingshot handle and a pretty notorious can of beans. The coordinates were then listed on the internet and modern-day geocaching was born.



 

 

Original Stash Tribute Plaque

The A.P.E. Cache
On this same trip we did a hike up a mountain in the Snoqualmie pass to get a cache know as The A.P.E. cache
It is no longer there, as years later it was stolen. We would revisit this spot a few years later as part of a Mega Event.


The A.P.E. Cache

Risky Rock
This cache had a high terrain rating. It was called Risky Rock
It was quite the hike with some climbing slippery rocks and a bit of leaping, but in the end you had a beautiful view of Comox Lake.

Risky Rock

Flotsam Cove
This next cache was quite the adventure. Its a cache called Flotsam Cove
I was planning a trip to Ucluelet one day and noticed that this cache had been published days before but was not found as of yet. I thought, no prob, while I'm there I will quickly go there and grab the FTF!!! Ok....truth be told, not quite as easy as that....It is almost 5 years old now and has only been found 5 times. (at the time of writing)
Here is my log on the cache:
YAY FTF!!! Found this morning at 11:01am
WOW, what can I say...found what I thought may be an easier spot to start from just up the road from the suggested starting co-ords. Parked the car, only 750meters to the cache...cool, off I go with my little geo-dog. get about 400meters down this wide decent path and BLAM!!! There is a wall of logs, stumps, brush, and dirt in front of me. Do I go back and find a different way? NOPE!!! Climb up and over very carefully with little dog under arm, on to other side which looks like a digging site of some sort. Walk down the road and find the next trail. Only 300ish meters to the cache from here, no problem...ya right....1hr and 10mins later of the roughest, narrowest, steepest up and downs, windy, confusing, poky sticks, mossy logs, skinny little goat path I have ever seen, I pop out onto a beach that is just beautiful. I wander down the beach and make the find. Awesome...oh wait, I have to go back the same way...on the way out I made some wrong turns and got turned around a couple of times even with my waypoints. Once I even started to backtrack and I look on the ground and there is my cellphone laying there, glad I made that mistake, must have popped out of its case, ooops. All done and said it was an awesome cache in a fantastic place with a beautiful view. T4TC

Flotsam Cove

Play with me
I actually visited this next cache twice. The cache was called Play with me
I was the FTF, but one day a couple of weeks after our wedding in Panama, we were in the Comox area doing a wedding photo shoot as we did not have a photographer with us during our wedding.(Although we did have a gentleman who was at the resort offer to help us out and use our camera and shot a ton of pics for us) After the photo shoot we were passing this cache and I thought since my wife Jenna(Angelcheeks, is her caching name) had not found it yet, and was still in her Wedding dress we should get the cache, for another quick photo opportunity. (This pic made its way into FTF Geocacher Magazine)

A wee bit overdressed

End of the Road
While we were still living in Courtenay, one evening a cache called End of the Road was published. I was known in the Valley as a cacher who loved to go after the FTF(First to Find the cache)
My good friend Tom (C2C2C) decided to make a cache in hopes that I would be the FTF, then he asked several other caching friends of mine to meet at the cache in the dark woods before it got published and hide to scare the crap out of me. Even though they were there before me, the cache was not opened until I opened it, so I could be the FTF!! It was a great night!!!
My log on this cache:
YAY FTF!!!! This cache popped up and when I read "Something special awaits the FTF on this one!!!" I assumed a scratch ticket, an FTF pin or a New Geocoin, NEVER did I assume that 15 or so of my good friends would be waiting at the cache site in the bushes to scare the #%&$ out of me!!! So when we got to the parking lot at the trailhead and NO vehicles were in site, I thought right on!!! A huge Thanx to C2C2C and all who helped orchestrate this EVIL but FUN "Event"
I shall change my pants now!!!


Island Paradise
This cache got published, and it was a 5/5 which is the most difficult and highest terrain rating a cache can get. We decided not go after it as it was my wife's due date and this particular cache was out on a small island in the middle of a lake. The following day some friends called us to ask if they could borrow our canoe, and my wife said "Let's all go!!" We loaded up and headed to the lake together for this Awesome 5/5 Cache
This was my wife's log:
Poor magicman looked so sad when he realized there is only so much you can ask of your pregnant wife two days before her due date.
Once we realized what we were up against, I decided an adventure might be just what I needed to kickstart the process so I suggested we go for it.
My Log:
YAY FTF!!! Found at 1:51pm Didn't think we were gonna go for this one right away, as any day, any minute my sweetheart is going to go into labour. Some freinds called and said they were wanting to go get it(C2C2C and Toby & Me)
I looked at Angelcheeks and she said lets all go!!!! We went prepared with everything we thought we would need and some things we did not need. Got to the first stage and my hunch was right, got the second co-ords very quick. Had to make a few trips to the spot with the cache as my special equiptment was not capable of taking all of us at once. Once we were close to the cache as a group we headed after it. The co-ords had me about 8metres away from GZ when all of a sudden Angelcheeks came up with the find. Although our legs got all scratched up, we were not in too rough of shape, and we were excited to have been first to find a 5/5 cache. T4TC and the adventure.

A very pregnant Angelcheeks and an empty log book

A view for Giant Pickle
The cache A view for Giant Pickle would prove to be a fun challenge. You see it was a newly published cache with a terrain 4 (5 being the highest) We decided to go for it. It was mostly uphill and cliff climbing the whole way. The added factor of our 8 month old and our small dog just added to the thrill of getting to the top for the awesome view and to be the FTF!!!

On the way up to "A view for Giant Pickle"

Double Bubble Toil and Trouble
This yucky but cool cache is in the heart of Seattle, just off of Pikes street Market. It is called Double Bubble Toil and Trouble. Many people have been unable to find this cache as it is quite tricky and sticky. I studied this cache from home and looked at every one of the over 300 pictures for this cache, and I found 2 pics that might help, but in the end it paid off and the find was made!!!
It is at and ON the famous Seattle Gum Wall. Anyone hungry???

 

Cache in hand!!!

Goose's Brain Twister
I was in Orlando, Florida some time back to do a show and was able to get this cool but tricky cache, called Goose's Brain Twister. It had a difficulty of 4 1/2 stars(out of 5) so I took that as a challenge to find it. I found it quite quick but it was a plastic waterproof matchstick container down at the bottom of a square pipe not much bigger than the container. It was down exactly 4 feet, 3 1/2 inches. I knew this for sure as I had nothing to use as a retrieving tool(I sometimes carry a telescoping magnet with me, but that would not have worked at all in this cache as the pipe was metal and the container was not) I went to the nearest drug store and bought a roll of duct tape and several wooden rulers and as you can see by the picture of the rulers taped together and the matchstick container stuck on the end by a chunk of duct tape, I was successful!!! YAY!!!
My log on the cache:
In town from BC Canada for the night to do a show in Lake Mary. Needed to grab a few caches. This one was first on my list. Found it quickly but the retrieval had to be figured out. Canadian ingenuity prevailed. T4TC

Ridgemont Mystery Cache
This cache was called Ridgemont Mystery Cache
I always look at places before I go there to see if there are any caches not been found yet. I was getting ready for a trip to Fernie for shows. I noticed this one and watched it as people looked but could not find it for 5 days. When I arrived I did a bit of searching, then I stepped back for a minute and all of a sudden I spotted it!!! Yay FTF!!! Actually I was the OTF(Only to Find) as the CO archived it shortly after as people were tearing up the area, while they did not need to. Look at the pic and see if you can spot it, it's in plain view. Shoot me a message or comment on my blog if you are able to spot it.

BOO!
This cache I got while travelling home from some shows. The cache is called BOO! Now this picture itself was taken on a different trip thru here. I actually found this one late one night in the dark about 2am. A lot of times when I am on tour after my last show, I will start heading home instead of spending the night, and I will cache in the dark. It is right near the road, but you have to climb thru the fence to get to it. The Tomb stone is fake with the cache behind it. There is talk in the cache page of the area being haunted, so the night I got it, I took a flash picture with my digital camera and as I looked at the screen, I saw something on the screen that should not have been there, and I freaked out a bit. After I realized it was the camera strap that had swung in front of the lens I was a little less freaked but still got out of there quite quick. lol

Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers

This cache was very cool!!! Actually it was quite cold as it was underground.     

Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers

The cache is underground midway in the Snoqualmie Tunnel in the Snoqualmie pass, Washington which is 2.3 miles long(3.7 km)

This was a fun adventure as my wife, Dayton, and Oliver(our littlest) hiked 45 minutes one way thru this cool decommissioned train tunnel with a ton of history. Then we hiked back thru it the other way!!! You can read the full blog of this adventure if you want.

Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers
 

 

Houston - We have lift off
Found this cool cache just recently, called Houston - We have lift off. It looks just like a pipe attached to a sign post, but if you want to see how to get at the cache,(Spoiler Alert!!!) click the link and watch the video.

Houston - We have lift off

 

 

 

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