Eleanor Alma - HHS #1 Traditional Cache

The cache is a peanut butter jar with a logbook and trinkets to trade and room for TBs. The container is located in a safe location. Do not let children get close to the edge of the rocks; there is no need to do so. You will likely find that GPS accuracy is poor in this area. I have provided a very helpful hint and two spoiler pics in the gallery to ensure you can find the cache. Terrain rating is indicative of the hill you will need to climb. Terrain at GZ is a 2

Please make note of the clue written on my green caching card located with the logbook. You will need this information to complete the final cache: "Hermitage History Series - Final" GC69FMP

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HISTORY LESSON: Born in 1855, Eleanor Alma Dick (born Leith) bought the Hermitage and its 162 acres from her family, all of whom had chosen to move away. She planned to continue to run the estate, raising animals by feeding them on the grasslands, selling timber, and selling story from the quarry. Her plans failed miserably, but she continued to live in her ancestral home. Her plans failed, she let her ornamental trees die, and she let the animals roam about the house. In 1934 the Hermitage was completely destroyed by fire, but still she remained, living in a borrowed tent. Over the next several weeks, local residents built a small wooden house for her amongst the ruins of the larger home. She remained there until her death in 1942.

---------------------------- Series Overview (identical for all caches)-------------------------------

Welcome to the Hermitage History Series. It composed of 9 traditional caches and 1 final mystery cache. While finding these caches, you will visit some beautiful spots, including the Hermitage ruins, and in each traditional cache you will find some details that you will need to collect to complete a field puzzle for the final. You can do the caches in any order despite the way I have numbered them. The numbering does not have any significance for the final puzzle.

Your adventure will take you along Dundas Valley Trails near the historic Hermitage ruins and its Gatehouse Museum. You will travel short sections of the Headwaters trail, the Main Loop (part of the Bruce Trail) and the Homestead trail which is a short loop. All trails are relatively wide, and on fairly even ground suitable for family outings. I’ve seen people with rugged strollers on these trails. Note that there is a significant hill to get to caches HHS #1 and HHS #2, but the view is definitely worth it!

You can see a map of the area below. Note: the Hermitage itself is located near the top right corner of this map on the north side of the road labeled ‘Private drive”. Don’t worry, you won’t be trespassing. The private property is further to the east and is marked. Entrance to parking is at the bottom of the map where it says ‘Hermitage Cascade’

I hope you enjoy these trails and learning about the history of this area.

Note: Parking is available at the Gatehouse Museum on Sulphur Springs Rd in Ancaster and has been waypointed in the cache listing for the final (link is above). Please note that there is a self-service fee policy in effect of $10 per car.