Tolt Pipe Line Traditional Geocache

This cache is at the crossing of the Tolt Pipe Line and Kelly Road. There is parking immediately available at GZ, so this could be done as a park and grab. The cache should be an easy find, but if it gives you trouble the hint should lead you right to it.

The Tolt Pipe Line runs from the the Tolt Reservoir to the city of Seattle and supplys Seattle with about 30% of it's water. Additionally the pipe line also supply the cities of Bothell and Kenmore with water.

In 1936 Seattle City officials obtained water rights to build a reservoir on the Tolt river, but it wasn't until 1963 that the pipe line building began. By 1964 the water was flowing though the newly finished pipe line.

There are actually two pipes that run side by side from the Tolt reservoir to Seattle. The original one is designated as TPL1 built in 1963 is it is a 5 foot 6 inch diameter, cylindrical concrete pipe. The second pipe designated as TPL2, was built in 1990 and is a 7 foot 6 inch cylindrical steel pipe. TPL2 is field mortar lined and tape coated. The two pipes together make up the Tolt Pipe Line, and it is estimated that they are capable of delivering 350 million gallons of water a day. TPL2 crosses underneath the Snoqualmie River and Bear Creek by a process known as micro tunneling, which is essentially a process of making a small diameter tunnel. The Snoqualmie River micro tunnel is 2,210 feet long.

The Tolt Pipe Line officially became a public use trail in 1968.

The cache should be an easy find, but if it gives you trouble the hint should lead you right to it.

This cache was placed by a WSGA member. If you are a geocacher in the state of Washington, please consider joining Washington State Geocaching Association. See the WSGA website for details.