This is a short multi that starts at the information kiosk adjacent to the parking lot. It
follows the Sugar Shack Trail and loops back via the Discovery Trail (Accessible)
approximately 1.3 km. It is not necessary to hike the whole loop to do this cache it is an
enjoyable walk, in every season, through a mature sugar bush and meadow. The site
gets very busy during the month of March as the site hosts a Maple Syrup Festival, so if
you prefer quiet and solitude, choose another time. Along with the multi-cache, I have
placed several other family friendly caches along the two trails.
If you walk a loop that includes Ritson Road please use caution as
vehicles use the unimproved roadway.
The conservation area is open dawn to dusk all year although trails are not maintained
through the winter. The roadside parking lot is maintained all year and the main parking
lot is only open for special events.
Purple Woods Conservation Area sits at the crest of the environmental significant Oak
Ridges Moraine that extends from the Niagara Escarpment in the west to the Trent
River System in the east. It is known as an interlobate moraine because it was formed
between two lobes of a receding glacier, the Simcoe and Ontario lobes. As the glacier
began to melt a crack formed in the center of a large sheet of ice, forming the two lobes.
The crack eventually expanded into a large trough that caught the sediment-laden
meltwater and runoff from the glacier. The lobes advanced and retreated over the area
for approximately 3,000 years, altering the composition and shape of the moraine. A
total of sixty-four rivers and streams begin on the Moraine and run either south directly
into Lake Ontario, or north to Lakes Scugog, Simcoe or Georgian Bay (Lake Huron).
Here in Oshawa, the Oshawa, Harmony, Black and Farewell Creeks all have their
source in the moraine.
The Oak Ridges Moraine not only proves to be important to animals and birds, but to
humans as well. The moraine's sand and gravel composition acts like a giant rain barrel,
collecting rain and snow melt. This water is then stored underground in the many layers
of sand and gravel, where it is filtered and slowly released as cool fresh water to rivers
and streams. The water the moraine stores also provides drinking water to over
500,000 people.
When I was placing this cache the lines to collect the sap were already in place. In
2015 they produced over 1,200 litres of maple syrup. To find the coordinates for the
final location you'll need to get some information from the display boards at the posted
coordinates.
You will also need to find the length of the Oak Ridges Trail in order to access the log inside the final.
Final Coordinates
N 44 02.1AB
W 078 55.1CD
A=On the information kiosk there is a panel titled Purple Woods Conservation Area Trail Map. Near the bottom right is an infographic that describes the characteristics of the trails in Purple Woods. How many characteristics are described?
B=On one side of the kiosk is a panel with information about invasive species. How many pictures of plants are there? Add this number to the number of blue approved activity icons on the same panel.
C=How many rivers and streams flow north and south from the Oak Ridges Moraine? C = the first number of the total.
D=How many creeks have their source in the Oak Ridges Moraine? Add this number to the last number of the posted west coordinates. Creeks that change names along their course are counted as 1.