the Cyclops Tree of Pearcy Island
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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...A small stretch of the imagination, and this tree may bear a slight resemblance to Polyphemus, the one-eyed shepard of Homerian lore, complete with the injury inflicted by Odysseus, which here appears to have just missed its ocular mark...
No, this isn't the Island of the Cyclopes, but it was, at one time, an island, and while Hesiod described the Cyclopes as renowned metal workers and blacksmiths, this peninsula is now home to some of the industry's leading steel giants...
...Bounded by the Columbia Slough to the south, the Willamette River to the west, and the Columbia River to the north, Kelley Point Park forms the tip of the peninsula at the confluence of the rivers. The site was formerly part of Pearcy Island, separated from the mainland by sloughs. Pearcy Island and the adjacent Pearcy Slough were named after Nathan Pearcy, who settled a donation land claim on the island in 1850. The northern tip of Pearcy Island had no name until 1926, when a group of Portland citizens persuaded the United States Board on Geographic Names to name it Kelley Point in honor of New Englander Hall Jackson Kelley (1790–1874), one of the most vocal advocates for Oregon in the first half of the 19th century.
As early as 1815, Kelley became interested in U.S. settlement of the area west of the Rockies after reading about the Lewis & Clark expedition and the Wilson Price Hunt expedition. Towards these efforts he attempted to organize a group to travel overland to the region in 1828, but the expedition was unable to equip itself. Not easily discouraged, he followed up with another failed attempt to colonize the Puget Sound area with an ocean-based expedition. Also in 1828, he persuaded the Massachusetts legislature to charter a society to promote U.S. settlement along the Columbia River and undertook writings designed to encourage U.S. settlers to move into Oregon Country, including a memorial to the U.S. Congress on February 11, 1828, that laid out plans for a city where the Columbia River meets the Willamette River. (He also proposed renaming the Cascade Range the Presidents' Range, an idea which was later implemented to some degree.) In 1830, he published a Geographical Memoir of Oregon, which contained the first map of the territory ever compiled, as well as a settlement guide for prospective emigrants. During a brief visit to Oregon in 1834, Kelley tried unsuccessfully to realize his vision of a city at the confluence, but was held up in present day Roseburg with a bout of malaria. In 1851, after the Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 had opened the floodgates to settlement in the Oregon Territory, Kelley petitioned the U.S. Bureau of Topographical Engineers in a failed attempt to be reimbursed for his failed expedition. A bit frustrated and deranged, he spent most of his life bitterly trying to win notice - and payment - for having sparked American interest in the Pacific Northwest...
...In 1984, The City of Portland acquired over 104 acres from the Port of Portland, which had covered much of the flood-prone peninsula with dredged material from the Columbia River to create places to build their shipping terminals. While it is no longer an island, Pearcy Island still appears on topographical maps...
"This cache complies with geocaching policies for Portland Parks & Recreation properties. Please respect park hours when caching."
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Frnepu gur pnivgl va gur perngher'f wnjf... Vgf onex vf jbefr guna vgf ovgr.