|
 Dogs Allowed
 May be difficult to access depending upon weather/season  Less than 500 ft. from car to cache (if you are able to drive in!)
 Camera in Cache  Private Property - Geocachers have our permission to access
 Winter access may be difficult
 Wear bug repellant! |
|
|
|
What does the name "Land Rover FC 101" mean?
This geocache is named in honor of one of our favorite geocaching vehicles, a 1976 Land Rover Forward Control 101, otherwise known as 'Matilda'. The 101 is a decommissioned British military vehicle and quite capable of handling some of the old logging roads found in the vicinity of the cache! Our main residence is in Pennsylvania, USA, and often the trek to our property in Nova Scotia is made with the 101. If you see us driving around the Whycocomagh area in the 101, be sure to flag us down to say hello. :)
Location
The Land Rover FC 101 Cache is in the vicinity of Lake Ainslie, Inverness County, just up the road from the town of Whycocomagh. You may very likely be traveling on one of Cape Breton's main roads, Highway 105 to approach the area; exit at Highway 395 (the intersection features an Irving gas station and restaurant). While driving north on Highway 395, look for the Whycocomagh Area Arena on your right. West Side Lake Ainslie Glenn Road #548 will be a left hand turn approximately 1.2 km or .8 mile further. At the present time, this road appears to be unmarked at its intersection with Highway 395. The GPS coordinates for this intersection are N 46°01'09.7 W 61°08'35.2. The road is composed of dirt and gravel, with a stop sign at its intersection with Highway 395. Turning onto West Side Lake Ainslie Glenn Road, you will pass over a culvert, and soon run into a driveway and some houses/outbuildings. Turn right immediately before hitting the houses. There will be a few other roads intersecting West Side Lake Ainslie Glenn Road en route to the cache. Stay on the main road.West Side Lake Ainslie Glenn Road is a "seasonal" dirt and gravel road, and is best handled with a capable 4 wheel drive vehicle. Much of its length will NOT be plowed of snow in the winter, and ongoing maintenance of its surface is minimal. Expect the possibility of washouts and nasty potholes. Travel at your own risk! Much of the road is probably passable by most passenger vehicles with the usual washboard surfaces and gravels to drive over. However, and this is a big however, there are some very deep ruts and eroded low spots which could potentially be damaging to a vehicle without high ground clearance and 4WD capabilities under certain conditions. This road can be especially ugly to traverse after a few good rains, and springs bubble up and cross the road at a few points. My husband and I naively attempted driving this road last year with our VW Jetta and turned around after almost losing several parts of said car along the way. So far we have spotted a Jeep Cherokee, a Toyota Tundra pickup, and other 4WD vehicles with decent clearance making the trip, but passenger cars have not made it very far. (Of course our LR hasn't had any issues here either). This road can also be hiked on foot, of course, though this would likely add about an 1 hour to the journey in each direction if you parked closer to the highway. At the present time there is very little settlement along this road except for a few houses close to Highway 395 encountered very early on, and this would likely be a pleasant hike with a chance of possibly seeing some wildlife along the way. If one chooses to park along the road closer to Highway 395, do so at your own risk. Most importantly, be sure to keep your eyes open for the large logging trucks that frequent this road. It is possible that you may have to pull off into the woods to make way for a truck bearing down the road.
The cache is placed somewhere on the ~54 acres which makes up our property, fronted by the aforementioned West Side Lake Ainslie Glenn Road. Our property begins near an intersection with an active logging road and gravel quarry visible to the north, and continues to the west. The cache itself isn't placed very far from the actual road, though the journey on foot or via vehicle to our property would, I hope, disqualify this from being viewed as a usual 'cache and grab' ;>.
The original contents of the FC 101 Cache placed in Sept. 2004 are as follows, in a U.S. military green ammo box:
- Items from our neck of the woods: (2) each Pennsylvania, USA road maps and pamphlets for the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (Pennsylvania/New Jersey)
- Hardcover book: Finding Your Way in the Outdoors by Robert Mooers
- Paperback book: The National Outdoor Leadership School's Wilderness Guide by Peter Simer and John Sullivan
- Paperback book: a well-read copy of the classic Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey
- emergency hooded poncho
- whistle/thermometer/magnifier/compass combo on a keychain
- neoprene glasses (and small GPS?) case w/belt clip
- plastic match box
- nylon knife pouch w/belt loop
- U.S. Forest Service Smokey Bear sticker
- carabiner compass
- whistle
Additionally, there is a small green Rite-in-the-Rain notebook and a few pencils to log your visit. We have also placed a disposable 35mm camera in the cache. Be sure to snap a photo! We'll be visiting occasionally and will replenish this with a new camera as is needed. Feel free to snap a pic with this camera, or post your own camera's photos to the cache log - we would love to see who is visiting and view pics from your journey! Everything was placed within 2 or 4 mil plastic bags within the cache, so hopefully nothing will get wet and soggy.
In keeping with the theme of this cache, we encourage visitors to trade items directly related to adventure and the outdoors, or alternately, items related to Land Rovers, our geocaching vehicle of choice. :)
Please refrain, of course, from placing any food items in the cache. This particular area is still fairly remote, and is frequented by the occasional moose, bears and coyotes. We'd prefer to keep the critters at bay if at all possible, as we often camp on the property. A few other notes: watch your footing while searching for the cache, as there are plenty of sharp sticks, rocks and other things that might trip you up. The geocache, in its present location, cannot be seen until you literally step upon it. Please re-hide the cache so it cannot be seen. Thanks, and enjoy the journey... Archaeologist-PA