B10 Doukhobor Explosion

[+Airlea]

I'm looking to do this cache come august however my question is how to get to it? I'm very new to geocaching. Is this cache easy to access? Is there a section of the highway to pull off and go explore?

 

Any thoughts/help would be wonderful. Lordly Verigin brought my relatives over and I thought it would be neat to see the spot. I just don't know how to get to it!

 

Sincerely,

Airlea

[7rxc]

I'm looking to do this cache come august however my question is how to get to it? I'm very new to geocaching. Is this cache easy to access? Is there a section of the highway to pull off and go explore?

 

Any thoughts/help would be wonderful. Lordly Verigin brought my relatives over and I thought it would be neat to see the spot. I just don't know how to get to it!

 

Sincerely,

Airlea

Welcome aboard! That is an interesting cache...

 

For what it is worth, you would be advised to ask bajabetty by email... her profile (and an indirect email link)

is available at the top left of the cache page. the section on 'cache by' bajabetty.

 

If you look at the 'satellite' view on the page map, the road appears to be in good shape... BUT... the photos are often a bit old, and the road may also be subject to travel restrictions. I haven't been over there.

Asking is a good way to find out... at least it would be a tolerable walk, or bike ride... again subject to

any restrictions... it looks like a park up near the cache, and any forestry concerns have to be considered.

 

It did not look like a place to go solo... lots of things lurking perhaps... I suggest a tin man, lion and scarecrow for company. and be sure to let people know where you are going... I don't know where you are out of, but there is an event in a few weeks over in the Cranbrook area by pattycat. many of us will be over there if you are a camper... I think bajabetty may be coming too.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Juicepig]

TO GET THERE: looks like you approach by taking the rail trail in (starting at roughly N 49° 13.003 W 118° 07.549)

 

Start off with some easy caches, get used to your GPS before venturing far away from the road.

[+Landsharkz]

Here is a map that may help you too. Spirit of 2010 Trail map.

 

You can zoom and also view the legend and elevation profile using links at the top of the map. Our original maps are in kiosks along the trail... all 72 of them .

 

We drove part of the black dotted line (Poulson Detour) spring 2009 and it was very rough with no place to turn around in a truck and camper (we were looking for a place to 'stealth camp'). We may have been able to drive it in our Jeep with much patience, but have not gone back yet.

 

The Spirit of 2010 trail would be much easier to travel on than the road! I second the recommendation to bring along some companions who can scare off beasties if need be and let people know where you're going. The fast moving river is a long way down, so make sure and pack lots of water for an August walk.

[+Airlea]

Thanks everyone You've helped me come to my senses and conclude that it would not be a good idea to travel this by myself as I am excellent food for bears!

 

I was just hoping that it was like a 10 minute walk from the highway or something.

 

Landsharkz: That's a very nice map! I've got that bookmarked! I drive a Honda Accord so I guess any kind of off-roading is a no-go for me!

 

7rxc: If I told my family what I was doing I wouldn't be allowed to go. The only camping I do is with running showers and flushable toilets. I've tried "roughing" it and as much as I love nature, I'd be a surly bear if I didn't have those.

 

I will try easier caches to get the hang of things. I just thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and learn something more about my past!

 

Thanks everyone

 

Sincerely,

Airlea

[7rxc]

7rxc: If I told my family what I was doing I wouldn't be allowed to go. The only camping I do is with running showers and flushable toilets. I've tried "roughing" it and as much as I love nature, I'd be a surly bear if I didn't have those.

 

I will try easier caches to get the hang of things. I just thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and learn something more about my past!

Airlea

Come to your senses???? to be a Geocacher you really don't want to

 

I think that you have only one or two things (aside from practice) to deal with in order to get your cache...

One is to find a friend with a suitable vehicle in order to get to the trailhead (or use another trailhead).

Two is to work on stretching the 10 minute walk a bit... bear (pardon) in mind that RAIL trails are built on old roadbeds, and most trains like it relatively flat... rail trail users like it fairly smooth as well, but vehicles other than bikes are often not allowed or restricted some how... the cache soundsl like it is very proximal to the rail trail. I once threatened Lynne (my friend) with a pair of inline skates or a wagon so I could tow her as I walked... (she likes walking BTW, just has knee problems). Of course the surface of the trail has to be smooth and hard for ILSkates. A bike is a good option for rail trails too!

 

You didn't say what area you are from yet... Coast, Central Interior, East/West Kootenay etc.. is close enough... I mentioned our event before GC27N1M coming up for the East Kootenay area near Cranbrook, but you mentioned not likeing roughing it... there are some motels not too far away though and or a more civilized Campground at Ft. Steele as well (read probably expensive). Lots of easier caches in the area and harder as well.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Airlea]

 

You didn't say what area you are from yet... Coast, Central Interior, East/West Kootenay etc.. is close enough... I mentioned our event before GC27N1M coming up for the East Kootenay area near Cranbrook, but you mentioned not likeing roughing it... there are some motels not too far away though and or a more civilized Campground at Ft. Steele as well (read probably expensive). Lots of easier caches in the area and harder as well.

 

Doug 7rxc

 

I'm from Vancouver, BC. I won't be in the Kootney area until August 14th. I've located some coordinates on some caches near my relatives place there so I'm going to try those while I'm up there. I'm also going to see if I can get a couple of done this weekend! Although with this heat wave I don't think I'll be exploring too much. Have they made water/boating caches yet??

[7rxc]

 

I'm from Vancouver, BC. I won't be in the Kootney area until August 14th. I've located some coordinates on some caches near my relatives place there so I'm going to try those while I'm up there. I'm also going to see if I can get a couple of done this weekend! Although with this heat wave I don't think I'll be exploring too much. Have they made water/boating caches yet??

 

There are caches for just about any method you want to use... I don't know of any specifically in our area, but there are lots of boat accessible caches... along rivers for canoes, on islands etc. Of course there are caches on mountain tops, in or near caves, places you can reach by small plane, there are some at ski areas for year round use, I'm thinking about some for our XC ski trails, and of course snow shoeing.

Just about anything the mind can conceive... including one on the International Space Station... and one on a deep sea thermal vent on the bottom of the mid Atlantic Ocean. I'd love to have the means to do those two... My big pastime seems to be helping out lost and damaged caches and TB/GCs... takes up a lot of my free time... which is scant anyway... I have to go back after my first DNF in a while... I got to the spot after the puzzle OK... but I'm leary of the actual hide... I know where I think it is... sad thing is I got there a bit late and only had a few minutes before the last bus home... I'll be bach!... or is that Bethoven..

 

Doug 7rxc

[+t4e]

amazing Engrish writing skills in that cache description

[+Airlea]

amazing Engrish writing skills in that cache description

 

Hmm? What do you mean?

[7rxc]

amazing Engrish writing skills in that cache description

 

Hmm? What do you mean?

 

Think he's referring to the spelling / typos and some grammar... but who's counting... On the other hand, cache descriptions owe users a bit of time on the spell checker etc. It's one thing to rush a placement/ listing in order to claim the spot. That is a bit understandable. However... to leave it is a 'tragity' or at least a small shame when the story told is so good... Really bad when the story is part of a puzzle (not this case) where the solution rests on it, UNLESS the typos are the puzzle.

 

Anyway, it's not that important in the scheme of things... I think the CO will be at the event this weekend...

I'll offer some advice... if I cross their path...

 

Doug 7rxc.

[+t4e]

amazing Engrish writing skills in that cache description

 

Hmm? What do you mean?

 

lets see....

 

"The exlosion was actually"

 

"Most people belive the tragity was for the assasination "

 

"gain a majority in Parliment"

 

"speculation and unaswered questions"

 

"investigors, which was a huge amount, concidering that "

 

 

some of them repeated numerous times, and not to mention the community's name "members of the Doukabor comunity "....everyone should pay special attention to spelling names

 

like 7rxc said, a real shame since that is a great story, but i don't care if its a puzzle or a regular cache, still looks bad

Edited July 19, 2010 by t4e

[+Airlea]

amazing Engrish writing skills in that cache description

 

Hmm? What do you mean?

 

lets see....

 

"The exlosion was actually"

 

"Most people belive the tragity was for the assasination "

 

"gain a majority in Parliment"

 

"speculation and unaswered questions"

 

"investigors, which was a huge amount, concidering that "

 

 

some of them repeated numerous times, and not to mention the community's name "members of the Doukabor comunity "....everyone should pay special attention to spelling names

 

like 7rxc said, a real shame since that is a great story, but i don't care if its a puzzle or a regular cache, still looks bad

 

Apparently I read really fast and only picked up on a couple of those. lol I see how that comes across though. I know the story as per my family history so I guess I didn’t catch those.

 

Verigin brought my mom’s side of the family over and the superintendant of the railway at the time was my great great grandfather on dad’s side. It’s kind of creepy when you think about it.

[+t4e]

 

Apparently I read really fast and only picked up on a couple of those. lol I see how that comes across though. I know the story as per my family history so I guess I didn’t catch those.

 

Verigin brought my mom’s side of the family over and the superintendant of the railway at the time was my great great grandfather on dad’s side. It’s kind of creepy when you think about it.

 

it is indeed a great story, one that i had no idea of, partly maybe because i am in ON and partly because nobody can know everything and so for the latter reason is why i really appreciate when a CO makes such listing

 

while i can easily understand and get past the errors, a child may not...geocaching is a great family oriented activity and an extremely great opportunity for them to learn some history lessons from caches like this, same as there is a lot to learn from the earth caches, it is also an international game too so misspelled words can pose a real problem for a someone that English is not their first language

 

anyway looks like 7rxc will make some suggestions to the CO

Edited July 19, 2010 by t4e

[7rxc]

 

anyway looks like 7rxc will make some suggestions to the CO

 

I took a moment already to run the text through a spellcheck to see what it thought... then fixed some things that it missed in context etc. such as incorrect words and so forth. I will OFFER that text to the CO IF we get together this weekend and by email if not.

 

There are a number of good web sites re: that Explosion and the history of the people involved.

 

Doug 7rxc

[aniyn]

Although with this heat wave I don't think I'll be exploring too much. Have they made water/boating caches yet??

 

<coughs loudly>

[aniyn]

Well, double post, so let's make the best of it:

 

We drove part of the black dotted line (Poulson Detour) spring 2009 and it was very rough with no place to turn around in a truck and camper (we were looking for a place to 'stealth camp'). We may have been able to drive it in our Jeep with much patience, but have not gone back yet.

 

The Spirit of 2010 trail would be much easier to travel on than the road! I second the recommendation to bring along some companions who can scare off beasties if need be and let people know where you're going. The fast moving river is a long way down, so make sure and pack lots of water for an August walk.

 

Not any more. The detour road (well, at least the east side of it) has had a bunch of work done on it this summer, so it's nice and smooth now. I'm not sure about the west side, but taking the road in from the east is wayyyyy shorter than going all the way in from the west anyhow.

Edited July 29, 2010 by aniyn

[+Airlea]

Well, double post, so let's make the best of it:

 

Not any more. The detour road (well, at least the east side of it) has had a bunch of work done on it this summer, so it's nice and smooth now. I'm not sure about the west side, but taking the road in from the east is wayyyyy shorter than going all the way in from the west anyhow.

 

So you can drive the dotted lined road? What if one were to park along the bare area (looking at it via satellite view) and walk over to the explosion site? I'm sorry for all the questions; I'm beginning to think it's not safe letting this blonde explore anything other than Costco!

[7rxc]

I'm sorry for all the questions; I'm beginning to think it's not safe letting this blonde explore anything other than Costco!

 

It's safe to let you explore Costco??? Maybe... but not Wal Mart or Zellars I bet.

 

On another note... I talked to the cache owner, mentioned the spellchecked and otherwise processed

text I ran... I'm going to send it over to her... I think she's of to the Copper Rush this weekend.. So it may be a bit... and she should and likely will examine some things I haven't re the history... there is sure lots of it to look at.

 

Doug 7rxc

[7rxc]

Sent the checked and considered once text to CO. Now time will tell.

Then Airlea can maybe help with the context / history a bit... but it seemed okay to me

on first inspection.

 

Doug 7rxc

[aniyn]

[+Airlea]

 

*laugh* that's awesome!! thanks Pictures are always a welcomed sight in my books.

 

I also discovered last night that the front wheel on my mountain bike (I've only had it about 5 years) comes off so that should make it easier to bring with me!

Edited August 5, 2010 by Airlea

[7rxc]

I can take the bike right apart IF I have to... front wheel is Quick Release, same for the rear, seat post and saddle come out and the handlbars can either turn or come off with one screw... pedals are a bit more work, but should not be hard... Down side is that it has to go back together to ride it... but that isn't a real problem either... Glad to hear you're going to try to get there... keep us up to date.

 

Doug 7rxc

[+Airlea]

Well I thought I'd give you guys a laugh; I made it all the way out there but light was fading, bugs were biting (highly allergic to them), and something actually stung my finger to the point where it's still numb (this was yesterday) and didn't end up finding the cache. Not wanting to get stuck on the trail in the dark, I headed out only to be stopped not a few minutes down the path by a moose. He was trying to eat his dinner when he heard me and came up out of the creek to glare at me. We stared at each other for a minute before he made the first move and jumped into the bushes.

 

Yes I'm using a car GPS system which has not failed me yet but apparently this is the time for it. The unit seems to be ok if hints are available and if I've got the time however, I'm more determined to get a handheld now as I haven't been able to locate half the caches I wanted to up here in the Kootneys. I think I had 69 listed to nab? I've gotten about 8 done.

 

So determination has the best of me and I'm going back sunday morning to try again. I have a better sense of where it is. Some of you are probably wondering why bother but this area has a special meaning to me! As I mentioned before, Verigin brought my mom's side of the family over back in the day. Years ago I found a newspaper clipping (in the Doukabour heritage village that my uncle designed) that was the actual article from the Nelson times about the explosion... the person quoted was the Regional Sup. for the CP Rail who happened to be my great grandfather on my fathers side. He also escorted the bodies back. Kinda of creepy huh? Both parents interconnected not so long ago.

 

Anyway I'm under strict orders to check in at all times (aunt is still pissed at me for arriving late last night--I tried telling her there isn't any reception up there but that just went over her head) and hopefully I won't run into any more creatures in the woods!

 

I need a vacation from my vacation.

[aniyn]

Well this is a bit of a disappointment. All of that fuss and we don't get to hear about your adventure!

[+Airlea]

Well this is a bit of a disappointment. All of that fuss and we don't get to hear about your adventure!

 

*laugh* I just got back home today! I've barely had time to do anything other than log the finds

 

I did it! I got the cache! hehe. It was a hot day and I got in under the right time before the peak of the heat. The trail was beautiful and my bike held up to the ride. I was disappointed to see 2 atv's on the trail on the way up. They were respectful but I still felt like yelling out to them it's an unmotorized trail. Sadly enough someone has removed the "no" from all the "No motorized vehicles" on all the signs around there. While I was searching for the box, 3 cyclists came by. When I heard them, I came out of the bushes. The father couldn't look me in the eye. LOL The wife and daughter smiled.

 

Anyway, spent about 45 minutes up there (no not looking around the whole time; I was enjoying the peace and quiet!) and then I headed back down. I was flying down the path when I heard something coming up the path and sure enough around the corner comes a truck. He would have smacked right into me if I hadn't pulled over to the side. I wish there was a way to deter/ patrol the area so no motorized vehicles do that

 

Alas, back home in civilization and a nice bath is calling my name!!

[aniyn]

I was flying down the path when I heard something coming up the path and sure enough around the corner comes a truck. He would have smacked right into me if I hadn't pulled over to the side. I wish there was a way to deter/ patrol the area so no motorized vehicles do that

 

I'm a member of the trails society in town here, and it's a big problem. Unfortunately there isn't much you can do to protect a trail that can't be driven around or dragged out of the way. They'll cut the locks if you gate it, and the bollards protecting the section of trail west of Grand Forks were ripped right out the ground.

 

As for the ATV's, that's a bit of a gray area. After all the signs were put up the laws were changed and ATV's were granted conditional rights to use some of the trails. They're supposed to get licences from the ATV club in town, respect certain speed limits, ect. Honestly, they didn't bother me even when I thought they were prohibited. They're always respectful on the trail - they'll pull over and stop their engines to let me pass on my bike, so I'm not sucking exhaust or eating dust. They go slow so they don't tear up the trails, and they do a lot of (if not most of) the trail maintenance. A person can't ask for anything more than that.

 

Other exciting news, the section of trail just south of where you parked is getting a freakin' suspension bridge put in to go over a washed-out section! I'm stoked!

[+Keith Watson]

I'm glad you found it after all that effort. Spent that last two weeks fo July crossing BC with the family, and can understand just sitting aroudn for a while ejoying the peace.

[7rxc]

Glad to hear you succeeded at last... these are the real events that make caching worthwhile... not so much the parking lot caches with little effort. In addition you made some friends here and elsewhere as well.

I see the text is still the same, also know someone is involved hosting an event soon... that may be the reason... she said she was going to consider the update...

 

Doug 7rxc