This two stage multi cache is not your typical SWS cache. It is hidden on the CIS Trail, formerly the grade of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Stage one is the posted coordinates. Follow the instructions below to find the cache. This new cache is a replacement for the original traditional cache at the same coordinates, GC5Q49G, now archived. That cache was muggled too many times.
Muir depot, circa 1910
Muir:
The village of Muir was created in 1854 when a lumber mill was built by the Soule, Robinson and Company. It was platted in 1857 at the time the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad was being constructed through town. A post office named Montrose Station opened on September 12th, 1857. The name came from the early settlers who had migrated here from Montrose, NY.
The Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad superintendant, H.K. Muir, was instrumental in the creation of a station here and the village was renamed for him on February 15th, 1859. Muir was incorporated as a village in 1873. The plat below shows the D&M rail corridor through town and also shows the proposed Coldwater, Marshall and Milwaukee Railroad. The latter line was never completed, but was graded as far as the north side of Hubbardston.
Muir 1875 plat showing the D&M and the proposed CM&M.
The D&M:
The Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad was created in 1855 as a consolidation of the Oakland and Ottawa Railroad and the Detroit and Pontiac Railroad. The D&M then built a cross-state line from Pontiac to Grand Haven where a cross-lake ferry service was established. The line reached Owosso on July 1st 1856, St. Johns on January 14th1857, and Ionia on August 12th, 1857.
In 1878, the D&M went into receivership and was purchased by the Great Western Railroad, who reorganized it as the Detroit, Grand Haven and Milwaukee. In 1882, the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada gained control of the Great Western. On November 1st, 1928 the DGH&M was merged into the Grand Trunk Western, a subsidiary of theCanadian National Railway.
In 1930, the GTW moved its cross-lake car ferry service from Grand Haven to Muskegon and operated it there until 1977, abandoning its route to Grand Haven and eventually purchasing a line west of Marne and into Muskegon from the Pennsylvania Railroad. After the ferry service ended, business declined. In 1987 the line from Owosso to Muskegon was sold to Central Michigan Railroad. In 1993, the Grand Rapids and Eastern bought the portion between Fuller (in Grand Rapids) and Ionia and operates it as far as Lowell, primarily serving the flour mill there. The portion from Lowell to Ionia was abandoned and has become the Fred Meijer Grand River Valley Trail. The portion from Owosso to Ionia has just become the Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail.
The Cache:
The cache really isn't a difficult find once you figure out the stage 2 instructions. The difficulty rating is because the clue is a little cryptic. I'm sure some people will think the difficulty is overstated while others may not even attempt to figure it out. Please don't spill the beans to others once you find it.
Stage 1: At the posted coordinates, take a good look at what is in front of you.
Stage 2: To find the final, use the following clue: From the east end, come back three and look upriver.
Please replace the cache as you found it, just as the hint says. Spoiler logs/images will be deleted.
Sources:
- Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad, Detroit, Grand Haven & Milwaukee Railway
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
- Fred Meijer Clinton-Ionia-Shiawassee Trail
- RRHX: Muir
- Michigan Railroads & Railroad Companies, Meints, Graydon M., Michigan State University Press, © 1992.
- Michigan Railroad Lines, Meints, Graydon M., Michigan State University Press, © 2005.
- Michigan Place Names, Romig, Walter, Wayne State University Press, © 1986.
[agh]
