Welcome to the Mosquito fleet
#1: Alaskan cache.
The steamship Alaskan operated from 1884 to
1889 on the Columbia River and Puget Sound. Alaskan and her
near-sistership Olympian were known as “Henry Villard’s White
Elephants.” There were a number of vessels named Alaska and
Alaskan, this large side-wheel steamboat should not be confused
with them.
In 1884, Alaskan
was brought to the Pacific Northwest through the Strait of
Magellan, around South America. Alaskan and Olympian were built to
designs popular and successful on Chesapeake Bay. When she arrived
in the Pacific Northwest this design proved unsuited for the
conditions, and the ship became a steady money loser.
Villard's
company, the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company first placed
Alaskan in service on the Columbia River, where because of her huge
size, she could only operate on the deeper water from Portland to
Astoria. Her first set of officers included master Capt. James W.
Troup (1856-1932), pilot Archie Pease, and engineer Thomas Smith.
Alaskan’s chief rival on this route was U.B. Scott’s Telephone,
supposedly then the fastest steamboat in the world. Occasionally
the highly-skilled Troup and Pease were able to outrun Telephone,
then under the command of the equally-skilled river veterans Capt.
William H. Whitcomb (1851-1924) and chief engineer Newton Scott.
Both Alaskan and Olympian proved too expensive to operate on the
Columbia River. The main problem was that they consumed huge
quantities of expensive coal.
In 1888, unable
to make a profit on the Columbia, O.R. & N transferred Alaskan
to Puget Sound where together with Olympian she ran from Tacoma,
Seattle, and Port Townsend to Victoria and back. She served on this
route until 1889.
In 1889, Alaskan
needed underwater work and maintenance on her hull. However there
were no drydocks in the Pacific Northwest. Instead there were only
wooden “gridirons”, enormous frames of wood weighted down with
rocks placed on a beach or mudflat. No gridiron in the Pacific
Northwest was big enough to handle Alaskan, so the decision was
made to run her down to San Francisco. Alaskan left Puget Sound,
sailing around the Olympic Peninsula, then up the Columbia and
Willamette rivers to Portland. With Capt. R.E. Howes in command,
Alaskan then ran back down the Columbia, crossed over the Columbia
Bar at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, 1889, then turned south for
San Francisco at 9 knots (17 km/h). She ran about 18 miles (29 km)
off the coast in ballast—carrying no freight or passengers though
many had applied—with 34 persons on board. After running into a
storm off Cape Blanco, she sunk on the evening of May12, 1889 with
the loss of 30 lives.
T
he
cache.
Congratulations to svbto on FTF!
This is one of six
caches hidden to complete
Mosquito Fleet series. You can find one or all
of them.
Most of the way to the cache is on logging roads or dirt paths. The
last 20-100 feet are off trail. There are some moderate elevation
changes, up to 400 feet. The forest floor can be mushy and soft.
There is no serious bush wacking needed. Expect poor GPS reception
under the tree cover, the caches are not cleverly hidden but are
camo painted and not visible from the path. It has been rumored
that giant mutant banana slugs live in the this area. An attack by
one of these creatures is a very slimy affair. Fortunately a brisk
walk will allow you to escape.
A paper
map of the trails can be found
here
or an electronic one for your garmin
here.