Mission 9: Tunnel of light

The Mission 9: Tunnel of Light geocache (GC1169) is located in Washington State, in the United States. To reach it, geocachers have to walk through the Snoqualmie tunnel, a disused underground railway line more than 3.8 kilometres long and plunged into complete darkness. The trip calls for powerful torches, warm clothes and waterproof shoes to face the damp of this fascinating historic passage.

What makes this cache epic is its far-fetched history and its iconic status. Placed in July 2001, it is one of the very few caches of “Project A.P.E.”, a worldwide partnership created to promote the film Planet of the Apes. Stolen and archived in 2011, the original box was miraculously found years later in the woods, prompting the creators of the game to unarchive it and officially reinstall it in 2017 — something extremely rare in geocaching history. It now holds a prestigious status: it is one of the three essential stops for completing the legendary “Trifecta”, a pilgrimage that also requires visiting Geocaching HQ and the plaque of the world's very first cache (Original Stash).