Washout on Monte Cristo Trail Traditional Geocache
Washout on Monte Cristo Trail
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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This cache is on the way to the famous ghost town of Monte Cristo, at least it used to be. As the name implies, there is a washout here that occured several years ago. The bridge that once crossed the entire river now only provides access to a small island from the east side of the river.
In 1891 the first wagon road was built over Barlow Pass to connect to Monte Cristo. The road was funded by the mining in Monte Cristo. A railroad was built soon after along the same route. The railroad was 42 miles long and was used to ship ore from Monte Cristo to Hartford (Lake Stevens). Flooding of the Stilliguamish river caused many hindrances to the mining progress as it was constantly damaging the railroad. After the mining stopped, a gravel road was put in over the tracks. Just like the railroad, there were often many problems with flood damage on the road. Eventually, it became too much of a hassle to maintain, and the road was closed. It is now used by hikers and mountain bikers. The bridge here was a part of that road. Now that the bridge is washed out, the use of a large fallen tree is required to cross the river.
Make sure to rehide the cache well, but don't break anything. Please let me know if the cache needs maintenance.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Va guvf fcbg, gur pnpur fubhyq or fnsr sebz gur znwbevgl bs shgher sybbqf.