Buck Crossing Traditional Cache

Located in Preservation Park, this cache is a small, camouflaged container that holds a logbook, pencil and has room for small trade items.

A walk through Preservation Park will almost always result in the sighting of one, or more, whitetailed deer, especially as you move further into the forest. "Buck Crossing" marks a place where I watched two, huge(!) male deer run across the path about 20m away. It was quite a sight, to say the least, and the only time I have ever seen any bucks at all in Preservation Park. Often times I'll come across two or three female deer nibbling on the vegetation or drinking from one of the many creeks that run along the boardwalks, and only twice have I been lucky enough to see a herd of more than 7.

Unfortunately, the long, cold winter of 2013-2014 could result in a steep decline in the deer population in this area. The deep, ice-encrusted snow restricts access to food sources, and frigid air temperatures quickly depletes the energy reserves of the animals. Many deer may die of starvation long before they are able to reproduce in the spring. 'Deer Save' programs, run in conjunction with The Ministry of Natural Resources (under strict emergency feeding guidelines), were created to coordinate volunteers for breaking trails, browse cutting and emergency deer feeding in areas where high snow levels and extended periods of extreme weather could cause large-scale starvation in deer wintering areas.