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Two stage virtual multi cache. The posted coordinates will take you to some native pictographs. From there you will need to do some simple calculations. The cache is a small vitamin container hidden at the following coordinates.
N 49 17.7xx, W 119 31.4yy,
xx = (# of points on the head of the figure x 5)-1
yy = (# of points on the sun x 4) + 2
Please respect the paintings by not touching them. Poison ivy has been reported to be near the pictographs.
Pictographs are one of the Okanagan Valley’s most remarkable archaeological treasures. In fact, the region is home to one of the greatest concentrations of pre-contact rock paintings anywhere in North America.
The Okanagan was the traditional territory of the Interior Salish peoples, semi-sedentary hunters and gatherers who followed a seasonal migration, exploiting regional food sources throughout their territory as they became available. Their material culture was simple and easily transportable, and they had very little impact on their environment. They did leave behind one indelible mark however - their paintings on rock.
No one knows for sure who left behind these enigmatic cultural snapshots, or when or why they were painted. Ethnographer James Teit, writing in the later part of the 1800’s, believed that many of the Okanagan pictographs were painted by young boys and girls as part of their puberty rituals. Others may have been painted to commemorate an event such as a particularly successful hunt. There is no way of dating the rock paintings, or of knowing why pictograph painters were more prolific in the South Okanagan than they were in the Central or North Okanagan. Perhaps a small regional group or even an extended family adopted the practice and it became a tradition. What is certain, however, is that the rock art of the Okanagan Valley is a priceless and particularly personal legacy of the thoughts, dreams, and memories of people who lived in this region hundreds, if not thousands of years ago.
In Pictographs of the Interior or British Columbia, published in 1968, John Corner identified well over 100 pictograph sites in the Okanagan and Similkameen regions. I’ve documented several sites that were not included in Corner’s book. There could be many more sites that people have seen and photographed, but that have never been properly recorded. Many pictograph sites are located in out of the way places. Although they tend to be found along routes of travel, they are often set back from trails, and paintings were sometimes placed on small, easily overlooked rock faces, when what would seem to be a perfect canvas was left untouched just meters away. Many of the figures are very small, and there may be only one or two in a grouping. Some are very faded, or look like smudges of rust on the rock face and are very easy to pass by, unnoticed. Other sites, particularly in the South Okanagan, feature large panels covered with dozens of paintings. The greatest concentration of rock paintings occurs in the South Okanagan. They become increasingly sparse as one moves north.
The Paint
By far the majority of Okanagan pictographs were painted with red, iron oxide based paint. Iron oxide, also known as ochre, was ground and mixed with a binder such as saliva, grease, or fish eggs. Over time, the oxide bonded with the rock it was painted on and is extremely durable. Hence, many pictographs are still vivid after hundreds of years in spite of being exposed to sunlight and the elements for all of that time. Less common are pictographs painted in black with charcoal based paint. It has been reported that pictographs were also painted in green and yellow, and white paint made from burned deer bones.
Thematic Elements
The majority of the pictographs painted in the Okanagan fall into one of four general categories – animals, anthropomorphic figures (human form), geometric, and undefined. A large number of pictographs are highly realistic portrayals of deer and other ungulates. Some panels clearly depict a hunting scene with several paintings of animals and humans spread out over a rock face several meters wide. This is not surprising as deer were an important source of food and hides. There are also pictographs of turtles (there is a remarkable painting of a turtle in the South Okanagan), toads, possibly fish bones, and what could be insects. Designs that have been interpreted as fir branches, seclusion huts, and crossed trails, important in puberty rituals, are also very common.
Okanagan Pictograph Project
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Arne puneerq cvar