True lagoons are rare in the Aleutians, and Clam Lagoon is one of the largest. Its protected waters are free of ice all winter and provide a unique combination of food and shelter for birds and marine mammals throughout the year. Extensive mudflats on the south end are great places to see basking harbor seals and a wide variety of waterfowl and shorebirds, including rare Asian migrants (you may see a lot of birders here too in fall and spring!). The north end is the best place to view sea otters and their pups. Terns, jaegers, gulls, eiders and other waterfowl nest around the lagoon in summer. Emperor geese and thousands of ducks spend their winters here. Pink and silver salmon spawn in several of the streams emptying into the lagoon, and people also fish for Dolly Varden, steelhead, small halibut, greenling, and baitfish. The islands of Great Sitkin, Umak, Little Tanaga and Kagalaska are visible from Clam Lagoon when clouds allow.
A gravel road about seven miles long encircles the lagoon. Candlestick Bridge spans the narrow entrance to the lagoon, where seawater rushes through as the tide goes in and out, and seals and seabirds gather to feed, especially in early summer when literally millions of candlefish enter the lagoon. Hikers and bicyclists can use the bridge, but it is closed to vehicles, so you’ll have to retrace your route if you drive around the lagoon.
Clam Lagoon is a marine mammal sanctuary. No subsistence hunting of otters or seals is allowed in the lagoon, but even more importantly, the lagoon is naturally inaccessible to predators. One theory explaining the precipitous decline of sea otters throughout the western Aleutians is increased predation by orcas, an idea supported by the relative stability of the otter population within the lagoon, where no predators lurk.
Humans arrived on Adak about 7,000 years ago and lived on bluffs overlooking the lagoon; there are several sites of archaeological importance in the area. By 1830 the Russians had occupied the island and removed the native Unangan people. In 1913 Adak became part of the Aleutian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, later consolidated with other coastal lands into the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, set aside to conserve marine mammals, seabirds and other migratory birds, and the marine resources upon which they rely. In the early 1940s the northern portion of Adak was removed from the Refuge for military operations, and for more than fifty years there was an active military presence. Currently lands surrounding the lagoon are owned by The Aleut Corporation, but you will pass remnants of WWII and Cold War structures left over from Adak’s military past. The island in the lagoon and all the offshore rocks and islets outside the lagoon are still part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, as is the southern portion of Adak.
Your quest will require you to be very observant at each of eight stops, and to make note of certain features in order to reach the cache at N51 AA.BB4’ W176 CC.DD6’, where AA, BB, CC, and DD are determined below. You will also need to decode this clue, obtaining bits of it at each stop:
EFGH IJ! KLMNOP QRSTUV WXYZabcd: efghi jk lm nopqr st uvwxyz.
Don’t forget to bring your binoculars, and take time to observe the wildlife thriving in the lagoon today, as well as to reflect on the ghosts of its past.
Here are the eight stops, and the clues to look for at each:
1. N51 54.905’ W176 35.140’
jk = most common verb in the first paragraph
uvwxyz = first half of the second word in the last sentence, plus the letter “T”
2. N51 55.015’ W176 35.260’
AA = 32 + (the number of arrows...be sure to count ALL of them!)
These birds feed by “dabbling” in shallow waters. If this is –
- True, then efghi = ledge
- False, then efghi = cache
3. N51 55.581’ W176 35.094’
Eight species of waterfowl are illustrated here. If this is –
- True, then QRSTUV = office
- False, then QRSTUV = ground
lm = the first word in the third line of the final paragraph (bottom right)
4. N51 56.890’ W176 35.029’
KLMNOP = the last word in the second line under the family portrait
5. N51 55.923’ W176 33.278’
Count up all the birds, marine mammals (don't forget the whale!), and fish. The total = CC
Who is hiding under the rocks? If it is –
- a troll then WXYZabcd = distance
- a wren then WXYZabcd = canister
- an octopus then WXYZabcd = entryway
- a sculpin then WXYZabcd = platform
6. N51 55.643’ W176 33.604’
Bald eagles have white heads by the time they are three years old. If this is –
- True, then EFGH = look
- False, then EFGH = come
BB = 10 + (the number of birds of prey you see)
7. N51 54.956’ W176 34.204’
IJ = st = first two letters in the seashell paragraph
8. N51 55.047’ W176 34.803’
Look for a marked bird. Can you read the code on its neck collar? If it is -
- J22 then DD = 18
- 608 then DD = 31
- X54 then DD = 25
- 2L3 then DD = 47
Find the line about broad, flattened bills. The letters for nopqr are scrambled here:
n = first letter of ninth word
o = first letter of eighth word
p = last letter of first word
q = fourth letter of fourth word
r = first letter of third word
That's it! You should now be able to find the cache; you're looking for a small white box with a geocaching label.
