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This cache is located across the bridge from Pukawska National Park
From the Pukawska National Park Website:
"Ontario's only wilderness park, Pukaskwa National Park covers 1880 square kilometres of rugged terrain and frigid water along the rocky north shore of Lake Superior halfway between Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay. Moist air, chilled by the largest fresh water lake in the world, moves inland off Lake Superior, where it has a significant effect on the habitat of the plants and animals surviving in the harsh environment of this Canadian Shield landscape. Founded in 1978, Ontario’s largest national park, it protects a representative sample of the Central Boreal Uplands and the Great Lakes coastline, while encouraging an appreciation of the area's natural and cultural heritage, in part through the employment of native people in the interpretation program."
"Tamarack and jack pine, as well as some poplar and birch mix with the predominant white spruce, black spruce and balsam fir that survive the pervasive cool temperatures and thin soil of the Canadian Shield. In the sheltered depressions of rocky fault lines along the southern edge of the dense scrubby spruce forest, some white pine, red pine, sugar maple, black ash, eastern white cedar and a few more southern coniferous and deciduous species find deeper soil and protection from the damp frigid wind off the lake. Farther north, only open coniferous forest with lichen undergrowth survives and in some of the more exposed areas in the park, rare arctic-alpine plants cling to the thin soil and endure Superior®s arctic chill. Bogs and fens support black spruce, Labrador tea, blueberries, bog rosemary and cloudberries which all do well in acidic soil. It is now well understood that the boreal forest depends on fire to ensure its health. The fire ecology program in the park uses fire on a controlled basis since fire suppression by park management has slowed the forest®s regeneration, particularly in the case of the eastern white pine, which must compete with the hardier balsam fir."
"Pukaskwa has two main types of environment: the waters of Lake Superior and the rivers that flow into it and the boreal forest with its scant mixing of broad-leafed species. The loon may best symbolize Canada's vast northern waterways, while the boundless lakeside forests are immediately associated with the beaver whose pelt shaped our history through trade and eventual settlement. Wildlife in the park also includes stable populations of snowshoe hare, spruce grouse, lynx and black bear. The survival of the small Woodland Caribou herd is of particular concern since their population has been steadily declining and may at present be as low as six. One of the largest research projects being carried out by the park studies interactions between moose, caribou and wolf and their use of their habitats. 34 moose, 5 caribou and 5 wolves have been radio collared and their movements monitored to determine their preferred habitat and predator/prey interactions. The study has revealed that caribou migrate as far as 70 kilometres outside the protection of the park for as much as 6 months each year, whereas the moose population thrives where development of land clears old forests, thus providing exposed underbrush and regenerated plant growth for grazing. Conversely, any land use that disrupts the caribou's habitat is a threat to the continuation of the herd. Migratory birds such as warblers arrive in summer; ducks and shorebirds may be seen along the beaches and Oiseau is the best location to observe herons nesting in their rookeries."
"Hiking trails and canoe routes furnish the most complete picture of the special character of Pukaskwa's rugged landscape. The fascinating geological story of the glacier-scarred bedrock of the headland and the filigreed shoreline, where rainwater collects in small sun-warmed pools for dragonflies, water striders and plant forms that germinate in still water, is best encountered afoot. One may travel by canoe down the White River through muskeg, boreal forests and wide expanses of the Canadian Shield lying exposed or thinly covered by a greyish layer of acidic soil. The roughly rounded hills and moraines were formed from Precambrian rock, eroded over millions of years, then shaped by glaciers. Watersheds, cobble beaches, rock-rimmed lakes, ponds, tumbling rivers, quaking bogs and the largest sand dune complex on the north shore of Lake Superior are all part of the transformation of the landscape fashioned by the receding glaciers. The hills are now a fraction of their original height, but at 636 metres, they are still one of the highest points in Ontario. Although 95% of the park is zoned as ‘wilderness’, a series of special preservation areas provides the highest level of protection to Woodland Caribou, arctic- alpine flora, a jack pine forest, acid-sensitive lakes and the early Aboriginal pits."
"People who lived here 5000 to 10 000 years ago probably made the puzzling rock structures called the Pukaskwa Pits along the cobbled beaches. Each is 1 to 2.5 metres long with 1.5 metre high walls. One might speculate on their usefulness as hunting or fishing shelters, or possibly lookouts or observation posts. When Etienne Brule explored Lake Superior in 1618, he was greatly impressed by its vastness; like a small ocean, its weather is unpredictable and storms and dense fog make navigating even quite close to shore an adventure. Voyageurs, missionaries, the inevitable fur traders, and the miners soon followed Brule; in the 1880's, the railway crossed over the top of Lake Superior on its way to transverse the continent. Commercial logging became a thriving industry in the early 1900's."
The cache is a medium sized lock-n-lock container covered in camouflaged duct tape. When it was placed it contained the following contents: Toy bird, 2 compass keychains, 1 old British penny, 1 old British half penny, wooden handmade puzzle and the "Summit Gravel TB" retrieved from "GravelPaco Cache". It may not be accessible in the winter.
From the cache location, you can see the bridge that crosses the Pic River to Pukawska National Park. Once you are over the bridge, it is a short drive to the campimg area at Hattie Cove.
NOTE: March 24, 2010 - cache container replaced with small camou screw-top plastic container - hidden under small spruce tree.
NOTE: September 16, 2010 - cache container replaced with camou small plastic container - now hanging in a tree - same corrdinates
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pyvzo gur ebpx gb trg gb gur pnpur. Vg vf unatvat va n fznyy gerr.