Little Sable River - Draining The Swamp EarthCache

This cache has been archived.

HITECHTEAM: Time to let this one go.....it had a nice ride.

Hitechman & Hitechgal

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Hidden : 7/24/2008
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:




The Little Sable River is 2.9 miles in length. Its' source is at the north end of Noud Lake. The river flows NW, where it joins the Big Sable River. This river is small--more creek-like--and the surrounding land is swampy (low, flat and wet).

An intersting note: The township name in Lake County (200 yards to the east) is spelled S-A-U-B-L-E. You won't find this spelling in the dictionary, and it is a common mispelling of Sable.

This EarthCache takes you to a very low and small bridge that crosses the Little Sable River (pronounced saw-bull and not say-bull) near the Mason-Lake County line. The river is very short, narrow, and shallow. Noud Lake, a very shallow and small (.3 miles wide and .5 miles long) lake with a mucky bottom, lies 1.2 miles south of the bridge and is it's source (where it starts). Noud Lake is fed from the eastern slopes of the Ward Hills Range by a small stream-Twin Lakes Creek. The majority of the water in the lake is drainage from the surrounding swamp and run-off from the surrounding hills. The Little Sable River terminates 1.7 miles NW of this bridge, where it joins the Big Sable River.

This river gets its name from the fact that the water (color intensity varies by season) is a dark brown to rusty brown (tea colored) in color (sable-French for sand, and used in English to indicate a brown color). This color is due to a high concentration of iron (rust) and tannin in the water. The tannins originate from the decomposition of the organic material on the swamp floor and leach (soaks easily through the soil layers) into the river. The "flavor" of strong tea is due to the presence of tannins. In late summer and other times of low rainfall (when the swamp is "dry") the water is perfectly clear as there is no drainage/runoff from the swamp.

The Ward Hills Range begins 2.2 miles to the east, and there is another smaller range of hills .6 miles to the west of the riverbed. The area between the hills is lowland swamp with a fairly constant elevation of 720-730 feet. Older topographic maps indicate the name this swamp as "Bear Swamp" (and an area forester confirms that it is still referred to by this name), but the name is lacking on the most resent maps.

The Little Sable and the Big Sable Rivers drain the Bear Swamp. If you were to dig into the ground in the surrounding swampland, you would find that the ground water table and the river level are identical. The Bear Swamp begins 1 mile NE of Emerson Lake---and runs NE for about 6.9 miles to the cache coordinates. From the bridge, the swamp runs NNW for an additional 22 miles approaching the Little Manistee River and the Udel Hill Range. This swamp varies from .5 miles to more than 4 miles in width. The entire swamp, with the exception of the southerly 2 miles, is drained by these rivers. The soil here consists of about 8-10 inches of muck (decayed organic material or humus) with a course grained, yellow-brown sand underneath. The sand is visible on the river bottom. Because of the presence of a large supply of water year round, the decay rate for dead vegetation on the swamp floor is very fast--usually by June 1 there is no trace of the leaves that fell the previous fall. A 10-inch log will completely decay in less than 10 years.

The temperature of the water in the Little Sable River is warmer than most rivers of this type (shaded along its' length by overhanging tree growth). There are many reasons for this: 1) Noud Lake is shallow with a dark, mucky bottom and is warmed quickly in the spring-fall months, 2) the run-off from the swamp has a chance to warm up in the dark topsoil muck, and 3) the river flows rather slowly because there is very little elevation drop along its short course (about 10 feet over its' 3 mile length)--a water flow/speed is created and maintained by pressure from water being added from the lake and swamp drainage.

The river does not support a trout population because of its warmer temperature in the spring-fall months, and it does not maintain a large fish population of other species. Bass (largemouth), small pike, a few species of pan fish (rock bass, perch, sunfish), American eel, and river chubs can be found. Beaver are plentiful in the area, and many aquatic insects and insect larvae (especially caddis flies and Dobson flies) are in abundance. An occasional turtle, mink, and river otter can also be found. Clams, crayfish, and small, black leeches are plentiful as well. Oh, and least we forget, the most prevalent species in the area from early April to mid-November--the pesky mosquito. The river is definitely a living and thriving ecosystem.

Drainage occurs from south to north and then westerly. The Big Sable River empties into Lake Michigan, 9 miles north of Ludington. There is a dam about 1 mile upstream (at the Ludington State Park) that was once used to power a sawmill. A large lake (Hamlin Lake) exists behind this dam.

Because of the standing water in the swamp, farming is impossible (even though the topsoil is rich in nutrients and very fertile), although many nearby areas were farmed without success in the early 1900's. The runoff from the hills carries many minerals (especially iron) into the swamp and river causing the water to be moderately hard.

Some interesting phenomena occur in this swamp. This area is sheltered by hills to the east and west. Winds tend to "blow over" the top of this area, causing the air to stagnate-and allowing temperatures to be 10-15 degrees warmer in the summer, and colder in the winter (as compared to near the Lake Michigan shoreline just 18 miles to the west). In the summer months, one can actually "smell" the swamp.


This area is also located in the "snow belt"--an area near the western shore of Lake Michigan that receives heavy, lake effect snow in the winter. The black, mucky topsoil absorbs tremendous amounts or radiation from the sun (even through the snow cover), and the ground never freezes. It is possible to "dig worms" for fish bait during the coldest months of the year. Below zero winter temperatures are common here in January and February-cold enough to cause the river to completely freeze over.

The tannin in the water causes the pH to be slightly higher (basic) than neutral pure water, which has a pH of 7.0. Nitrate and phosphate concentrations are very low (found in animal wastes, industrial cleaning agents, and agricultural fertilizers) in the water. Water flow varies by season and rainfall amount, but, because there is not much of an elevation drop along its course, the river flows relatively slowly towards the northwest.

Remember-Leave no trace of your visit and please remember to CITO.


All activities are to take place on the north side of the bridge. The surrounding area lies within the Manistee National Forest, but the property on both sides of the road and both sides of the river is privately owned. I am the owner of the property on the north side of the bridge (both sides of the river). Possession of a GPSr, and this page gives you permission to trespass, but only for the purpose of meeting the logging requirements of this EarthCache.




Platinum EarthCache Master


The requirements for this EarthCache can be difficult to meet during the night and the winter months--especially if there is a heavy snow cover or if the river is frozen over. You will need a watch that can measure seconds, an "aquarium multi-test strip kit" (available at Wal-Mart and useful for other EarthCaches involving water quality), and possibly a 5-6 foot pole to affix the test strip to.

If you see the gate open (200 yards to the west), stop in and I will give you a test strip if you do not have one.

To log your visit you must (no exceptions to these requirements will be made):
The answers to questions 1 & 2 MUST be posted in your log.

1) Take an elevation reading from the top of the bridge with your GPSr, and include it in your log-the topographical maps show the elevation at 725'.

2) Measure (estimate) the rate of water flow by dropping a small piece of natural material (a piece of grass, a small stick, a leaf, etc) into 1 of the tubes on the south side of the bridge (from the bridge) and measure how long it takes to reach the other end of the tubes. The tubes are 50' long. Your answer will be in feet per second, and can be calculated by dividing 50 feet by the number of seconds it takes. For example: if it takes 10 seconds for the object to travel 50 feet, your answer would be 50 feet / 10 seconds = 5 feet per second. Post this answer in your log as well. The flow is often less than 1 foot/second during the drier months.

E-mail me the answers, within 6 hours of posting your log, to the following observations made with the water test strip (these will vary with the season and amount of water flow). You will have to be careful making your way down the bank on the north side of the road to get to the water. As an alternative, you can attach the test strip to a long pole/stick and dip it from the bridge:

3) Nitrate concentration

4) Nitrite concentration

5) Hardness

6) Alkalinity

7) pH

8a) Measure the depth (to the nearest 1/10 inch) of the river from the north side of the bridge at 5 equidistant locations using a SETI disk (string with a weight on the end). E-mail us the answers to this describing the specific location of each depth reading and the respective depth.

OR

8b) Take (and post with your log) a picture near the coordinates clearly showing some aspect of the geology of the river at this site. You do not have to include you/your team or the station in the photo, but feel free to do so.

Each cacher/log must E-mail me the answers to questions 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8a (unless a photo is posted with your log), or your log will be deleted--do not post these (3-8a) answers in your log entry.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gurer vf nzcyr fcnpr gb cnex evtug ng gur oevqtr-cyrnfr qb fb ba gur abegu fvqr bs gur ebnq. Or pnershy jvgu lbhe sbbgvat vs lbh jnyx qbja gb gur evire (ybgf bs oehfu naq abg erny tbbq sbbgvat).

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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