There has been a shroud of mystery and legend surrounding Silver
Lake since the time of the early Native Americans. They believed
that there was a monstrous creature living in these waters and they
often refused to swim or fish there. A business man named A.B.
Walker had heard of this Native legend and figured that this might
be just the thing he needed to get some business going for his
Hotel back in the summer of 1855. He feared that the season was
going to be a slow one so he and some of his business associates
put their heads together and came up with a plan.
They created a serpent 60’ long made out of waterproof
canvas and some wire hoops. They were able to inflate it with an
air pump that they had hidden along the shore and they could make
the creature rise up out of the water then submerge when they
needed it to. There were 3 different sets of ropes attached so they
could move the serpent along the water to give it the appearance of
swimming.
During the evening of July 13th they decided to let their
serpent loose and see what would happen. It just so happened that
four men were out fishing that evening in their rowboat and they
witnessed the creature rise from the depths. Naturally the men were
terrified and made haste to get to shore as quickly as possible.
News spread fast of this sighting and the quiet little Lake became
a booming tourist haven. Folks came from hundreds of miles away in
hopes of getting a glimpse of the elusive serpent. They came on
railroads, stage coaches, horse and buggies, and even by foot. Even
an old whaleman named Daniel Smith came from Buffalo armed with
Harpoons and lances, but the Serpent wasn’t captured even
though it offered a fleeting glimpse from time to time. Several
times the hoax was almost discovered, so after the last close call,
the serpent disappeared forever.
For about 2 years Silver Lake became the most popular tourist
resort in America. This was all to come to an end in 1857 when
there was a fire at the Walker hotel. Once the firemen finally put
out the blaze they found the remains of the missing sea serpent in
the hotel attic. Mr. Walkers plan had worked perfectly but now the
truth was out and Silver Lake became quite peaceful once again and
continues to be peaceful since that time.
For further reading about this fabulous episode in history
check out the following link,
http://silverlakeview.com/serpent/sea_serpent.htm
Now for the cache. There are 5 legs to this cache. You will be
looking for 4 sets of coordinates and a medium sized container at
the final. A sharp eye is all that is needed to spot the
coordinates as they are not hidden from view but out in plain
sight. The Final is hidden quite well but shouldn't be too
difficult to find. When you are at each location take some time to
look around at some of the beautiful scenery that is in the area.
The neat thing about this multi is that you will only need the
last 3 numbers of the North coordinates and the last 3 numbers of
the West coordinates to proceed from one leg to the next. Your
journey will take you to the area I believe would be a good sea
serpent’s lair. I can imagine that once the serpent appeared
in the lake and then submerged to escape from the people trying to
capture him, he could slither off to this hidden area and stay
undetected. When you make your journey around this hidden area you
will have to decide the best way to get from one leg to another.
Remember the shortest route is not always the best route. I
don’t recommend walking across the hidden pond but finding a
route around it. This is part of the challenge. I highly
recommend wearing a good pair of waterproof boots while doing this
cache no matter what time of year it is, but snowshoes may come in
handy during the winter months. Along the way you will see some
beautiful scenery. These areas are seldom visited and would be a
good place for a serpent to hide. This is not a difficult cache
when it comes to finding coordinates, the difficulty lies in the
journey you choose to take. Good Luck and please make a good effort
to hide the final really well after you have discovered it.
Thanks!
I am including the normal swag in this cache along with 3 pretty
nice prizes for the first 3 finders. Please trade fairly to keep
the cache stocked up and I would appreciate it if no perishable
items or Fast Food restaurant toys were left behind. I would like
to keep the quality of the swag better than what I’ve been
finding lately.
***A huge congratulation goes out to the Malone family for
finding this cache as their 1000th find! Great job! Also
congratulations to Szuchie, Brogan, and the Malone family, for
braving the cold, snowy morning and getting the first to
find!***