+travisl Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the image) in this thread for all the important details and changes. The draft route will be posted in this thread later this month.) (This is the link to the event page, once approved) Vancouver. The largest city in Western Canada, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics, and home to more caches than a single pocket query can handle. Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and meet a mob of fellow cachers at sunrise on Saturday, June 27, at 4:30 a.m. 17 hours later, we'll see how many caches we've found. My initial route has more than 120 caches to get. 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. If you're still out on the road at dinner time (8:00 p.m.), skip the rest of the route and come on in. Socializing at dinner is one of the best parts of machine events (and that's coming from me -- someone who usually hates socializing). There will be travel bugs to discover, a buffet to gorge yourself at, and more geocachers to commiserate with than you can shake a walking stick at. The most important rule: 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. For any micro cache with a tiny logbook that we find on the event, one "VCM2" log entry should suffice for the group. We tend to fill up log books too quickly, and our stickers tend to make micro log books hard to re-stash. For normal-sized caches, or even large micros (like key holders), everyone should sign in. Bring FRS radios if you’ve got them. We’ll use Channel 2 to communicate among caching vehicles and to say 'Howdy' to listening locals. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page, which will be up soon. 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. ----- The Vancouver Cache Machine II FAQ: When is it? 4:30 a.m., Saturday, June 27, 2009. Latecomers can track us down en route. Where are people staying? See the thread below. What do I need to get across the border? You'll need a passport or an enhanced driver's license. A birth certificate plus driver's license won't be accepted any more. The rules change effective June 1. The route goes across the border into Point Roberts, so you're gonna need it. Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what? We start the day as one giant group, which means we'll hopefully find each cache quickly. Then it's on to the next one. The group tends to fragment after the first few caches, though. The longer we can keep the big group together, the more fun it is! Is anything going on before, during, or after? - Friday, June 26, there may be an informal pre-event dinner. Watch this thread. - Saturday, June 27, at 8:00 p.m., dinner will be at Uncle Willy's Buffet, N 49° 13.536 W 122° 59.670 (6411 Nelson Ave, Burnaby). I've created an event page for this dinner event. - Sunday, you're on your own. Go get the ones you missed. A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park. Let me know, and I'll incorporate it into the route. It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them. Then come laugh at us, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. Monitor FRS channel 2. You don't have X cache on the route. Why aren't we getting that one? I'm skipping a lot. I'll be avoiding longer multicaches, puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid. There's too many caches to get them all, so I've had to prune a lot of them off the route. You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or will check with the owner (if disabled). The route goes past dinner time, into Sunday. Is this a two-day event? Nope. The extra time is a buffer, in case you're so good that you run out of caches before you run out of daylight (it happened in Tri-Cities!). I don't expect to hit all of them, and designed the route so that the last section of the caches are near the evening dinner spot. 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. X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area. By all means, let me know. I'll work with the cache owner to minimize our impact, or skip the cache altogether. 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? Lunch: You should probably bring a sack lunch to eat on the road. Breaks and Bathrooms: There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way. Quote Link to comment
+AndrewRJ Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 4:30!? Bring it on. Do you have an idea what time delay we will have entering PR and then reentering Canada? Seems like that may take some time especially if you are stopped for a random check. Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 4:30!? Bring it on. Do you have an idea what time delay we will have entering PR and then reentering Canada? Seems like that may take some time especially if you are stopped for a random check. Plus there is construction going on to prepare for the Olympics so I'm sure the delay will be compounded. Jim Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 4, 2009 Author Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Do you have an idea what time delay we will have entering PR and then reentering Canada?Plus there is construction going on to prepare for the Olympics so I'm sure the delay will be compounded. On my very tentative, yet-to-be released route, I have us entering Point Roberts at 6:20 a.m. and re-entering Canada at about 7:00. I went through the Point Roberts crossing the day before VCM I, and it was one of the most informal crossings I've had, each way. Going south, they glanced at my paperwork, asked what I was doing ("geocaching"), and how long I'd be ("maybe an hour or so"). On the way back, they didn't even ask for the paperwork, asking only one question, "Are you one of those geocachers?" and waving me through. I saw that they're installing radiation detectors at the crossing, but the press release said that construction would start February 11 and take six weeks, which means it should have finished in late March. I'm aware that there's a chance of delays at the border, but I'm willing to risk it. Anyone who isn't is free to skip the 4 stops on the point -- the route is pretty easy to truncate there. I plan to alert US Customs and Canada Border Services to expect us. Edited May 4, 2009 by travisl Quote Link to comment
+Half-Canadian Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 (edited) Do you have an idea what time delay we will have entering PR and then reentering Canada?Plus there is construction going on to prepare for the Olympics so I'm sure the delay will be compounded. On my very tentative, yet-to-be released route, I have us entering Point Roberts at 6:20 a.m. and re-entering Canada at about 7:00. I went through the Point Roberts crossing the day before VCM I, and it was one of the most informal crossings I've had, each way. Going south, they glanced at my paperwork, asked what I was doing ("geocaching"), and how long I'd be ("maybe an hour or so"). On the way back, they didn't even ask for the paperwork, asking only one question, "Are you one of those geocachers?" and waving me through. I saw that they're installing radiation detectors at the crossing, but the press release said that construction would start February 11 and take six weeks, which means it should have finished in late March. I'm aware that there's a chance of delays at the border, but I'm willing to risk it. Anyone who isn't is free to skip the 4 stops on the point -- the route is pretty easy to truncate there. I plan to alert US Customs and Canada Border Services to expect us. Speaking as the resident expert on all things pertaining to the border entering or exiting Point Roberts before 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday should pose minimal if any delays. If it's a beautifully warm day, the late morning - afternoon wait at the border could be 45 minutes southbound and maybe 15 northbound. Point Roberts does have a Nexus lane both ways now, though hours are somewhat limited, for those that have Nexus cards. There would not be any construction/Olympics related delays at the Point Roberts border. The primary border crossings can be a challenge, although there is new digital signage on I-5, both south of Bellingham and north of Ferndale, listing estimated wait times at all crossings. I haven't checked, but apparently this information is also available via Twitter. Radio AM1130 gives traffic information every ten minutes "on the ones" and usually includes border waits as well as other traffic updates. Be aware that by the date of the CM, a passport or equivalent will be required to cross the border. The best source of information is THIS WEBSITE -- straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak Edit: fix broken link Edited May 5, 2009 by Half-Canadian Quote Link to comment
+LindaLu Posted May 5, 2009 Share Posted May 5, 2009 Very cool, this will fall at the end of my vacation. A perfect way to wind up some time off! I'd be interested in carpooling with others from the south sound, keep me in mind... Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share Posted May 6, 2009 The event page is live. Quote Link to comment
+hydnsek Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Where are people staying?See the thread below. Any thoughts on this yet? Quote Link to comment
+legacypac Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for organizing yet another cache machine. I had a blast in Yakama! Hope to do Vancouver too even though 1. Will there be a seperate Cache Machine "event" page as well, or just the dinner event cache page? 2. Is the start going to be at the dinner coords or somewhere else? 3. Do you need coords for the dinner? Quote Link to comment
+The Jester Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Thanks for organizing yet another cache machine. I had a blast in Yakama! Hope to do Vancouver too even though 1. Will there be a seperate Cache Machine "event" page as well, or just the dinner event cache page? 2. Is the start going to be at the dinner coords or somewhere else? 3. Do you need coords for the dinner? 1. The dinner is the Event - the cache run is not an "event", just something most do before dinner. 2. When the route is posted, you'll see the start co-ords. 3. The listed co-ords should be for the dinner. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 7, 2009 Author Share Posted May 7, 2009 1. The dinner is the Event - the cache run is not an "event", just something most do before dinner. 2. When the route is posted, you'll see the start co-ords. 3. The listed co-ords should be for the dinner. Correct on all three counts. The information on the cache machine itself used to be the event page, but then I learned that cache runs can't be events (something I would have figured out a long time ago if I'd paid attention to the guidelines), so the event is the dinner, and the machine organizing is in the forums. I expect to have my first draft route posted in a couple weeks. Expect the start point to be a cache near the dinner point (within a mile or so), and for the route to dip down into Point Roberts, then up to UBC, east to False Creek, then downtown, into Stanley Park, then out to the dinner spot. Subject to all change, of course. I'm still trying to figure out where to prune a few dozen caches from the route. Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Downtown is getting crazy busy and very expensive to park, even on Saturdays, so if you're pruning, that would be a good place to start. The UBC area caches are good, and includes Treehugger - BC's oldest. It's a good 15 minute round trip hike from the road. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 (edited) Parking? What's that? On cache machines, you slow down to a crawl, jump out, find the cache, sign the log, and jump back in to your slowly moving vehicle. It's a bit more challenging do to this if you're the driver; consider adding a half-star to the terrain rating. Edited May 14, 2009 by travisl Quote Link to comment
+fairyhoney Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Where are people staying?See the thread below. Any thoughts on this yet? Quote Link to comment
+quadsinthemudd Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Sleep? Who sleeps? That's what work on monday is for! Quote Link to comment
jholly Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Sleep? Who sleeps? That's what work on monday is for! Work? Whats work? Jim, were everyday is Saturday. Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Parking? What's that? On cache machines, you slow down to a crawl, jump out, find the cache, sign the log, and jump back in to your slowly moving vehicle. It's a bit more challenging do to this if you're the driver; consider adding a half-star to the terrain rating. Yeah, I get that - I remember that you had us through downtown Vic. very early in the morning, which worked well. I'm just telling you that Downtown Van. in the afternoon is a very different beast. I think hitting Burnaby hard early AM is a good idea, and then travelling south via Richmond and Twasseawen and then just touching a few downtown supereasies and Stanley park in the afternoon. If the weather's good, the muggles will be thick as flies and parking impossible. Same with the Kitsalino/Jericho Beach caches. If you have "rockman" on your list, take it off, it's a DNF sinkhole Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 15, 2009 Author Share Posted May 15, 2009 Where are people staying? See the thread below.Any thoughts on this yet? Nothing yet. I've been pounding at Priceline this week trying to get The Inn at Westminster Quay for under $50, but it's not looking promising. If that fails, the Holiday Inn at the airport is my next choice. I'd avoid downtown, because parking there looks like it runs $15-$20 a night. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 17, 2009 Author Share Posted May 17, 2009 I've just booked the Airport Holiday Inn on Priceline for $43. It's in the airport zone, 3-star rating. It's a bit further from the endpoint than I'd hoped, but it's a pretty good deal. Free parking according to http://www.holidayinnvancouverairport.com/amenities.aspx Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 21, 2009 Author Share Posted May 21, 2009 As hard as I tried, I couldn't get Point Roberts and Delta on the route and keep it going into UBC and downtown, too. By lopping off this southern portion, I removed 35 caches and 65 miles from the route, which, if I kept it, would have made the route un-doable. Get 'em on Sunday. Point Roberts and Delta are no longer on the route. Here's my first draft (2.8 MB .pdf). Take a look, tell me where I'm doing something stupid, or where you've got a better way, and I'll incorporate the suggestions into my next draft. Quote Link to comment
+legacypac Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 (edited) As per your request for feedback... Stop 20: GCYBGV Bigger Better Bus Stop??? Getting into this area is confusing due to overhead bridge. You have good directions to it in the text. Suggest an "Ignore Autorouting" note. UBC Area - some of the suggested routes do not exist - at least not as places you can drive. This will require some extra walking and creative parking. Stop 43: Spirit Park Toyland is not a traditional in today's sense. It involves a projection of 199 ft. from the posted coords. Stanley Park has pay parking. I think one pass should cover the various stopping spots. Stop 71: GC58E9 Monuments Plaques and Statues Oh My!!!! is a virtual but it is not at the posted coords. Rather it covers the whole park sort of. It is pretty easy to do in Stanley Park. Might want to add a note in the route to see the special requirements of this cache. Stop 77: GC1F1F2 Siwash Rock is an Earthcache. Not noted in the route text, but is an earthcache icon on the map. Near Stop 83: There is also a Webcam Cache at Canada Place. Don't know how you feel about including it. Since people will need to pay to park here (no free parking) it's likely worth it to grab both the traditional and the webcam. Stop 91: My own GC1A3VA Queen Elizabeth Park Earthcac...(Other 3.5/2.5) People will need the requirements to complete. Involves not too difficult measuring with a GPS. Happy to have it on the route. No offense to any of the caches in Richmond, but I would suggest removing Richmond Stops 15-18 and maybe 19 from the route. These 4 caches mean you have to cross two bridges starting with the Knight Street bridge which is often very busy, the #1 accident spot in BC, with confusing access. These caches are inland, normal parks, not on the water. Instead, one could add stops in Pacific Spirit Park (between 37 and 43 on the map) keeping the find #'s up while shortening the route. Alternatively, add the caches on the South side of the Fraser River, North of the Airport. You would cross the Arther Lange bridge twice but you would see some great scenery along the ocean. Edited May 21, 2009 by legacypac Quote Link to comment
+legacypac Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 One other crazy idea would be to simply reverse the whole route. That would put us in downtown Vancouver before the parking charges start, then in Stanley Park before most of the visitors arrive simplifying parking and access there. On the current front end, Central Park (the first few caches) at 4:30 AM is a bad idea because it is magnet for undesirables. Better to visit Central Park in the late afternoon/evening at the end of the run. Quote Link to comment
+Half-Canadian Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 One other crazy idea would be to simply reverse the whole route. That would put us in downtown Vancouver before the parking charges start, then in Stanley Park before most of the visitors arrive simplifying parking and access there. On the current front end, Central Park (the first few caches) at 4:30 AM is a bad idea because it is magnet for undesirables. Better to visit Central Park in the late afternoon/evening at the end of the run. Legacypac offers some good suggestions regarding the route. I would also second his recommendation to avoid Central Park unless it's daylight, and even then be aware of your surroundings Quote Link to comment
+goaliegirl38 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Caches 1, 3 & 6 are perfectly fine to do anytime of day, they are not in an area that is frequented by Burnaby's "undesireables" and are within sight of the road. I'll try and check out the other 3 caches on my lunch in the next week or so and see what the areas around them look like. A lot of the people living in Central Park move to the Library lawn once the weather is better... Another factor in our favour is that the 24 hour relay is in that park the weekend before, so parks crews will be in there cleaning out the park beforehand, there is a good chance that the makeshift housing will not be back yet if the weather is good. Quote Link to comment
+themagister Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 (edited) Frienldy young couple (26+30) is looking for a ride for the event. We are living in Fairview, Vancouver. What we can offer: - GPS (Garming 60CS with Vancouver Topo/City Nav) - GPS (Some cheap car navi) - PDA (CacheMate) - Funny accents (Swiss and French) - Gas price share - Confused searching patterns If you need a navigator, description reader or just someone to entertain you or fill the car, please contact us on geocaching.com -> themagister Thank you! Celine & Manuel Edited May 24, 2009 by themagister Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted May 27, 2009 Author Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, legacypac, goaliegirl38, and Half-Canadian. Point by point (with some words omitted for clarity) Stop 20: GCYBGV Bigger Better Bus Stop??? You have good directions to it in the text. Suggest an "Ignore Autorouting" note. This was autorouted, so I think the autorouting works fine for this. UBC Area - some of the suggested routes do not exist Hmm... I found a map of driving and pedestrian-only areas at http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/images/pdf/ubcmap.pdf . Any suggestions? Stop 43: Spirit Park Toyland involves a projection of 199 ft. Will be noted on next draft. Thanks. Stanley Park has pay parking. Noted. $2 per hour, 6AM to 9PM. Stop 71: GC58E9 Monuments Plaques and Statues Oh My!!!! is a virtual that covers the whole park I remember this one from VCM I. That's why I moved its actual location to the first Stanley Park stop on the map. Added a note. Stop 77: GC1F1F2 Siwash Rock is an Earthcache. Not noted in the route text. It is now. Thanks. Near Stop 83: There is also a Webcam Cache at Canada Place. People will need to pay to park here. Webcam is down, probably permanently. Wondering if I should skip GC1QNYJ Canada Place. I would suggest removing Richmond Stops 15-18 and maybe 19 from the route. Alternatively, add the caches on the South side of the Fraser River, North of the Airport. Removed 15-18. Keeping 19 (GCR0DW It's All Good! Vancouver Airport TB Hotel) because I'm adding the south side Fraser River caches. Reversing the route would put us in downtown Vancouver before the parking charges start. Parking charges only exist Monday through Friday, according to http://www.cityofvancouver.us/parking.asp?...mp;itemID=27786 . I reversed the route, and it added 20 miles, mainly due to U-turns for caches being on the wrong side of the streets. Add stops in Pacific Spirit Park (between 37 and 43 on the map) Still thinking about it. I'm up to 102 waypoints, so I think we're full. Central Park (the first few caches) at 4:30 AM is a bad idea because it is magnet for undesirables. Caches 1, 3 & 6 are perfectly fine to do anytime of day, not in an area that is frequented by undesirables. Removed 2, 4, and 5 accordingly, pending goaliegirl38's investigation. Question: How much of a walk is it to get to the south Fraser River airport caches (i.e., Bob & Bogey's Other Excellent Beach (GCHQZ7), Bark Park Beach Cache (GCN8Y6), and Cranky Cachers Countervail (GC1D2MB))? Looks like a mile hike, at least, which might be too long. I'll have the next draft posted later this week. Quote Link to comment
+legacypac Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Thanks for the feedback, legacypac, goaliegirl38, and Half-Canadian. Point by point (with some words omitted for clarity) UBC Area - some of the suggested routes do not exist Hmm... I found a map of driving and pedestrian-only areas at http://www.maps.ubc.ca/PROD/images/pdf/ubcmap.pdf . Any suggestions? My suggestion is that everyone print the very helpful map and use it. There is no free parking on Campus, but I did score free parking on Marine Drive (left side of map) suitable for several of the caches. On a Saturday you could ignore the meters in the area just below the legend where it says University Endowment Lands. That area is near two of the caches on the list. Near Stop 83: There is also a Webcam Cache at Canada Place. People will need to pay to park here. Webcam is down, probably permanently. Wondering if I should skip GC1QNYJ Canada Place. I've not done that cache myself, but I've been to the area many times. Parking is going to be tough. Lots of cameras and security. It is an olympic venue too. 100 plus people doing the cache might give it away and cause undue concern. I would suggest removing Richmond Stops 15-18 and maybe 19 from the route. Alternatively, add the caches on the South side of the Fraser River, North of the Airport. Removed 15-18. Keeping 19 (GCR0DW It's All Good! Vancouver Airport TB Hotel) because I'm adding the south side Fraser River caches. Reversing the route would put us in downtown Vancouver before the parking charges start. Parking charges only exist Monday through Friday, according to http://www.cityofvancouver.us/parking.asp?...mp;itemID=27786 . I reversed the route, and it added 20 miles, mainly due to U-turns for caches being on the wrong side of the streets. Add stops in Pacific Spirit Park (between 37 and 43 on the map) Still thinking about it. I'm up to 102 waypoints, so I think we're full. This was a suggestion as an alternative to the caches North of the airport. Central Park (the first few caches) at 4:30 AM is a bad idea because it is magnet for undesirables. Caches 1, 3 & 6 are perfectly fine to do anytime of day, not in an area that is frequented by undesirables. Removed 2, 4, and 5 accordingly, pending goaliegirl38's investigation. Question: How much of a walk is it to get to the south Fraser River airport caches (i.e., Bob & Bogey's Other Excellent Beach (GCHQZ7), Bark Park Beach Cache (GCN8Y6), and Cranky Cachers Countervail (GC1D2MB))? Looks like a mile hike, at least, which might be too long. I just don't know, have not done the caches. I'll have the next draft posted later this week. Quote Link to comment
phatbennyb Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 I think stop 79 Yin and Yang GC10F41 Should be take off the route. It's an enclosed/walled park and where the cache is very visible to most of the park. It would be VERY obvious to muggles if 100 people went to the one spot for the cache in a day, and the area the cache is in has some sensitive foliage... Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 I've just posted the second draft. Take a look. The final route will be posted Jun 22. (Sorry, phatbennyb, but I generated the second draft route before seeing your post. I'll check into it, and remove it from the final route if necessary.) Quote Link to comment
+julebear Posted June 6, 2009 Share Posted June 6, 2009 Hi Travis, A couple more caches should be deleted: #93 - hasn't been found in a while, also it is very open to muggles who sit and stare at you while you look around the parking lot; #91 - also looks to be muggled. #98 is a micro at a very busy bus stop and will be hard to access discreetly. #35 is at Wreck Beach, which involves 470 steps. Not for the faint-hearted. Used to go there in the olden days, but off our must-do list these days! Julie Quote Link to comment
+Harpo Marx Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I tried $45 for 3 star motels on priceline with no luck but got a 2.5 star (Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel) for that price. Quote Link to comment
+MtnGoat50 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I've just booked the Airport Holiday Inn on Priceline for $43. It's in the airport zone, 3-star rating. It's a bit further from the endpoint than I'd hoped, but it's a pretty good deal. Free parking according to http://www.holidayinnvancouverairport.com/amenities.aspx I tried $45 for 3 star motels on priceline with no luck but got a 2.5 star (Coast Vancouver Airport Hotel) for that price. I got the Holiday Inn at the Airport (3 star) for $49. I started with the airport zone 3 star at $45, then added the Burnably zone and rebid at $49. Now I'm wondering if I could have gotten it for $46 or $47...No big deal, it's still a good price. I'm really looking forward to the weekend, we haven't been to Vancouver in years. It should be a great time! Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 47 Treehugger and 48 Sea View both involve steep climbs (up stairs and a path) with a ravine between them , so you climb twice. The parking for both is across the street. Same path, which splits and goes up both sides of the ravine. 48 is not accessible from the road, despite how close it looks. I wouldn't drop them - they are good caches, especially treehugger - BC's oldest. Just maybe a steep climb warning. Quote Link to comment
+doingitoldschool Posted June 13, 2009 Share Posted June 13, 2009 I think stop 79 Yin and Yang GC10F41 Should be take off the route. It's an enclosed/walled park and where the cache is very visible to most of the park. It would be VERY obvious to muggles if 100 people went to the one spot for the cache in a day, and the area the cache is in has some sensitive foliage... Just grabbed this one a few days ago. If the machine is well spread out by then, the park should be busy enough to cover the extra visits. I remember the Vic. machine spreading out by about 10 am. It is certainly a sensitive area, but an obvious spot. Tough call. Quote Link to comment
+fairyhoney Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I have some questions about this event. Without looking it up, is the event close to the start of the route? the airport area still has descent priced hotels. Also, since we will more than likely be downtown some of the route, are we allowed free right hand turns like we are down here ? Will the city be had before the main traffic starts so we will be out of Dodge so to speak !?! Thank you in advance Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 I think stop 79 Yin and Yang GC10F41 Should be take off the route. It's an enclosed/walled park and where the cache is very visible to most of the park. It would be VERY obvious to muggles if 100 people went to the one spot for the cache in a day, and the area the cache is in has some sensitive foliage...Just grabbed this one a few days ago. If the machine is well spread out by then, the park should be busy enough to cover the extra visits. I remember the Vic. machine spreading out by about 10 am. It is certainly a sensitive area, but an obvious spot. Tough call. It's late in the day, I expect much of the group won't get this far, and it's not going to be a large group find. I'll keep it. 47 Treehugger and 48 Sea View both involve steep climbs (up stairs and a path) with a ravine between them , so you climb twice. The parking for both is across the street. Same path, which splits and goes up both sides of the ravine. 48 is not accessible from the road, despite how close it looks.I wouldn't drop them - they are good caches...Just maybe a steep climb warning. Thanks. I've added a steep climb warning. A couple more caches should be deleted: #93 - hasn't been found in a while, also it is very open to muggles who sit and stare at you while you look around the parking lot; #91 - also looks to be muggled.#93 now has a "should be archived" note. I've taken it and #91 off the route. #98 is a micro at a very busy bus stop and will be hard to access discreetly.Keeping this one. It's so late in the day that nobody's going to get to it in anything resembling a large group. #35 is at Wreck Beach, which involves 470 steps. Not for the faint-hearted. Used to go there in the olden days, but off our must-do list these days!I did the predecessor of this one on VCM I, and I remember those steps. Noted, but kept on the route. Also, I received e-mails warning me about parking/street fair near Chilly in a Mole Hill, giving me updated parking info for Everett Crowley park, and warning me of early-morning gate closures on trails north of the airport. I've made these changes as well. (thanks, wecksing, R-L-PAINTER, and Frisbeer!) I'll have the final route posted late tonight. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 I have some questions about this event. Without looking it up, is the event close to the start of the route? the airport area still has descent priced hotels. Also, since we will more than likely be downtown some of the route, are we allowed free right hand turns like we are down here ? Will the city be had before the main traffic starts so we will be out of Dodge so to speak !?!The route's start is close to the event, which is not near the airport, but with the money I'm saving, I'm willing to drive the distance between the airport hotel and the route start. Parking and traffic will suck on this CM, particularly on Granville Island and downtown. Expect to pay for parking on Granville, and another $2 for Stanley Park. Print yourself a copy of the route and don't trust your autorouting, as many of the caches are inaccessible from the nearest road. The right- (and left)-turn-on-red laws in British Columbia appear to be identical to those in Washington, according to the somewhat unreliable Wikipedia. See Right turn on red. Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Here's the final route: Imperial .pdf / Metric .pdf / Streets and Trips .est Any further changes will be announced ... um... guess I better figure out the Friday pre-event meetup spot soon! Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Friday night, June 26, 7:30 PM, a pre-event dinner meetup will be held in the food court at the Richmond Centre Mall, N 49° 10.020' W 123° 8.330', 6551 No.3 Road, Richmond, BC. The food court is on the west side of the mall. I'll announce any last minute route changes there. Quote Link to comment
+Harpo Marx Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I'm finally loading the route into gsak to get ready for the weekend and it appears that #36 Old School Totem Poles may be MIA. 4 DNF's in a row - hasn't been found since March. Quote Link to comment
+Harpo Marx Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Also #8 Jellicoe Cat - Not. has been disabled. Owner says it's missing... #53 Mourning Gloria - 4 DNF's in a row and owner hasn't been on for a while #54 Royal Totem Pole - 7 DNF's in a row Any local cachers have any info on these? Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 25, 2009 Author Share Posted June 25, 2009 (edited) Also #8 Jellicoe Cat - Not. has been disabled. Owner says it's missing...#53 Mourning Gloria - 4 DNF's in a row and owner hasn't been on for a while #54 Royal Totem Pole - 7 DNF's in a row Any local cachers have any info on these? Thanks for the update. I'm pulling GCN3MP (Jellicoe Cat- Not.) off the route. The other two, I'll keep on, but I don't plan on spending a lot of time looking. Also, GCTMYZ, Second Memorial Cache (stop #91) has been disabled. It's off. That's the only last minute change. See y'all tomorrow and/or Saturday! Edited June 25, 2009 by travisl Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted June 27, 2009 Author Share Posted June 27, 2009 More last minute changes as announced at the pre-event dinner. Combined with the above two, here's the list: #06 - Ammo Can Vortex - 5 DNFs #08 - Jellicoe Cat - DISABLED #36 - Old School Totem - 1 "should be archived", 3 DNFs #53 - Mourning Gloria - 4 DNFs #54 - Royal Totem - 2 SBAs, 5 DNFs #59 - Story Book - 2 SBAs, 8 DNFs #68 - Kaka'solas - 1 SBA, 6 DNFs #90 - Treasures of the World - 1 SBA, 6 DNFs #91 - Second Memorial - DISABLED See y'all tomorrow! Quote Link to comment
+themagister Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 That was an awesome day - Altough we where waaay to tired at the end to go out for the dinner :/ But we had a chance to meet Travis and his daughter as well as other nice cachers on our way today. Thanks again to Juliebear for the ride. We really enjoyed the day with you guys! Oh and btw, we MORE than doubled our total count today.. haha.. we had 37 and made 38 today Manuel & Celine Quote Link to comment
+travisl Posted July 1, 2009 Author Share Posted July 1, 2009 It was a good cache machine, but a lousy dinner. Apparently, I made a mistake when I called and confirmed reservations. I made the incorrect assumption that when I said "I'd like to make reservations for 60 people", that meant "60 people together", or, *gasp*, "60 people together in your banquet room." Sorry about that, folks. Thanks to everyone who attended, though. See you in the Tri-Cities in September! Quote Link to comment
+Lizzy Posted July 2, 2009 Share Posted July 2, 2009 Thanks to everyone who attended, though. See you in the Tri-Cities in September! I SOooo wish the date was different for Sept. We have already booked a long stay elsewhere for Salmon fishing. Boohoo Quote Link to comment
avroair Posted July 10, 2009 Share Posted July 10, 2009 Fun weekend! Thanks for putting it on! Quote Link to comment
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