Adventure Labs and Uncommon Cache types

 My Newest Adventure Lab

As I said in last month's blog, I was gonna build an Adventure Lab in the Las Vegas Dessert!! I have been there enough times and have enough pictures and info, that I was able to set it up without having to go there to build it. It is now live and I am looking forward to the reviews, and doing a test run when we go there in June. If you are in the Vegas area, go check it out!!

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!!!

This picture shows the most Uncommon and Rare types of caches.

Some of these above Icons are not available anymore. Webcam caches are no longer allowed to be made, but the ones that are out there are still active.

Virtuals are still being made from time to time as Groundspeak gives them to cachers to place on a limited amount. (I am hoping to receive one someday)

Locationless caches come up once and awhile when Groundspeak publishes them.

(Groundspeak is the Geocaching head company, who runs Geocaching.com and all the rules for caching)

 GPS Mazes comes around once and awhile still, but usually only at Mega or Giga Events.

A.P.E. Caches where hidden back in 2001, and only 2 of the 14 are still active to this day. (1 in the Snoqualmie pass, WASH., and 1 in Brazil)

 -I have found all of these types of caches:

 -I have been to the APE cache called "Mission 9: Tunnel of Light" in Snoqualmie pass 2 times for the original and also visited there when they had the replacement tribute cache, when the Cache got stolen.

(the original cache was found years later and replaced back in its original spot)  I have been there during the "Going Ape" events. Will probably go again this year. (To get to it, you have to walk thru a 3.625Km long tunnel)

-I did a GPS adventure maze 3 times, although, 1 of them I was not able to log as the date had past for the event. Of the 2 I was able to log, one was in Edmonton at the Space sciences building, and once just recently at the Geowoodstock XVIII Mega event.

-I have done 5 webcam caches. (2 in BC, and 3 in Washington)

-Got 3 locationless caches, and 160 virtual caches.

I hunt after these type of caches (Virtual and Webcam) whenever I travel somewhere.

I am interested in seeing who has also found all of these Rare Icons. Please feel free to comment on here, would like to know who also goes for these rare and uncommon cache icons.

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!!!

Bike trip to Kettle Valley Rail trail and Myra Canyon

As I noted in last months blog, I have been planning a bike trip to Myra Canyon just East of Kelowna, for Susan and I. As of right now I have 37 caches on the Trail that we will go to. (I have already found 3 of them)
The section we will do is about 30-40km round trip depending on how far we decide to go. We will cache along the way, but then on the return trip there will be no caches to get unless we miss some.

First to Find

Was able to grab a couple of FTF's this month. 

One of them was a Puzzle cache where you had to complete 2 Jigsaw puzzles to get the Coordinates. The cache was up in a tree, so an extendable pole was needed to retrieve it. Can you see it? How about in the next pic?? 

I have a 16 foot extendable pole, which made easy work of it.

Once I had it hooked, I brought it down and was FTF!!!

San Juan Island Trip

I booked a corporate show in Roche Harbor, Wash. on San Juan Island, so I planned out some cool caches for my trip.
I went down and spent the night in Oak Harbor. I have cached there a couple times in the past, but still lots of others to get. I started caching in Burlington where I got a Geochallenge cache, a Multi, a traditional, as well as several puzzle caches, and an Adventure Lab. 

I then made my way to Oak Harbor and grabbed some cool caches. 

One of the caches I grabbed was inside the local Library. Susan and I tried to get this one back in July when we did a weekend trip down to the bottom of  Whidbey Island, but the clue was missing at the first stage. It was replaced so I was able to make the grab before the library closed.

The cache was inside a book. I then headed out for some more caching.

I grabbed a couple of cool caches near the water, one was near a cool Flintstone car. 

I went for a quick ride and made the find!! 

I then started searching for a cache called "Adrift". It was down on the beach and I was having trouble locating it, until someone from a nearby apartment building yelled and asked if I was a geocacher. She gave me a hint and then the cache was in hand. 

I grabbed 2 stages of an Adventure Lab that Susan and I started when we were here, so I could get the bonus cache. I also grabbed a total of 8 Traditional caches and 2 Multi caches before heading back to my hotel for the night. The next morning I was up at 4:30am to head to the Anacortes Ferry to get over to the island for some caching before my show. At the Terminal I was able to do an Earthcache. Always nice to have a cache handy when you happen to be somewhere that you have to wait.

Friday Harbor

After the hour and 20 minute ferry ride, I arrived in a cute little historic town called Friday Harbor. 

 

When I arrived I did 3 Virtual caches all in the same little park, and also started one of the 2 Adventure labs that I would eventually complete. 

There was a cache at the end of the pier that was under a bench but it was a regular size not a micro. I then cruised thru the town completing the AL's and grabbing several caches, before heading across the Island to my final destination for the night.

This Little Piggy was made of Bricks...wait, that's not how the story goes, I thought his house was made of bricks??

On the way to Roche Harbor I got a Letter box cache that was a TB hotel. Can you see the cache in the next picture?

How about now?

English Camp

Stopped on the way at "English Camp" to do a Adventure Lab. This is where in 1859 the killing of a pig on San Juan Island brought England and the United States to the brink of War over the issue of territorial rights here. The "Blockhouse" that you see in the picture above here at Garrison Bay is built with the upper part of the structure turned 45 degrees on the lower half of the building. This was so the soldiers could be protected from all angles as they aimed their rifles out of the loopholes, including down. 

Roche Harbor

I am Here!!!I arrived in Roche Harbor, and was able to do 3 more caches and 4 stages of an Adventure Lab.

I then went and looked at some of the sculptures in "San Juan Island Sculpture Park" Some very cool sculptures within this park.

These were among my favorites.

A whale made from auto parts.

There is no town here in Roche Harbor, It is just the Marine resort.

I did my show on the Dock for a private group of boaters, of 120 people from all over. Even some fellow Canadians. How cool is that!!

The show was in the tent down on the dock. After my show I headed back to Friday Harbor to get the last ferry back to Anacortes, and headed home back to Canada!! All in all an awesome quick trip where I got to perform my comedy and magic for some great people, and I found 4 complete AL's plus 6 stages of 2 different AL's, 44 caches made up of 1 Earthcache, 4 virtuals, 1 Letterbox, 8 puzzle caches, 3 multi's, and 27 Traditional's.

I look forward to coming this way again on another caching adventure!!

 

Well that's it for this month!!

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

October and November Adventures

Day Trip to Blaine and Semiahmoo Park 

Susan and I went across the border one day to spend the day grabbing some caches. I got 31 caches that day including one FTF as we left the house, before heading south across the border.

This large piece of driftwood looked like a dragon. And yes there was a cache hidden within. (Spoiler)

A large water tower stands on the spit to this day. It is not being used anymore, but was used back when the fisheries and Salmon cannery was running.

The huge one that is the iconic Semiahmoo Water Tower landmark of the Semiahmoo spit. Most people look at it without a thought to how it came to be, but this one was probably built between 1900-1920

It stands tall and not used, amid the scenic backdrop of mountains and ocean.

This was my 6666th cache. I got this one on the spit, and just like when I got my 5555th cache, thought it was worth mentioning.

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!!!

Be BEAR Aware!!!

We live in Bear country here, so you always have to be Bear aware when out caching, but you also have to be aware of them crossing the street. lolThis is a normal site near where I live. This is about the fourth time I have watched a bear cross the road in front of my car, just down the street from where I live. I almost hit one once as he came running out of the bush and across in front of me. I have even had bears come into my yard and knock over the compost and garbage bins. Please be Careful out there.

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!!!

International Geocaching Day

This year International Geocaching Day was held on October 8th and 9th. That's right, 2 days to find an earthcache and receive a souvenir. 

We decided to got to grab "Maplewood Mudflats Earthcache"

There was several other caches and 2 Adventure Labs as well. The house on stilts you see in the picture is not a full size house. It is a miniature version of the houses that used to be here. By the 1940's, an informal but cohesive community of squatters was living in the ramshackle cabins that lined the area's intertidal zone.

Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver is a 311-acre conservation area managed by the Wild Bird Trust of B.C. Maplewood Flats contains over 3 km of trails lining a beautiful and peaceful tidal marsh. It is a serene birding, nature observation, and walking area.

Merritt trip

I had a show in Merritt, so of course on route I grabbed a few caches. I had to wait for this guy to cross the road to go further down the road for a cache. lol

This is one of the bridges that was washed out last year during the storms.

Stopped at this very old cemetery to grab a cache

Found this Library cache also.I actually got this one purely accidentally. I was doing another local puzzle cache called "Murals of Merritt." It has 7 small pictures from a part of different murals and you have to go to them. The description said if you are having troubles finding all the murals to ask the locals or go to the library for help. I assumed they had a book with all the murals listed and where in town they are.

I stopped by the library to ask as there were a couple I could just not find. The librarian said there is actually a cache in the library. Wow, I assumed this was the final to the puzzle I was working on. I said could I have it for a few minutes and she led me back to the bookshelves and passed me this book. When I opened it, I realized it had a different name on it, then the cache I was doing. So I was able to log it without completing the puzzle. lol

"I AM GROOT"

Well that's it for this month,

Keep on caching!!

Chris Yuill

Magicman65

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