Skip to content

Hetch Me If You Can Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

PisoMojado: This one is a goner; shutting it down.

More
Hidden : 6/5/2004
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

When does water flow uphill naturally? Come find out at this nice suburban cache in Redwood City, highlighting an impressive engineering feat from the beginning of the 20th century.

Most of San Francisco and the Peninsula's water supply comes from the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir (formerly quite a pretty valley, one that rivaled Yosemite) in the Sierras. The most amazing part of the water system, I think, is the 160+ miles of tunnels and pipelines that transports the water across California, south of the San Francisco Bay, and then up to the tip of the Peninsula to various reservoirs, lakes and catchpoints along the way.

The coolest thing about it is that the water moves _completely_ by gravity. At the cache site, you'll find yourself on top of a small hill--with the water climbing up towards you from the east. It stops at a small pumping station here (which also serves as an emergency water supply for Redwood City, in case the flow is shut off), and then keeps going up and over the hills to the north and west, heading towards Crystal Springs Reservoir from here. (Looking down the hill, along the pipeline to the ESE you'll have a nice view of the Stanford Dish.)

There is an easy, legal way to get to the cache, so if you find yourself having to climb a fence or trespass to get to it from where you parked, keep looking. The container is a small glass jar. Please be sure to make sure it's completely covered when you replace it. Enjoy!

PS. You can find more information on the Hetch Hetchy water transport system here: (visit link)

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

fgnaq ba gur ebpx sbe n orggre ivrj naq lbh'yy or trggvat dhvgr pybfr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)