Green Bridge Traditional Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
This is a cache celebrating the annual return of salmon to the Cle Elum River.
Over 100 years ago, over 100,000 salmon annually made their way back to the upper Yakima Watershed to spawn in the waters of the Yakima, Teanaway, and Cle Elum Rivers. By the early 1990’s these large salmon runs had been reduced to barely 1,000 fish. Today, with the hard work of the Yakama Nation, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Reclamation, Kittitas County Conservation District, Forest Service, private landowners and local water purveyors, salmon populations have grown to over 10,000 fish annually. Still just a fraction of what they use to be, but with more work to restore passage over the dams in the upper Yakima, it is hoped the populations will continue to grow.
The location of this cache has long been a local favorite to watch salmon spawning in the fall. Local schools have field trips here every year to bring students to see the salmon and to talk with fish biologists from the Bureau of Reclamation and Forest Service. The kids rear salmon eggs in aquariums at their schools during the winter and release the young fish into the Yakima River in the spring, so this is a great opportunity for them to see the salmon’s life cycle completed.
The area is managed by the Forest Service and they, in partnership with the Bureau of Reclamation and Suncadia Resort have been working on creating a more accessible trail to the best viewing sites along the river, along with seating for visitors.
This is a mico cache using a magnetic key holder located at the end of an in descript Forest Service road, meaning it does not have a road number, but I think it can be easily located. You can drive right up to the cache, however the last few hundred feet could be a challenge to a family sedan as the road descends to the river. If you don’t have an SUV or truck, it might be smarter to park where the road starts down hill and just walk, hundreds of school kids walk it every year.
Remember to bring your own writing instrument as the cache only contains a log. Please replace the cache back exactly as you found it to prevent any bridge trolls from discovering the cache during low water flows.
Finally, if you visit in the fall with your dogs when the salmon are spawning, please restrain them from harassing the fish. The salmon have had a long hard journey to get here and need to be left undisturbed to complete their cycle of life. Enjoy!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pnpur vf haqrearngu ohg pna bayl or npprffrq sebz nobir, nibvqvat gur oevqtr gebyyf. Gur punvayvax srapr zvtug or unaql sbe fhccbeg juvyr frnepuvat.