Gone Loopy Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The Mountain Loop Highway finally reopened yesterday after four years of being closed because of storm damage. We were thrilled to see it and, as it turned out, so were a few others.
There's no doubt that we were pretty excited to see the Mountain Loop Highway open. It's been closed for some time now since being damaged in a storm in November of 2003. But it appears there were hundreds of others who all had the same idea as us.
We've spent hundreds of hours up the Granite Falls side of the loop over the past few years, and a few up the Darrington side as well. We've generally found the loop fairly pleasant -- scenic and usually uncrowded. But I think things have changed.
I was amazed at the crowds we saw today. As we approached Barlowe Pass, we passed car after car going the other way as the road turned to dirt. Folks were out for a drive -- speeding, hunting, mud bogging, on motorcycles, walking, looking for (or not finding) outhouses . . . you name it, they were out there doing it. It was a virtual mad house! I was feeling a bit loopy, to say the least.
There was one redeeming factor . . . there were geocachers out there . . . Lizzy, hydnsek, MarcusArelius, cache ahead, Sassy&Gordy, teperky . . . and you know what that means . . . new caches!! As a matter of fact, Sass and I got to talking and thought we'd maybe placed caches in the same place, but after comparing notes, we figured we had at least 1/2 mile between them. So that's the story behind this cache . . . we've all just gone loopy!
About the cache:
- Be prepared - the coords can be jumpy.
- Not too far from the cache is evidence of the storm/flood that came through this area four years ago. Look for the really huge log across the river just upstream from the area of the cache.
- You're looking for a small/regular sized Lock and Lock.
- Do hang onto little hands if you take the short trail from suggested parking along the river.
- Tread lightly -- the immediate area is mossy and beautiful.
- Congrats to Rustynail on his FTF! FTF prize was an unactivated FluteFace Bearly Honey GeoJellies2 Geocoin.
Finally, please let me know if there are problems with either the cache or coordinates. Most importantly, have fun!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
1. Ba gur evire fvqr bs gur ebnq.
2. Haqre bar bs gur ynetrfg cvrprf bs fnjrq sverjbbq gung V'ir rire frra.