SwtM - Quincy Mining Company Mystery Cache

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The Mitten Crew: Another year of the SwtM series has run it's course. Hope everyone enjoyed the caches, locations, and the pathtag!

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Hidden : 5/7/2016
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:


Cache is not at the posted coords, but there is an item from former mining days (or before) which I thought was interesting.

Once at posted coords:
  1. Count the number of spokes on the old item = AB
  2. Multiply AB by 6 for your distance
  3. project a waypoint at AB degrees
That projection should put you very near a great hiding spot for a cache (thanks Alex)

Be warned it can be a bit soggy down in this park. Boots are suggested and likely required if it has rained recently.


Date Designated: February 10, 1989
Location: Hancock (Houghton County)		 The Quincy Mine was founded in 1846 by the merger of the Northwest Mining Company and the Portage Mining Company. Due to poor communication between government offices, these two speculative mining companies had purchased the same tracts of land during the mining rush of the early 1840s. The directors met and decided to merge, with significant investment coming from Massachusetts (the town of Quincy, Massachusetts lent the mine its name). While many other copper mines were founded at the same time, the Quincy Mine became the most successful of the 1840s-era mines, and was the country's leading copper-producing mine from 1863 (when it exceeded the production of the Minnesota Mine) through 1867. The Quincy Mine was known as "Old Reliable," as the Quincy Mine Company paid a dividend to investors every year from 1868 through 1920.

The Quincy Mining Company closed operations (but did not dissolve) in 1931 due to low copper prices. During World War II, the mines re-opened due to increased copper demand. When the government stopped supporting copper prices after the war, the mines quickly closed for good.

When the mine ceased production in 1945, the Quincy Number 2 shaft was the world's deepest shaft, at 9,260 feet along the dip of the deposit on a 55 degree decline. To raise and lower ore and workers into this shaft, the world's largest steam-driven mine hoist was built in 1918 and housed in the Quincy Number 2 Hoist House. The Nordberg Steam Hoist and its reinforced concrete building, built in the Georgian architectural style with brick veneer and Italian-tiled walls, cost over $370,000 in 1918 but was used for only eleven years until it ceased usage in 1929. Weighing more than 880 tons, it lifted 10 tons of ore at 36.4 miles per hour, thus saving $16,080 in fuel bills in its first year of operation. The hoist sat on the largest concrete slab ever poured, containing 3200 cu. yards of cement and over 8 tons of reinforcement material. The Number 2 Hoist House was built as a reinforced concrete structure on a scale rare for 1918, making it one of the first of its kind.

The Quincy Mine is now a popular Keweenaw tourist attraction. The Quincy Mine Hoist Association maintains the buildings and grounds, and provides guided tours of the Number 2 Hoist House and the 7th level of the mine during the summer. Tourists are transported to the 7th level by the Quincy and Torch Lake Cog Railway. There are museum-style exhibits within many buildings.

The shafts of the Quincy Mine have slowly filled with groundwater since the closing of the mine. The water has currently filled the mine up to the seventh level, making all lower levels inaccessible. The seventh level is drained by a large adit, which is the mine tour entrance. The adit, originally five feet high and three feet wide when it was constructed in 1892, was enlarged by Michigan Tech in the 1970s for a mining study.

Visit 14 geocaches in the SwtM series. At each geocache collect a letter and number combination. Insert them into the phrase FiTS LIKe A GlOVE. Use the coordinates from the phrase to find the final geocache and become a Mitten Master
St. Clair River Tunnel Fort Michilimackinac Grand Hotel
St. Mary's Falls Canal St. Ignace Mission North Manitou Lifesaving Station
Ford Piquette Avenue Plant Edison Institute State Capital
Quincy Mining Company Norton Mound Group Lightship "Huron"
Windemere USS Silversides 2016 Mitten Master

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ng cbfgrq pbbeqf : Svaq gur vgrz naq pbhag gur fcbxrf Sbe svany : cebwrpg n jnlcbvag hfvat 6 K gur ahzore bs fcbxrf sbe gur qvfgnapr naq ng gur ahzore bs fcbxrf sbe gur qrterrf. Gunaxf Nyrk Onxre sbe gur uvqqvat fcbg Lbh frrx na nzzb pna gung vf abg gbb sne sebz lbhe fgnegvat ybpngvba!

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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