PLEASE NOTE: Your answers must be submitted AND approved by me before you may claim a find. If you claim a find before your answers have been approved, your log WILL BE DELETED. You may rest assured that all answers falling within reasonable tolerances will be approved promptly. If there is an issue with any point, I will be happy to tutor in geology.
Pronounced "yoh-kull-hloip" (almost like "chuckle-up"), jökulhlaups are nevertheless serious business. In 1947, this form of glacier-generated debris flow swept down the valley of Kautz Creek, burying the small valley in some 50 million cubic yards of mud and shattered trees. The site of the present roadway was covered in a 28-foot thick layer of glacial drift and forest detritus.
Debris flows are one of the most commonly occurring geologic phemonena in the postglacial history of Mt. Rainier and the 1947 event was by no means the largest in the Mountain's history. Many such outburst floods occur as a result of heavy rainfall or rapid melt of snow, although these are not necessarily associated with volcanic activity. The most recent event (November 2006) was a result of heavy rain and scoured the valley yet again, exposing many logs and boulders which had been covered by past flows, as well as diverting part of Kautz Creek into a new channel to the east of the parking area.
As you walk along the trail (and I hope you will), you will notice new-growth forest developing amongst old, dead trees. The old growth here was suffocated by silt, the fine rock flour created by glacial erosion. You will also see logs laying horizontally in strata exposed in stream cuts, toppled by the sheer force of the 1947 lahar and now exposed again by the 2006 flooding. At the upstream crossing of Kautz Creek (about a mile from parking), the trail has been flagged through a maze of boulders and downed timber. Here, the enormity of the recent damage is most impressive, especially when you consider that the snout of Kautz Glacier is still over four miles away.
At the starting point of this earthcache, you will see evidence of historic lahars, including that of 1947. Walk out on the boardwalk to gather the information necessary to take you to the location of the cache final. You will need to know:
1) How high are the snouts of debris flows?
2) How fast do glacier-generated debris flows move?
3) What year is associated with Bill Butler's quote?
4) How far is it to Devil's Dream?
5) What elevation is given for Kautz Creek on the bridge sign?
6) How far is it to the Wonderland Trail junction?
PLEASE NOTE: These are NOT the questions for the Earthcache! They are only the answers you will need to compute the coordinates of the final location!
NOTE: If a number is given in the format "70-80," you would add "7 + 0 + 8 + 0" for an answer of "15," and then do the appropriate subtraction for the computations given below:
A = Add the digits of Question 1) and subtract 1.
B = Add the digits of Question 2) and subtract 2.
C = Add the last two digits of Question 3) and subtract 3.
X = Use the last digit of Question 4).
Y = Use the third digit of Question 5).
Z = Subtract the smaller digit of Question 6) from the larger digit.
Final location: 46° 44.ABC 121°50.XYZ
Please do not post pictures or any description of the final site to your log. In order to claim a find for this cache, you will need to EMAIL the owner with your CORRECT answers to the following questions regarding the Final Location.
1) Describe the final location in detail, citing any distinctive features in the area.
2) If there is damage here, when do you think it occurred? Was it in 2006, 1947 or earlier?
3) If there is damage here, what forces were responsible for it?
4) If there is no damage here, what geologic feature protected this area, and how?