Since the turn of the last century the Laurier Bridge troll has
been guarding this crossing. Since then he has seen the railways to
Union Station come and go, watched the first Parliament Buildings
burn and briefly listen to the rumble of streetcars overhead. This
quick cache explores one of Ottawa's oldest surviving bridges.
Start at the commemorative plaque next to the bridge and note when
the bridge was built and when reconstruction finished. Now under
the bridge, head towards the Peace Tower . Look up and confirm the
year the bridge was built. Now add that to N45 23.454 and the year
of completion of reconstruction to W75 39.369. Head up to that spot
now!
On the way enjoy the view of the East Block Tower and the Peace
Tower. You can see the location of (the missing?) “Urban
Micro #3“ by the park. Near the coordinates you will see a
city sign, with some numbers prefixed by RB. Add that to N45
25.281. On the sign are also four digits (ignore the "/"). Add them
to W75 40.654. Go there now, it is not far. Descend and near the
bottom you will see 6 arches. The nearest four are the originals
and about 1 meter up, there is a big pin thorough each arch, the
pin is secured by a cotter pin. Go to the cotter pin that is bent
open the most and above and behind it you will find the troll's
cache in a magnetic key case, painted a similar colour.
When placed, it contained the log book and pencil, a Pink Ribbon
Breast Cancer Quarter and a Phillips screwdriver bit. There is not
room for much else. . Hope you enjoyed the walk and view!
