Yakima Cache Machine II Event Cache

Last updates:
March 24 - Final routes posted.
March 23 - Change start time from 6:30 to 6:15 a.m.; mention of coffee and bagels morning of the event
March 4 - Pre-event dinner and during event hot dog stop listed
February 27 - Posted draft 2 of main and micro route
February 19 - Added link to the forum discussion
February 15 - New page.

It's the Palm Springs of Washington! Apples, rivers, canyons, and caches. The Cache Machine returns to Yakima, and this time, it's almost micro-free.

Fill up the tank, toss down some breakfast at way-too-early o'clock, and meet a mob of fellow cachers at N 46° 36.520 W 120° 29.401 ("Waterfall View") at sunrise on Saturday, March 29, 6:15 a.m.

Then, you'll have 13 hours to get more than 60 caches, and if you get through all of those, I'll have a bonus micro-madness route of more than 20 more for you.

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 (7:30 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, meat to eat, 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 the rare micro cache that we find on the event, one "YCM" 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 below. 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.

When is it?
6:15 a.m., March 29, 2008. Latecomers can track us down en route.

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, March 28, at 7:00 p.m., last minute changes will be announced at an informal pre-event dinner at Eddy's Grand Buffet, 19 E. Yakima Ave. N 46° 36.138, W 120° 30.410
- Saturday during the event, Caliber is hosting coffee and bagels at the start point from 6:00-7:00 a.m., and a hot dog pit stop in the Yakima River Canyon at N 46° 45.851, W 120° 27.407. Be there between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Three cheers for Caliber!
- Saturday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m., dinner will be at Old Country Buffet, 2513 Main St, Yakima. (N 46° 33.900 W 120° 28.840).
- Sunday, you're on your own. Go get the ones you missed, or do the micro machine. :-)

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 most micros, longer multicaches, complex puzzle caches, caches that appear to be overly time consuming, and caches that the owner has asked us to avoid.

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).

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.

Ellensburg? With so many caches in Yakima, why is the route going to Ellensburg?
The Yakima River Canyon is the most fun and beautiful drive in the state. I'd drive it every day if I could. March 29 is a day; I can.

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.

You goofed - your route shows caching continuing into Sunday!
That's 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 third 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.

More questions?
Check or ask in the forum discussion.