Washington State's Top 10 Cache Challenge Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Rock Rabbit: The cache owner is not responding to issues with this listing, so I must regretfully archive it.

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Hidden : 8/7/2011
Difficulty:
4 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Washington State's
Top 10 Cache Challenge


Top 10

On a recent trip to Ireland, I came across Ireland Top 10 Challenge. This challenge cache inspired me to drive all over Ireland finding some of the best caches the country has to offer. While the new "favorite" system is subjective, it certainly helped me experience some really great caches that I likely would not have otherwise known about.

It was such a fantastic time doing the Ireland Top 10 Challenge, it seemed like bringing this fun back to Washington State would be a great idea. The current Top 10 in Washington will take you out to the Cascade Mountains, Southwest Washington, Bainbridge Island and downtown Seattle. Enjoy!!

 The Challenge

To complete the challenge and log the final you need to find and log the top 10 caches in Washington State. The top 10 caches are determined by their "favorite" ratings, which is in turn determined by all of us geocachers.

The Details
  • The first step is to determine what are the current top 10 caches in Washington State.
If you are a premium member, this query should produce a list of Washington State caches sorted by its "favorite" rating.

This query should be the same as doing this:

1. From the Geocaching website select "Hide & Seek a cache"
2. Search by State/Province "Washington" then select "GO"
3. Now click on the Blue Ribbon to sort by favorite.

OR

If you are not a premium member, you can use the last list that has been posted as a note here. Of course you could always just ask a friendly geocacher, that has a premium account, to run the query and send you the results.
  • Post a note to this cache page with the top 10 caches from the above search, this will become the 10 caches that you will need to find.
  • Go find and log all top 10 caches
  • After you have found the 10 caches listed in your note, you are good to go find the final for this challenge cache.
Q & A

Q. Do previous finds count or do I have to take that into account when figuring out my top 10 list?
A. Previous finds are just fine. If you run the search and you have already found all or most of the caches, then good for you, just less caches you need to find before going after the final

Q. What if I own one (or more) of the top 10 caches, do those count?
A. Yes, those count. The other two Top 10 challenges disagree on this one, but I am going with, if you are a CO then they will count.

Q. What if one of the top 10 from my note that I have already found becomes archived or disabled?
A. No problem. You already found it, you are still good to go.

Q. What if one of the top 10 from my note that I have not found becomes archived or disabled?
A. You need to pick a replacement. Just rerun the search and take one from the new top 10 and amend your note to include the replacement.

Q. The top 10 will continue to change, what if it changes to something that I like better than what I originally posted.
A. You can post a new note at anytime with a new list of 10 and make that the 10 caches you need to find.

Q. There are questions you didn't answer here, and I still have questions. What is the answer to my question?
A. In the credits below, you will see links to two other top 10 challenge caches. Refer to those pages and if they answer your question, I will defer to the information there. There is also a forum that has discussion about the Ireland top 10.

Specific Cache Information

The Stop and Go,Go,Go Cache This is a moving cache and much of the time it is not even in Washington. This cache is not consistent with the spirit of this challenge. If this is in the top 10, you do NOT have to find it, use the next cache in the list instead.

Bloody Fingers, Dirty Diapers... If this cache is enabled and it is in the top 10 then you MUST find it to qualify. It is a favorite cache in the state of Washington and unless disabled, it is a valid cache, even if the snow / gates makes it impossible during parts of the year.

Finally, there is a thread that we have created to discuss this cache. Check out this thread to discuss.
Top 10


About the hide

The cache is actually at the posted coordinates. However, you need to complete the challenge before going after the find.

We wanted to make sure that the final represented some of the best of Washington. Ferries and the San Juan Islands are things we often bring up when people ask us about what to do when visiting the state. Also, it seemed like a nice tribute to have the final on an island, just as the Ireland cache is. If you head a bit further up the trail, you get even better views!

To get to Orcas Island you will need to take the Washington state ferry. There can be delays and there is a fee for the ferry. You can get fee and schedule info here.

Credits

I was motivated to create this challenge after completing Ireland Top 10 Challenge which itself was inspired by the original (as far as I know) Top 10 challenge cache, Missouri Top 10 Challenge.
Congratulations to TheMcMorrows, Terrible Ts & Corvettekent on their FTF!!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Haqre gur raq bs gur ornhgvshy zbffl ybt.

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)


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