“Quest for the Northwest GeoTriad Caches”

By Laurie (Denmother) Elfrank

(Published: September 2009)

In August 2009, L Frank and I spent two weeks geocaching in the Pacific Northwest, hunting caches in the temperate rain forests of the Olympic Peninsula, experiencing the breathtaking waterfalls of the Columbia River Gorge, and following in Lewis and Clark’s footsteps as they reached the Pacific Ocean. Our adventure also included a quest for the Northwest GeoTriad, which is a group of unique geocaches that can be found only here. Geocachers come to the Pacific Northwest from all over the world to complete this quest. It includes visiting the “Lily Pad” (Groundspeak Headquarters, home of geocaching.com), finding Mission 9 in the Project A.P.E. cache series, and a stop at where it all started -- the Original Stash Tribute Plaque.

The Original Stash Tribute Plaque (GCGV0P) marks the spot where, on May 3, 2000, a five-gallon bucket was placed by Dave Ulmer, the inventor of our favorite obsession that would come to be known as “geocaching.” Ulmer listed the coordinates on the Internet, called it the first “Stash Hunt” stash, and modern-day geocaching was born.

Although that original bucket was severely damaged by an Oregon road crew mower and is no longer around, concerned geocachers recognized the importance of the event which happened here and dedicated this Original Stash Tribute Plaque on behalf of cachers everywhere. This is the No.1 most-found geocache in the world. The plaque is located right alongside a back road near Portland, Oregon, and an ammo box containing a log is hidden in the trees and ferns nearby.

The Project A.P.E. cache east of Seattle, Washington, is a remnant from a Fox Studios movie promotion of their 2001 summer blockbuster, Planet of the Apes. They wanted a publicity stunt, and formulated a “sub-plot” that had absolutely nothing to do with the movie: Renegade humans were trying to reveal an “Alternative Primate Evolution” theory by placing artifacts around the world -- Code Name: Project A.P.E. There were originally 13 caches in this series, hidden all over the world. As of today, only two remain, Mission 9: Tunnel of Light (GC1169) near Seattle, and Mission 4: Southern Bowl (GCC67) in Brazil. Logging a find on a Project A.P.E. cache earns you a unique cache icon in your geocaching.com profile.

At one time, Mission 9 could be accessed by walking or biking through the Snoqualmie Tunnel but, as of January 2009, this 2.25-mile old railroad tunnel has been closed because of the danger of debris falling from the ceiling. You can still walk 20 or so feet into the tunnel and get a feeling of how creepy it would be to walk the length of it in the dark.

We ended our stay in the Pacific Northwest with some urban caching in downtown Seattle and a visit to Groundspeak Headquarters, home of geocaching.com. There is a loggable geocache in the lobby (GCK25B) but, to get access to it, you have to know the coordinates of Groundspeak’s actual location (the coordinates at the top of the cache page are in the middle of a lake). There are two ways to obtain the coordinates for this cache: by special invitation or by appointment. I had recently been in contact with one of the Groundspeak staff (they refer to themselves as the Lackeys), so I just emailed her and asked if we could stop by while we were in town. When we arrived at the appointed time, we had to wait to be let in, where we joined several other small groups of geocachers visiting from all over the country. The staff made us feel welcome, showed us around their offices, and let us check out the trackables in the geocache and sign the log. Groundspeak cofounder, Jeremy Irish, was out of town, but we met several of the Lackeys who we recognized from the Groundspeak online forums. We each received an unactivated Groundspeak Lackey Geocoin, which is a trackable coin featuring caricatures of each of the Lackeys. L Frank and I brought a coffee mug with our St. Louis geocaching group’s logo to add to Groundspeak’s collection, and we were even asked to autograph it for them!

At the end of our adventure, we were glad we had taken two weeks to see all the wonderful sights. We both have relatives who live in the area, and we even had some time to introduce them to our obsession. By visiting in August, we avoided the rainy season and were able to travel around with the top down on the cachemobile almost every day. Even if you aren’t interested in a quest for the GeoTriad, the scenery, the history, and the architecture that can be found in the Pacific Northwest make for a fantastic journey.