SwtM - Old Mission Point Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

The Mitten Crew: Thanks to all who visited the 2012 SwtM series.

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Hidden : 5/30/2012
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:




Mission Point Light is a lighthouse located at the end of Old Mission Point, a peninsula jutting into Grand Traverse Bay 17 miles north of Traverse City. When it was built in 1870, it was an exact copy of the Mama Juda Lighthouse (now destroyed), which was built on the Detroit River in 1866.

The building was only one and one half stories tall, however its placement on a sand bank fourteen feet above the lake's surface created a lens focal plane of 47 feet. It was visible from 13 miles at sea. Maintaining the dune and protecting it and the lighthouse from the deleterious effects of wave action has been a constant struggle.

For 67 years the light served to warn mariners about the shoals off the point. However, new techniques in offshore construction and the automation of lighthouse illumination made it possible to build a navigation aid on the shoal itself. In 1938, work began on a pier for the new light in 19 feet of water, about 2 miles northwest of Mission Point. The light ran on batteries. It was on a 36-foot tall tower, and its focal plane of 52 feet help make it visible for 13 miles. It had a 30 second dwell time between flashes, in order to conserve power.

Famously, the lighthouse stands a few hundred yards south of the 45th parallel north, halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. The lighthouse was deactivated in 1933 and purchased by the State of Michigan. There are a pair of signs that denote its location on the parallel, and it is one of 29 places (six are in Michigan) in the U.S.A. where such signs are known to exist.

Visit 14 geocaches in the SwtM series. At each geocache collect a letter and number combination. Insert them into the phrase FiTS LIKe A GlOVE. Use the coordinates from the phrase to find the final geocache and become a Mitten Master
2012 Smitten with the Mitten caches
Whitefish Point Sturgeon Point South Manitou Island Grand Island
Rock of Ages Point Betsie Old Mission Point Little Sable Point
Holland Harbor Gull Rock Seul Choix Point
Crisp Point Big Sable Point Au Sable Point Mitten Master

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ynetr Ohssnyb

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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