This cache is part of a series called the “Prairie Storms Adventure Trail” developed by Living Skies 2014 MEGA Event volunteers. Enjoy the hidden secrets of Southern Saskatchewan by getting off the beaten trail to sites seldom visited, scenic views, historic sites and buildings. The name also pays tribute to the Alberta's “Prairie Winds Adventure Trail” which was created for the Best of the Bad (WestCan 1) MEGA event in 2011.
This series will also take you along the Red Coat Trail, which is a 1,300 km route through southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West. In Saskatchewan, Highway 13 is designated as Red Coat Trail.
In 1874 the NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE marched West to bring law and order to the Canadian West. From Fort Dufferin (now Emerson, Manitoba) they followed the Boundary Trail to La Roche Percée, Sask. There the force split up, with part of it going on to Fort Edmonton and the main force continuing to Fort Whoop-Up. Finding the fort abandoned, they continued westward to an island on the Oldman River where they established Fort MacLeod. This south route is known as the Redcoat Trail.
Fort Walsh was established by the NWMP in 1875 to maintain peace in the Cypress Hills region and to express Canada’s sovereignty over its newly acquired North West Territory. Following the Battle of The Little Bighorn in Montana Territory, in 1876, Sitting Bull and approximately 5,000 Lakota sought refuge in Canada’s Wood Mountain region. As a result, Fort Walsh was made headquarters of the NWMP, and a former Boundary Commission depot at Wood Mountain became an important outpost of Fort Walsh. Superintendent James Morrow Walsh and the NWMP at Fort Walsh and Wood Mountain were charged with maintaining peaceful relations with the Lakota people.
In the 1950's and '60's the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society (SHFS), placed historic markers on the Trail between Fort Walsh and Wood Mountain. These are the markers you will see.
To receive a Special Edition Living Skies Geocoin, you must have logged, as "found" at least
45 of the “Prairie Storms Adventure Trail” caches. Please send an e-mail to
prairiestorms@livingskies2014.ca and we will check your profile and contact you for mailing arrangements. There are approximately
30 geocoins available.