#7 Courtin Island Ramble Traditional Cache
bootecacher: After being in play for 4+ years, several of the caches in this series appear to be missing — victims of cliff-side coastal erosion, gale-force winds & storm surges.To save future cachers from a fruitless search, this series is being archived.
Thanks to the few, hearty cachers who’ve made the paddle & visited this series. Other less arduous caches remain in play on the island.
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Courtin Island (also known as Bunbury Island) is 97 hectares of woodland, wetland and beach. Three km off-shore, it is home to a large colony of Great Blue Herons and gulls, as well as other sea birds; snowshoe hare, red squirrel and red fox have also been found on the island. There is a thick forest of deciduous and coniferous trees, most notably spruce, fir, maple and birch with some red oak (the PEI provincial tree). Courtin Island is attached to the 12 hectare Little Courtin Island, home to a large colony of double crested cormorants, by a sandbar at low tide.
Courtin Island takes ~ 1 hour to circumnavigate by paddling or hiking along the shoreline. Be advised that the highly recommended beach traverse must be done at low tide. There are no trails on the island, and the entire forested area is extremely gnarly with vines, pricklies, dead-fall, head-high alders and a heavy mosquito population. The northern side of the island has very high, steep cliffs with no access to or from the beach while the southern side of the island permits very easy access to the woods. An autumn outing after the first frost would be extraordinary.
According to local history buffs, Courtin Island was inhabited by Acadian settlers, who built a Catholic church there. During two trips to the island, I have not observed any evidence of previous inhabitation, though the vegetation has been thick.
**CACHING this Series & the Island**
It is recommended to land on the island at the older cache, GC1KP89 (Courtin Island: MBPS #2), first, then go in a clockwise fashion, visiting GC56VTZ (#1 Courtin Island Ramble) to GC56VY2 (#11 Courtin Island Ramble). Now continue on to the older caches, GC4GBQB (A Courtin (Island We Shall Go!) & GC4GBR0 (Escape to Courtin Island). From here proceed to GC56VZD (#14 Courtin Island Bushwhack) to GC56VYY (#12 Courtin Island Bushwhack). NOTE: These last 3 caches require EXTREME bushwhacking both ways!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
unatvat, rireterra gerr
Treasures
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