Warning!
The New Zealand Mudsnail is rapidly invading King County streams. Walking in streams will spread this scourge. If you do get your boots wet, follow decontamination procedures before stepping in a different stream. These invaders are in Kelsey Creek in Bellevue, Thornton Creek in Seattle, May Creek in Renton, but have not made it to Redmond, yet. (Don't be the one who brings them to Redmond.)
Redmond Rain
City leaders created the Watershed Preserve in 1926 to keep Seidel Creek in its pristine condition. The intention was to make this Redmond's new drinking water supply. Additional land was purchased in the early 1940s. This cache is all about water. A gallon should be more than enough. Unfortunately, the protection provided by this preserved area wasn't enough for this water supply to meet state water quality standards. This led Redmond to use its groundwater as its primary water supply, which remains in use today.
We are very lucky to still have this natural forest.
An airport was proposed for this area not too long ago, which would have transformed this place.
The transformation wouldn't have been the first.
Even with the size of these trees, you should know this area was logged off in the early 1900s.
Recovery comes slow, there is talk of removing the dam, which would restore the "natural" stream.
Final:The final coordinates can be found by figuring out the five letter key word, using this description.
To convert that key word to coordinates you need to convert the first 3 letters to digits using this cipher: a=1, b=2, c=3, ... i=9, j=0, k=1, ... z= 6 and add those, in decimal minutes, to the latitude of the posted coordinates. Similarly, do the same for the last 3 letters to the longitude. (Thanks to PhilNi for the cipher idea.)
No bushwhacking is required, follow the main trail until you find an entry to the forest. Then, just step around the plants. The hike is about 1/2 mile from the north shoulder parking area. The park is closed at night. Sorry, no dogs here.
Hide: The hide is a bit of a field puzzle. You will find a vertical item inside a hollow stump. To retrieve the cache from the vertical item, you will need to bring a container carrying the Key Word. Please be gentle with the cache. Brute force has already required replacement once, and has damaged the stump. Trying to recover the log with tools other than the "Key Word" will likely also destroy the cache. NO FOREIGN OBJECTS, PLEASE! The latest implementation requires less patience. Now you need to be quick!
The container holds a log and a pencil piece.
Please restore the lid and also the natural camo to hide the container when you are finished.