Transportation: Eau Claire River Series Traditional Geocache
One Paddle Short: Hiked out to the cache with the old-school snowshoes and the wind whipping across the frozen Eau Claire. Cache was snug and safe but have made the decision to archive this one.
Transportation: Eau Claire River Series
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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The job of running logs on the river earned these nine men (and
others like them) the title "River Pigs". It was hard , dangerous
work. Transportation of any kind was difficult in the early
years.
150 years ago much of life centered around the Eau Claire river in
this area. The river provided transportation for people and
supplies, and also brought the logs to numerous mills that sprang
up along its banks. Today little remains of those days and the
river seems to meander through the Town of Weston almost unnoticed.
This series of caches is our attempt to bring some attention back
to the river and the history along its banks.
This cache will test your transportation. This was the early route
from the Wisconsin River through the Eau Claire to the Kelly area.
The only way to access this cache during the summer will be by
canoe or kayak- even a small boat will have difficulty getting you
here. Even then, this cache will only be accessible with sufficient
water. The day we placed this we saw: bald eagle, muskrat, numerous
types of ducks, turkey, painted turtles, red-winged blackbirds,
sandhill cranes, and more. If later in the summer this area of the
Eau Claire can turn into an unpleasant algae bloom- last year we
paddled through a resulting fish kill. If your timing isn’t right
it you may gain an appreciation of how difficult it may have been
to get from here to there compared to the ease at which we get
around today. You should never be on shore (I don't think the
shoreline is public) though you might have to leave your boat. You
have two choices to access the river. There is a boat landing
(daily fee)located at:
N44 55.003 W089 36.500
Alternatively you could do this as a short river trip by putting in
at Yellow Banks (and there's a cache there!)
N44 44.694 W089 34.427
and paddling down river to the boat landing mentioned before. The
river is quite beautiful in the spring though, in the summer, with
the water low the river trip may be difficult (edit- accessing this
cache during late summer could be miserable and the terrian could
be a 6-7) and you may encounter algae bloom and insects making the
trip less enjoyable.
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Information from 1959
Taken from the “Weston Centennial 1859-1959”
Transportation presented a real problem to adventurers and the
settlers of the town of Weston.
The first known routes were by water, of which the Wisconsin river
formed the main highway for those who ventured up into Wisconsin
from the fist settlements in the southeastern and southwester
portions of the state.
The Wisconsin river had its barriers of rapids and falls, and
Stevens Point became a point of cache for provisions to enable
those first brave men to make the trip north. George Stevens was
the first to found that provision depot, and thus gave his name to
the community of Stevens Point.
The falls at Mosinee was the first real barrier, making a portage
necessary in either direction. The next falls was at Wausau, but
the route to the town of Weston swung into the Eau Claire river and
was soon blocked by the dam at Schofield.
Indian trails were of little use to transport the needs of the
white men because there was a far greater volume needed than the
Indians carried, and it was impossible to use any transportation
except perhaps a single horse, or the slower oxen; both of which
were scarce in early days.
Early Indian trails were used in many instances by early settlers
to form their first roads in part, especially because the Indians
had studied waterways extensively and knew the best places to ford
the many streams.
One of the almost forgotten Indian trails in the town of Weston
met the Eau Claire river at a point between the two present
railroad bridges, and it was at this point that the very early
DuBay dam and mill were built.
Research of the history of the Eau Claire river, Town of Weston
and Marathon county do not give a definite date for the John B.
DuBay dam and mill; only that it was built there about 1842 and was
abandoned after a short period of operation. It must be remembered
that each spring floods came roaring down the Eau Claire river and
raised havoc with dams and mills alike.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Lbhat naq byq.