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Beaverton Cache Machine II

travisl

By travisl
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travisl

+travisl

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Note: circumstances may change after this initial posting. Look for my posts (with the icon13.gif icon) in this thread for all the important details and changes. If you think you've seen this all before, focus on the unique-to-this-event information in red.

 

(Link to dinner event cache.)

 

Beaverton: Nike! Intel! Geocaches.

 

So fill up the tank, grab your gear, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and start on the route at GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys, on Saturday, June 24 at 5:15 AM. From there, move at your own pace and get as many as you can.

 

Dinner's at Pietro’s Pizza, 13281 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton (N 45° 29.316', W 122° 48.780'). It’s listed as an event cache, GC755RQ. See its event page for details. Please log your "will attends" on the event page so I can let the restaurant know how many to expect.

 

Yes, this is the same day as the Tri-Cities 2017 Geocoin Challenge. Take your pick! If you can't make Beaverton, there's always another cache machine around the corner.

 

Note that some caches on the route map may be marked with a "do not enter" icon icon_disabled.gif. Those cache owners have justifiably asked for their cache to not be on the route, and for the cache to not be sought during the cache machine. The cache is, in the owner's opinion, in a sensitive area, whether it's environmentally unwise, socially sensitive, or physically fragile. Just don't get it. It's not like there's a shortage of caches in the area.

 

Rules:

1) Follow all traffic laws, and drive safely. This is not a race; there are no winners. The only loser will be someone who gets hurt. When someone asks what you're doing, the right answer is honesty: "geocaching".

 

2) Respect private property, even if the cache owner didn't. Post your DNFs proudly.

 

3) One logbook entry for "BCM2" is fine for most small and micros. Don't go filling up the logbook just because you want to mark your territory. 50 people's names and dates will fill up most one-sheets. Be kind and bring extra paper to add to caches with full logbooks.

 

4) As with all cache machines, if you find the cache, you'll be the one who has to re-hide it. Hide it as well as you found it. Handing it off to someone else and pointing down saying "it goes there" isn't good enough. Don't be a jerk. The extra 45 seconds isn't going to ruin your day.

 

If you’ve already found a couple of these caches, that’s fine - give us a chance to find the cache, and then we may turn to you for a hint. Suggestions and ''Count me ins'' are welcome on the event page.

 

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The Beaverton Cache Machine II FAQ:

 

When is it? When is the start time?

Saturday, June 24, 2017. Start time is 5:15 a.m. at GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys.

 

Will it be one large group, will we be split into teams, or what?

We'll start as one large group, but after a dozen caches or so, the large groups will likely fragment, and on a long day like this, you'll probably be on your own by the time most people in town are waking up. If you want to go off-route to find Munzees, letterboxes, Pokémon, portals, confluences, or Starbucks, well, you do you.

 

Is anything going on before, during, or after?

  • Friday, June 23, at 6:30 PM: An informal pre-event dinner will be at a location to be announced. Last-minute changes will be announced at this dinner and in the Groundspeak forum
  • Saturday, 24, 5:15 AM: Cache machine! Kick-off is at stop number 1, GC4F7VT, Hungry Monkeys.
  • Saturday, June 24, 7:30 PM: Dinner is at stop 85, Pietro’s Pizza, 13281 SW Canyon Rd, Beaverton (N 45° 29.316 W 122° 48.780). It’s listed as event cache GC755RQ.
  • Sunday, June 25: Nothing's planned, but there's a lot of caches around here. We'll be skipping a lot of them.

 

Hey, why aren't we getting that one?

My standard answer here is that I try to avoid most multicaches, most puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid. I'm also skipping caches that just seem at first glance to be a little lame, because there's so many caches and so little time. Most of the caches on this route have at least 15 favorite points.

 

A cache on your map shows the wrong place to park.

Hey, that road doesn't exist!

What's with making us ford the creek?

Thanks for catching that! Let me know, and I'll incorporate it your fix into the route.

 

Why does the route go more than two hours past the dinner time? Is this a two-day event?

The extra time is a buffer, in case you're so good that you'd run out of caches before you run out of daylight. I don't expect anyone would be able to hit all of them between sunrise and sunset. Of course, if you wanted to hit them after dinner, or on Sunday, I'm sure you'll be able to find folks to join you.

 

It sounds fun, but I've already found some of them.

Then come laugh at us, try to remember where they were, look at the old logbook signatures, or guess when we'll be at the caches you haven't hit yet. Maybe pass your phone number around for us to call when we get stumped.

 

You have X cache on the route, but it's disabled/archived/a long hike.

Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route (if archived) or may check with the owner (if disabled).

 

X cache is in an environmentally sensitive area.

My cache is physically fragile and I don't want it broken.

By all means, let me know. I don't want to send 50 people there to stomp all over it.

 

I disagree with the whole idea of cache machines. I don't want you finding my cache.

Sorry to hear that. It's too bad you've got a neat place to show us that we won't be able to see. Let me know, and I'll remove it from the route.

 

What's this gonna cost me?

Nothing for the caching. Or, at least, nothing more than it would cost than if you did the trip solo (e.g., paying for your own gas, hotel, and dinner). I'm not collecting any money for this.

 

Lunch? Breaks? Bathrooms?

There's no breaks in cache machines! Just hold it. :-P Or find something on the way.

 

Rain? Snow? Landslides? Flooding? Rattlesnakes?

Probably, yes. Do what you safely can, and skip ahead when reality or your capabilities don't match the plan. Be prepared and flexible.

 

What do the map symbols mean?

Turquoise lines show my suggested route, but if there's a brown trail or grey road that I've drawn in, ignore the turquoise. Red car icons show places to park a car for a short time (usually a trailhead).

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

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travisl

+travisl

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Draft 1 is posted. It's an unexpectedly large file, about 23 MB, so I'll need to figure out how to reduce that before I post draft 2. If you're a local cache owner, or you know the area, or if you just want to help out, take a look and let me know if you see anything I've done that's just not right. Got better parking coordinates, know that I'm stopping in a dangerous spot, or see something else I can improve? Let me know!
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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

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Posted

I'm in the area, and I have comments on several in the list. Don't have time to send all, but, for example, the last one is at a library that closes at 5, so that won't work. There are also some that are gadget caches, and some that take a significant amount of time. I assume those are the kinds of comments you want. Will post detailed comments later today.

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travisl

+travisl

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I assume those are the kinds of comments you want. Will post detailed comments later today.

These are exactly the kind of comments I'm looking for (as well as Jester's suggestion). I'm looking forward to seeing what else you've got for me.

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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

Posted
Posted

Sorry I couldn't make more comments earlier. I was juggling between 3 events today.

 

So, first off, I don't know why you'd want to start with Happy Monkey. It's a box in a bush, and it's a good starter cache for kids. There's not huge amounts of parking, and ground zero is pretty small. If you selected based on location, you might do better with Travel Bug Bar and Grill. It's close to a park and ride in case people want to carpool. No one will question if there are multiple cars parked there all day. And ground zero is pretty large in case people want to find other people and make plans. Certainly not a difficult or interesting find, but a good meet up spot.

 

For #26, that's intended to be an experience, and so it will take people significant time. Also, as part of completing the cache, finders must solve a handmade cryptix. It can be fussy, and I don't know if that's what you want.

 

#27 is a library cache. Not sure people would want to come down here to do library caches. This is a pretty standard one.

 

#29 is a typical grc.

 

#52 is interesting. It involves doing a lot of counting and calculating around items in a park. It's a significant sized park, and many people end up having to walk around multiple times, so it's not exactly quick. Then the final is on private property, and there's no checker. It could be very disruptive to have people making mistakes, and searching the wrong private property.

 

#54 is in a very public place. It used to have a lock on it. I don't know if the co has replaced or not. You might check with her. If not, you might check with her about if she's concerned about lots of people coming to ground zero.

 

#55 is another standard library cache

 

#64 is on an active disc golf course. If it's a nice day, there could be a problem with parking. Also with large groups of people out on the course.

 

#65 is another interesting one. It involves going out in public and looking silly near a restaurant water feature. There's no cover from the traffic. People WILL see you. It has the potential of creating a disruption.

 

#68 is a typical lpc.

 

#72, I believe is on pcc property. It means that cachers will need to buy a parking permit. You might check with the cache owner to see if there are any exceptions in June, but I know they will ticket.

 

#73 has very little parking.

 

I already mentioned that the last cache is a library that will be closed then.

 

And, I think that's it for the caches I know. I was talking with another local cacher, and he expressed another concern. Many of the Jewilks caches on your list are 3d printed caches. They're very nice, which is why they get a lot of favorite points. However, they can be fragile, and require extra effort to reassemble. You might check with the owners to be sure they don't have any concerns with lots of people coming.

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travisl

+travisl

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Great suggestions. I'll address two of them now, and will take time to check the others before my second draft.

 

So, first off, I don't know why you'd want to start with Happy Monkey. It's a box in a bush, and it's a good starter cache for kids. There's not huge amounts of parking, and ground zero is pretty small. If you selected based on location, you might do better with Travel Bug Bar and Grill.

Sure you're looking at the right one? It's Hungry Monkeys, GC4F7VT, not Happy Monkey, GC4F9XD.

 

I was talking with another local cacher, and he expressed another concern. Many of the Jewilks caches on your list are 3d printed caches. They're very nice, which is why they get a lot of favorite points. However, they can be fragile, and require extra effort to reassemble. You might check with the owners to be sure they don't have any concerns with lots of people coming.

I emailed Jewlik1 through their profile page on April 26, but haven't heard back. It's my standard e-mail that I sent to 84(!) local cache owners over a two-day period, and includes the suggestion, "For example, if your cache container is a creative handcrafted puzzle with delicate parts, you may want to consider whether you're excited to have so many people see your work, or, alternatively, whether it would be better to keep it off of the route because it's unlikely to survive so many people people zipping in and out to log it." Unless I hear from them, I'd default to leaving their caches on the route.

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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

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I absolutely missed hungry instead of happy! Hungry is better.

 

I noticed a few other things.

 

Stops 9 and 10 will be the same parking location. Probably the place to park would be the credit union. Shouldn't be a problem at that hour.

 

I doubt you want #32. It's been flooded for over a year and a half. No finds in that time.

 

On #64, you want them to go to Amberwood, the North side of the park. Last time I heard, they would ticket cars parked on the west.

 

#71 won't have much parking. It's a grc on a pretty busy road.

 

I noticed there are 4 stops on Old Germantown road. That's a narrow back road with very little parking.

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The Jester

+The Jester

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Posted

I absolutely missed hungry instead of happy! Hungry is better.

 

I noticed a few other things.

 

Stops 9 and 10 will be the same parking location. Probably the place to park would be the credit union. Shouldn't be a problem at that hour.

 

I doubt you want #32. It's been flooded for over a year and a half. No finds in that time.

 

On #64, you want them to go to Amberwood, the North side of the park. Last time I heard, they would ticket cars parked on the west.

 

#71 won't have much parking. It's a grc on a pretty busy road.

 

I noticed there are 4 stops on Old Germantown road. That's a narrow back road with very little parking.

#64 does have a parking waypoint by Amberwood.

 

Old Germantown Road (#73-76) is late enough in the day/route that there won't be too many "clumps' of cars, so should be OK, but a note might be good. But you'd be surprised how creative CMer's are at getting cars out of the way...

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travisl

+travisl

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I would replace #6 (GC1JEJ9) with GC2E88 {F.F.T.E.}. The walk will be a little longer, but it is one of the oldest caches in the area.

Or use them both, as they are on the same trail.

What if I were to also add GC1GZVV, Hoops Anyone? I looked at CH1JEJ9 (Killing the Urge give me more), and it's troublesome in its proximity to houses in a residential area so early in the day. But if I add F.F.T.E. and Hoops Anyone, I can suggest parking just outside the red-curbed area on Huntington, or even just uphill of the basketball court on Lanewood, and have folks walk the trail to Killing the Urge. What do you think?

 

Stops 9 and 10 will be the same parking location. Probably the place to park would be the credit union. Shouldn't be a problem at that hour.

Thanks. I've modified the route to show the correct entrance.

 

For #26, that's intended to be an experience, and so it will take people significant time. Also, as part of completing the cache, finders must solve a handmade cryptix. It can be fussy, and I don't know if that's what you want.

I'm looking forward to this one.

 

#27 is a library cache. Not sure people would want to come down here to do library caches. This is a pretty standard one.

#29 is a typical grc.

I doubt you want #32. It's been flooded for over a year and a half. No finds in that time.

#27: Keeping it, especially since I removed the last library cache on the route.

#29: Yup. Added to break up the two mile drive between #28 and #30.

#32: Tough choice on this one. Some of the logs say that there is a dry route in from the west, and that satellite views may help. Skimming the logs looks like it actually gets wetter as the summer goes on, which doesn't seem right. There's an earthcache 150 feet away, so folks will be in the area anyway. I think I'll leave it on, and leave it up to the participants as to whether they want to try for it or not.

 

#52 ... involves doing a lot of counting and calculating ... many people end up having to walk around multiple times, so it's not exactly quick.

#54 is in a very public place. It used to have a lock on it. I don't know if the co has replaced or not. You might check with her. If not, you might check with her about if she's concerned about lots of people coming to ground zero.

#55 is another standard library cache

#52: Yoink. Removed.

#54: Thanks. We're discussing it.

#55: 10 AM to 6 PM only. Noted.

 

#64 is on an active disc golf course. If it's a nice day, there could be a problem with parking. Also with large groups of people out on the course.
On #64, you want them to go to Amberwood, the North side of the park. Last time I heard, they would ticket cars parked on the west.
#64 does have a parking waypoint by Amberwood.

I'm not too worried about groups of people, but thanks for the parking advice. Street view shows what looks to be legal parking on Aloclek, but the three parking spaces are also full. I'll point them to the given parking waypoint.

 

(More in next post, because the message board doesn't like so many quotes in one message.)

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travisl

+travisl

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#65 is another interesting one. It involves going out in public and looking silly near a restaurant water feature. There's no cover from the traffic. People WILL see you. It has the potential of creating a disruption.

Cool. Looking forward to it.

 

#68 is a typical lpc.

Yep. Truth be told, I added it to get my auto-routing working. :laughing:

 

#71 won't have much parking. It's a grc on a pretty busy road.

Looks like one spot at the end of the rail just south of the cache, and another few further south on the other side of the street. It's late enough in the day I think it'll be fine, especially if we stay on the safe side of the guardrail.

 

#72, I believe is on pcc property. It means that cachers will need to buy a parking permit. You might check with the cache owner to see if there are any exceptions in June, but I know they will ticket.

Not only do other previous finders say that they had to find it quickly to avoid getting a ticket, but the last three logs are DNFs, after a string of 125 finds. That tells me the cache is missing. I'm taking it off the route.

 

#73 has very little parking.
I noticed there are 4 stops on Old Germantown road. That's a narrow back road with very little parking.
Old Germantown Road (#73-76) is late enough in the day/route that there won't be too many "clumps' of cars, so should be OK, but a note might be good. But you'd be surprised how creative CMer's are at getting cars out of the way...

Yeah, I "drove" Germantown Road on Street View before I posted the route. The narrowness and bucolic-ness of it is why I added it to the route. I think it'll be fine, especially, as you point out, so late in the day.

 

I already mentioned that the last cache is a library that will be closed then.

Removed.

 

Thanks again for the suggestions. Keep them coming! I need to add another 10-20 caches to the route somewhere, so if you've got any ideas, I'd love to hear them. I'm aiming to have the second draft up just after Memorial Day.

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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

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Posted

One more comment on #32. What you wouldn't realize, is that the area has changed. The logs you saw about a path from the west are from over a year ago.

Since then, beavers have dammed the waterway in the area, which is why the area has been flooded for so long, and so there is NO dry access to the cache for the forseeable future. If you check the cache owner's last comments, he said to either bring a boat or hip waders. The city is discussing what to do, so it is NOT a temporary situation. I'm not sure what the latest Google Earth says. I'd find it interesting if anyone can figure out how to get there, but people should be aware, and not waste their time trying to find a dry way in.

 

If people want to do #26, they should be sure and do the "homework", which the cache owner tells people about. It also will not be a six minute stop. Just trying to set expectations correctly. From everyone I've heard from, it's worth the time, but it will put people behind schedule.

 

I'll try and think about other caches that would be fun in the area that aren't already on the list. I can think of a couple that aren't too far off your route, but might be far enough that it couldn't just easily be added. I'll try and think up more and post.

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travisl

+travisl

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One more comment on #32. What you wouldn't realize, is that the area has changed. ... beavers ... flooded ... there is NO dry access to the cache ... either bring a boat or hip waders. ... it is NOT a temporary situation.

In that case, thanks. You've convinced me. I'll pull it off the route.

 

Also, I heard back from the owner of #54, Pickleball with the A & W Family. We can keep it on the route.

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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

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Glad to hear about pickleball. Since it's on, then you should combine the parking for #54 and #55. There's no reason to move the car between those.

 

I have some ideas about things that could be added. Are your boundaries set? Are you just looking at adding a few caches along the route, or would you consider adding to the distance? I see a place where about 8 caches could be added in a loop, but it would go south a few miles into Tigard. Is that a problem? If not, I'll get the specs on the stops I'd suggest, and add them here.

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Ptld2016

+Ptld2016

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Posted (edited)

Okay, I've got a list and route. Almost all is within the yellow area. There's a couple that might not be, but I'd say they're within about a mile or so of the edge, if you've got some leeway. There are 10 caches here, all either with high favorite points, or of a type that people enjoy.

 

Starting at your stop 23, Greenburg to 99 to Commercial to Hall. Tigard Library Geocache Adventure (44) GC4B1FX. It's another library cache, but this is about the best in the area. They have too options - the easy or the hard, so people can decide what they want to do. If this is too many library caches on the route, I'd suggest dropping one of the others, which are pretty normal and in small libraries.

 

Hall to Bonita. Only Slightly Evil (18) GC36B36

 

Bonita to 79th to Bond. Fishing in the City (4) GC38RWA

 

Bond to 76th to Durham to Upper Boones Ferry to 72nd. Choo Choo Kelloggs (14) GC5286X

 

72nd to Muroids Hidy Spot (12) GC4W6QG

 

72nd to the One, the Only (59) GC2C83V - this is listed as disabled, but recent finders assure that it's there and ready to go, and interesting.

 

72nd to Lower Boones Ferry to Jean to Lakeview to Don Lee. Adventures of Sock Monkey (230) GC2VMVW

 

Don Lee to Lakeview to Jean to Lower Boones Ferry. A Walden Pond for Winos (24) GC29MM1

 

Boones Ferry to Quarry to Bonita. Hawkeye Pierce (18) GC300EB

 

Bonita to 72nd to Dartmouth. Wager "NC*" (23) GC1JDY5

 

Dartmouth to 78th to Mapleleaf - puts you at your #24.

---

Note that I haven't done most of these since they're on the more difficult side. I have done Choo Choo Kelloggs, and that's a fun one. But people I know have done them, and it looks like they're all interesting caches.

Edited by Ptld2016
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travisl

+travisl

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The second draft is up: here you go, world!

 

Stop 45 is currently disabled, but the owner says it will be live again soon.

 

Ptld2016: I've added most of your Tulatin add-on route, but also a few others, so it doesn't exactly follow the path you suggest.

 

I'll happily accept any more suggestions, and will post the final route on June 19.

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travisl

+travisl

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Looking at the route, wouldn't it make more sense to reverse the order of 6, 7 & 8? You have us driving by 8 & 7 to get to 6, then back to get them before moving on forward.

Excellent catch. The order is intentional, the routing is not. I intended to make 6, 7, and 8 a three-fer, parking just uphill of 6, heading down to the basketball court, and then along the trail to 7 and 8. That plan didn't make it into the draft, though. oops.

 

The reasoning: it's early morning in a residential neighborhood. We tend to be a little disruptive, so in order to wake as few neighbors as possible, I'm suggesting parking's better at 6 (a residential parkside road) than at 8 (trailhead between two homes). Stop 7 is a 0.1 mile hike from either side (looks like foliage or maybe a creek blocks access from the north), and once we're there, we're 0.1 miles to the third one.

 

The best parking, in terms of non-disruptiveness, would be on the west trailhead end, at the park parking lot, but that's probably too much to ask. That's like an additional 0.1 miles to hike, and that's just crazy talk :laughing:

 

Of course, if you're lucky enough to have a non-caching driver, they can drop you off at 6 or 8 and pick you up at 8 or 6. That's not how I figure the route, though.

 

Probably clearer with a JPG update:

d0ef66dd-f9ad-4672-93ae-4e9e652136d9.jpg

 

Reference links:

6: GC1GZVV Hoops Anyone? by Baradam

7: GC2E88 F.F.T.E. by Laserman Little Dolphin

8: GC1JEJ9 Killing the Urge give me more by Baradam

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bdp

+bdp

Posted
Posted (edited)

All three of these can be easily gotten by parking relatively close to where each cache is.

 

You can park at Killing the urge, do the walk to the FFTE and then walk back and grab your car and park by Hoops anyone.

I did all three of these when I was less then physically active and quite sick.

 

PS: Stop 45 is up and ready to go.

Edited by bdp
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travisl

+travisl

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The final route is up! Any additional last-minute changes will be announced at dinner on Friday (at Golden Valley Restaurant and Brewery) and in this forum.

 

Note that for stop 46, you'll need a 9-volt battery. Pack accordingly.

 

Thanks to everyone who helped get this perfected, including BDP, PTLD2016, SnowDad, Jester, RYorke, Jewilk1, and, as always, Terrible T's. See you this weekend!

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Kiersolvd

+Kiersolvd

Posted
Posted

I have the Bookmark and the files available for the Beaverton Cache Machine II FINAL available here

 

I won't be attending this one, so everyone have fun.

 

Terrible Ts

 

Thank you so much for helping out. It's too bad you are not able to be there. We will have fun in spite of that. laugh.gif

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SirKarp

+SirKarp

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Posted

I have the Bookmark and the files available for the Beaverton Cache Machine II FINAL available here

 

I won't be attending this one, so everyone have fun.

 

Terrible Ts

 

Thank you so much for helping out. It's too bad you are not able to be there. We will have fun in spite of that. laugh.gif

Yes, it not said often enough. Thank you Travisl for putting these events together time and time again and Terrible Ts for the bookmark which makes it so much easier. Also I know this was posted on Facebook but for those that don't facebook it's going to be quite hot, in the low 90's Saturday and Sunday. Looking forward to it as always!

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