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The Secret Tunnel of Doom Traditional Geocache

Hidden : 8/6/2011
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:


WARNING!!! THIS IS NOT A CACHE FOR CHILDREN! DO NOT BRING THEM DOWN INTO THE TUNNEL. IT COULD BE DANGEROUS. IN FACT, IF YOU, AS THE SANE AND REASONING ADULT, HAVE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT YOUR OWN PHYSICAL ABILITY TO: NEGOTIATE A SHORT BUT STEEP AND NARROW SOFT TRAIL, ONE SIDE OF WHICH IS (NOT QUITE BUT ALMOST) A CLIFF THAT MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT SPLAT YOU DOWN INTO THE COLUMBIA OR ONTO THE UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD TRACKS, AND/OR WADE THROUGH WATER TUNNELED INTO A STEEP, NARROW, SLICK WITH MOSS, STONE CULVERT, WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT SWEEP YOU AWAY WHEN THE WATER IS HIGH (OR ICY), AND/OR POSSIBLY DODGE HUGE ROCKS AND BOULDERS THE GORGE MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT TOSS DOWN ON YOUR UNSUSPECTING HEAD, PASS THIS CACHE BY!!!

Otherwise, come on down into the SECRET TUNNEL OF DOOM.

Built by the WPA during the depression, with basalt quarried from Rocky Butte, this tunnel is actually part of a stone culvert, meant to divert the stream and keep the road from being washed out. It is a cool bit of 1930's engineering

Story tells of it being haunted. I've never seen a ghost here, but maybe you will (or maybe this was just a story my parents told me to keep me out of there).

Parking: Either side of the road pretty much at coords there is room for one car only to pull over and park. If you blink, you might miss the pullouts and have to circle back, so drive slowly and watch carefully as you are approaching.

You have two choices on which way to access the cache. the North side will take you down a steep goat trail along the basalt wall, and the South side will take you in through the moss covered culvert itself.

Either way may be dangerous, especially in the spring (when the culvert water is high or the trail is super saturated), and I am not kidding about this being a cache for adults only. So leave your kids at home.

Depending on your level of fitness, the weather and/or the water level in the culvert, the terrain rating could either be a 2 1/2 or a 4 1/2, so adjust your sights accordingly and know that I am splitting the difference here.

Remember that you are responsible for your own personal safety. Just because someone tells you to jump off the roof, doesn't mean you have to do it.

FTF gets the glory, choice of swag and a handmade bluemoth wooden nickel.

***Congratulations to twoez for FTF***

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Jrfg fvqr bs gur jnyy ng gur Abegu raq, nebhaq 5 srrg uvtu.

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)