The Nine Mile Portage Heritage Trail Multi-Cache
Arghh2006: This cache is being archive. I will rework it because I think the area is worth visiting and the history is important. Too many muggles. Other areas are better suited for a cache. This was my first cache and I am very happy with the results. Cheers everyone.
The Nine Mile Portage Heritage Trail
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A new trail…
The Nine Mile Portage Heritage Trail is a multi-use recreational trail running between Memorial Square in Barrie and Fort Willow Heritage Site and Conservation Area in Springwater Township.
...drawn from our past…
The Nine Mile Portage was first used by the early aboriginal inhabitants of the area, as a communications and trade route. It eventually formed part of the larger Nottawasaga Route between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay, and is presented in the context of that larger route.
The Nottawasaga Route ran up the Humber River to the Carrying Place; Holland River to Lake Simcoe; followed the Nine Mile Portage from Kempenfelt Bay (now Barrie) to Willow Landing (3/4 of a mile north of Fort Willow); Willow Creek and Nottawasaga River to Georgian Bay (where Wasaga Beach is now situated).
The Portage was almost certainly used in turn by French explorers and missionaries and by the fur traders. It was probably one of the routes that the Iroquois raiding parties took as they travelled north en-route to decimate the Huron (Ouendat) nation.
…influencing decisions…
In the late 1700s, John Graves Simcoe, the first British Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, ordered the building of Yonge Street from York (now Toronto) to Holland Landing on Lake Simcoe, thus bypassing the Humber and Holland Rivers. The Nine Mile Portage thus became part of a more practicable Nottawasaga route.
…protecting Upper Canada’s future…
At the outbreak of the War of 1812 with the United States, it was via the Nine Mile Portage that the news traveled by express canoe from Fort George to Fort St. Joseph, near Sault Ste Marie, enabling the crucial British capture of Fort Michilimackinac.
In the spring of 1814, Lt. Colonel McDouall’s vital and heroic relief expedition of over 200 men passed this way. They left Kingston in early February, marched to Fort Willow, built 29 bateaux in the area, and proceeded to Michilimackinac, arriving in mid-May with vital supplies for the beleaguered garrison.
Following the Treaty of Ghent in December of 1814, the British garrisons and fleet were built up to protect against any future U.S. threat. Personnel and tons of supplies and equipment passed westward over the portage to establish posts at Drummond Island and Penetanguishene, and to equip new naval vessels being built.
…and expanding our nation.
British Navy Hydrographic teams, Sir John Franklin the Arctic Explorer, David Thompson the Boundary Commissioner, and pioneer settlers heading west, all passed this way. It is in these historic footprints that you can now follow. Today we take Highway 400 and cellular phones for granted. In the past, the Nine Mile Portage was the equivalent of Highway 400 and the microwave communications links.
(Text above, credited to the City of Barrie Website)
About the cache:
This is a 2 stages multi-cache that will take you in a nice boreal forest in the outskirt of the city of Barrie. For the best experience, park your car at N44 23.242 W079 43.628. Follow trail to the first stage (coordinates above) and then to the final stage(you will find the coordinates in the first stage cache). Both stages are within 20 meters from the trail. After the final stage, if you continue north east on the path, you will cross the "9 miles Portage Heritage trail described above. Fell free to explore, this little forest very nice, bring your dog and a garbage bag is always a good idea. You can exit the park at N44 23.439 W079.43.628 and take the sidewalk back to your car.
UPDATE FEB 03 2007
First stage was modified to make it more winter friendly.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur ebpx znexf gur fcbg