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Cache is located in a park in Barrie where the 1985 Tornado went through.
During Friday afternoon on May 31, 1985, at least seven distinct tornadoes were spawned from a strong cold front which moved through southern Ontario (See Figure 2). There were a total of twelve fatalities, and hundreds were injured or left homeless. Property losses for southern Ontario probably exceeded $100 million dollars the town of Barrie, Ontario. This was the fourth most damaging tornado in Canadian history. On this Friday afternoon, nicknamed "Black Friday", an F4 tornado touched down near the town of
Hopeville. Before striking Barrie, this funnel moved along the countryside lifting off the ground twice before approaching the city of Barrie (though it is not clear whether there was one or three separate tornadoes). Between 4:15 and 5:00 pm, the tornado touched down for the third and final time just to the southwest of the Barrie city limits. Moving in a northeasterly direction, the storm first hit a pine forest plantation, where many 10 metre tall trees were broken off at the 2 metre level. The average damage width in this location was estimated at 600 metres The tornado, continuing to move east, crossed Crawford Rd. towards Patterson, completely obliterating an entire square block of older frame houses, killing three people. Cars were thrown hundreds of metres into the bush. The
tornado proceeded to an industrial park - at least sixteen factories were heavily damaged or destroyed. Many others, which were located just on the outskirts of the 350 to 450 metre wide path of destruction, were severely damaged. There was one fatality within the industrial complex. Factory roofs were blown completely off. In the isolated walls left standing, many small wooden splinters were found driven into brick mortar. Steel I-beams were twisted massively. It should be noted that casualties in the industrial section were minimized by a fortuitous power outage (caused by one of the other tornadoes), which prompted companies to dismiss their workers early. Thus, buildings in the area were largely unoccupied at the time the tornado hit.
The tornado next crossed Highway 400 moving just south of the Barrie racetrack, damaging several barns and the grandstand. Horses ran frantically to escape the destruction. Witnesses say they saw a horse lifted off the ground and gently replaced some distance away. The horse was subsequently nicknamed "Twister Resistor". Dents and small "bullet" holes caused by flying debris were found in most cars near Highway 400. A woman who was caught in her car in the tornadoes path later recalled that she was thrown to the floor while the vehicle was batted around by the tornado. She survived although her car was completely destroyed. Highway guard-rails were found several hundred metres away wrapped around trees and buildings. The sleeping compartment of a semi-truck, which may have originated somewhere near Highway 400, was found on the rooftop of a nearby house. From there, the tornado tracked further eastward into the Hillsdale subdivision. The upper floors of an entire townhouse complex on Adelaide Street were destroyed; other sections were completely levelled. The tornado's 300 metre wide track moved from Debra Crescent to Marshall Street to Joanne Crescent causing extensive damage. Near Tower Crescent, the damage path narrowed to 50 metres, limiting the swath of destruction. On Briar Road, the homes sustained only minor damage, indicating that the tornado may have momentarily lifted off the ground.
However, the next street east, Trillium Crescent, sustained heavy damage indicating that the tornado had strengthened. Four warehouses due east in an another industrial park near Highway 11 sustained massive damage. Heading towards the CNR tracks, the tornado crossed Yonge Street at Minets Point Road, cutting a 100 metre destructive path. Before hitting the Minet Point Marina on the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the tornado skirted the northwest corner of the Tollendal Woods subdivision. The inflicted damage was less severe than in the Hillsdale area. As the tornado moved through these subdivisions, four more fatalities were reported. At the marina, thirty-five boats, including their concrete mooring anchors, were reported to have completely disappeared. Debris from the town of Barrie was discovered 5 km out into Lake Simcoe. Over the cool waters of Lake Simcoe, the tornado finally dissipated. No damage was reported on the opposite shore. At the time of this storm I was having a BBQ in my yard about 5 km's from where the tornado hit because we had no power for cooking. I worked at CKVR as a camerman and had to go to work to cover the disaster.
Cache is located a short distance from the rock Cairn and will be much more difficult when there is snow on the ground.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Vs lbh'ir ernq gur cyndhr lbh ner irel pybfr