This froggy-themed cache is a letterbox hybrid. Letterboxing is a very old type of container hunting activity. The first letterbox was placed in 1854, nearly 150 years before the first geocache. They are designed to be found without a GPS unit, from written clues alone. I have included the coordinates of the container as a visible final waypoint below, so you can find it using whichever method you prefer.
The posted coordinates above are for parking at the closest legal parking to the cache location. The location of the container is provided below as an additional waypoint so you can find it using GPS if you prefer. For finding it with the letterbox clues, start at the provided alternative trail head coordinates on SE 288th St. I encourage you to try it the old fashioned way and see if you can get there by clues alone.
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Letterboxing Clues
1. Start at the trail head on SE 288th St., just west of Maple Valley Black Diamond Rd. SE (Hwy 169)
2. Turn left almost immediately and head east 160 feet to the raised railbed trail.
3. Turn right on the railroad trail. You will know you're on it because it is straight and completely flat.
Go South on the railroad trail 0.68 miles. When you get to that vicinity, watch for a 4-way trail intersection. You will know you're at the right intersection when you see a maple tree on your left with two signs on it, a vertical one that says Mapletree Mistress and a smaller one that says Cranberry Slough-->. Turn right at this intersection, not left where the signed tree is.
4. Go down that trail about 300 feet to a T intersection. There will be a 15' Douglas fir at the left and scotchbroom on your right. Turn right at this intersection.
5. The first intersection after that will be a fork. Stay left.
6. Go about 300 more feet and watch for a side trail about 80' past a 6' tall holly bush. Turn left on this trail.
7. Go down this trail about 130 ft and turn right at a trail with an 8"diameter blister barked fir tree on one side and a 4x6" gray rock on the right.
8. The trail will go downhill in about 50 feet. Keep going about 200 more feet to another T intersection. There will be a 2' diameter hemlock on your left and a very rotten 3' long small log on your right. Turn left at this intersection.
9. Go down that trail about 400' and look for a hemlock tree with low sweeping branches growing out of a large nurse stump. Most of the trees on this section of the trail are deciduous, so the hemlock tree will stand out. The cache is an ammo box in a hollow on the back side of the stump.
10. The letterbox is a separate container inside the ammo box. The geocache has its own dedicated log book which can be signed without disturbing the letterbox inside.
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Letterbox Etiquette
Inside the letterbox you’ll find a log book and rubber stamp. You may also find an ink pad and pen or pencil. Stamp the imprint of your personal stamp into the letterbox’s log book and write in your letterboxing name, home town, and date. You're welcome to add an additional message in the log book about your experience finding the letterbox as well.
Next, stamp the imprint of the letterbox’s stamp in your personal log book. You might also add the name of the letterbox, who created it, and the date that you found it. Some people also like to add a little note about their experience into their personal log book.
Once you’ve finished “stamping up,” be sure to seal any plastic bags and the letterbox container itself carefully and replace it as you would hope to find it: completely hidden from view, with contents protected from the elements.
History of letterboxing