This cache takes you to Taddle Creek Park in the Annex area of Toronto.
Taddle Creek originally began near Wychwood Park on Davenport road; it gently passed through the Annex, the University of Toronto grounds and eastward to Lake Ontario where it ended, around Front and Parliament streets. Today, almost the entire stream runs underground and has been largely forgotten, though it has left its stamp on Toronto. For example, the scenic footpath known as Philosopher's Walk follows the ravine created by the creek from the Royal Ontario Museum to Trinity College.
The creek was first called Ziibiing by the Anishinaabe people who live here, and was an important waterway for transportation and food. It was known to be a meeting place for both the Anishinaabe and Haudonausonee peoples who live here, and it had spiritual importance. With the arrival of the settlers, the original town of ‘Muddy York’ (to which Taddle Creek contributed muddily to…) used the creek for fishing, skating, swimming, and even brewing (for a time it was called Brewery Creek because at least two different breweries drew their water from the creek). It was known to be a beautiful creek and an oasis in the city.
But as the city grew, the creek went from idyllic to over polluted and people began to complain of the stink of it, likening it more to a sewer. The solution: to cover it over and build on top of it.
Today, the creek still runs under the ground and is largely forgotten, aside from this park that exists where it used to run. Also, in the spring Taddle Creek is awakened and it seeps into the basements of the buildings that sit on top of it.
At this park, a sculpture of a water jug (which is also a fountain in the warmer months) has been built to commemorate the stream that runs under it; it was built from approximately 4km of steel rod, the length of Taddle Creek when it once ran above ground.
A longer read on the history of the creek can be found here: http://www.taddlecreekmag.com/the-forgotten-stream
The cache itself is a micro, there is no room for a writing utensil so you’ll need to bring your own to sign the log. Please be careful to replace the cache safely and so that it is hidden from sight.
The park is often busy as there is also a playground and many dog walkers and people walking through on their way to the nearby St George subway station; stealth will likely be needed.