Redmond Rain #17 - Planting Stools Multi-Cache

This cache has been archived.

RedmondRain: I don't think anyone ever really liked this one very much. Too much thorns and mud, with a hide near a busy street. It is ready to retire.

More
Hidden : 5/8/2014
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:


Redmond Rain . . . is soaked up by willows!


Come down by the Salley Gardens and see how willows can change the landscape. Oh, and you won't find the cache at the posted coordinates, but that is a good place to start.

FTF: dugfresh

Down by the salley gardens my love and I did meet;
She passed the salley gardens with little snow-white feet.
She bid me take love easy, as the leaves grow on the tree;
But I, being young and foolish, with her would not agree.
In a field by the river my love and I did stand,
And on my leaning shoulder she laid her snow-white hand.
She bid me take life easy, as the grass grows on the weirs;
But I was young and foolish, and now am full of tears.
- William Butler Yeats

Poor Yeats. Hopefully you'll come down here for a smiley, not tears. Salley gardens are the willow plots by the river that were traditionally planted and harvested to make baskets or roof thatching. One amazing thing about willows is their ability to grow in the very wet soils along the Sammamish River. If enough willows are planted together, they will shade out the predominant reed canary grass featured in (Redmond Rain #9).

You can see this effect as you walk between the waypoints to the final. You will see patches of reed canary grass that are interrupted by thickets of willows planted by the King County Parks Department. They seem to be harvesting the willows, probably to be planted elsewhere. The amazing thing about this plant is that if you cut off shoots from the stump, you can re-plant those shoots in the spring by just pushing them into the ground. They become a great tool in adding roots to hold soil and growing trees to shade out weeds in stream mitigation projects.

The willow thickets you see are interspersed with gnarled old willow stumps. Don't fear! Those stumps will create new shoots over the summer and be ready to harvest again next spring. The gnarled old stumps are called stools (although I wouldn't want to sit there.) Or sometimes "Planting Stools".

Come check out the stool samples in the Salley garden!

WP1

The easiest way to WP1 is to walk down the driveway from West Lake Sammamish Parkway. At the posted coordinates (WP1) you will find a sign that includes the text: "K.C. ORD. ABCD".

"ABCD" are numbers.

WP2

Walking to WP2 will be muddy during the rainy season and quite pleasant in late summer. Terrain rating 2 to 2.5. Here you will find the Salley Gardens. Does the reed canary grass grow taller and thicker amongst the willows or shorter and thinner?
E = 1 for Taller or 2 for Shorter.

WP3

Walking to WP3 is much like WP2. The ground gets a little muddy in the winter but firms up and dries out come summer. Terrain rating 2 to 2.5. The reed canary grass grows differently here, away from the willows. Does the reed canary grass grow taller and thicker here or shorter and thinner?
F = 1 for Taller or 2 for Shorter.

FINAL

The walk from WP2 to WP3 gets more challenging. There is a little terrain, some thorns, some nettles, some mud. Nothing like RR#9. I would classify this as Terrain 2.5 to 3. To locate the FINAL, do a little math.

P = D + F
Q = B - A - F
R = B + E
S = D + F

W = B
X = C - B - E
Y = D - A - E
Z = A - E

Final = N 47 3P.QRS, W 122 0W.XYZ

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Nobir Jnvfg Urvtug

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)


Advertising with Us

Inventory

There are no Trackables in this cache.

View past Trackables

What are Trackable Items?

Bookmark Lists

View all bookmark lists...