This cache series is the brainchild of "Bo" of the StaBoRoPaSi gang. He's been interested in "exploring" more of the Gordon Hill/Windham Town Forest trails since the Gordon Hill Multi cache (Salem's highest point). He also wanted to leave the geocachers a little present before flying south once again. Before he migrated, we came in to “explore” these trails with a backpack full of containers and left hours later with an empty pack and some well marked trails. These caches were placed with snowshoes in mind, but are obtainable all year round. We hope you enjoy them no matter what season you choose. The StaBoRoPaSi Gang.
PARKING:
Main Parking - Windham Town Forest - N 42 50.484 W 071 15.621, Try parking here first. Four Wherigo's start here that you will not want to miss.
Secondary Parking (Winter friendly) - Aladdin Road - N 42 49.523 W 071 14.674, Use this if the Main parking area isn't plowed. We marked a trail with caches that connects the Gordon Hill area to Windham Town Forest Trails.
NOTE:
Please, DO NOT PARK in the Gordon Mountain road condo development. Windham has temporarily closed this trail head.
Alpine Skiing
Skiing has an ancient history. The birth of modern downhill skiing is often dated to the 1850s when Norwegian legend Sondre Norheim popularized skis with curved sides, bindings with stiff heel bands made of willow, as well as the Telemark and Christiania (slalom) turns.
Ancient origins
Skiing can be traced to prehistoric times by the discovery of varying sizes and shapes of wooden planks preserved in peat bogs in Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway. Ski fragments discovered in Russia have been carbon-dated back to circa 8000-7000 BC. It is virtually certain that a form of skiing has been an integral part of life in colder countries for thousands of years.
First competitions
Skiing changed its from a method of transportation into a sporting activity during the late 19th century. The first non-military skiing competitions are reported to have been held in the 1840s in northern and central Norway. The first national skiing competition in Norway, held in the capital Christiania (now Oslo) and won by Sondre Norheim, in 1868, is regarded as the beginning of a new era of skiing enthusiasm. A few decades later, the sport spread to the remainder of Europe and to the US, where miners held skiing competitions to entertain themselves during the winter. The first slalom competition was organized by Sir Arnold Lunn in 1922 in Mürren, Switzerland.
Olympic growth
Men’s and women’s alpine skiing both debuted on the Olympic program in 1936 at Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The only event that year was a combined competition of both downhill and slalom. In 1948, this was held along with separate downhill and slalom races. Four years later the giant slalom was added and in 1988 the super giant slalom became a fourth separate event.