Macaq is the Alutiiq word for Sun.
Sunshine is an important ingredient in Alutiiq subsistence activities. To preserve the quantities of meat, fish, and even plants harvested during the productive summer months, families need dry weather. Without it, foods do not desiccate and can spoil rapidly in the damp Kodiak environment. Even the best hunter can experience a lean winter if a wet summer makes processing his catch difficult. With luck, families had some sunshine and a little wind to speed the process.
Sunshine was also important for drying the plant fibers used in weaving many common objects - baskets for carrying, cooking and storing foods, mats for household use, woven clothing, and cordage. The Alutiiq also used the sun to soften spruce pitch, used to waterproof kayak seams and patch dories. To coax the sun from behind the clouds, and to hasten its return during the dark days of winter, Alutiiq children played a sunrise game with a wooden bead on a string.
This cache is up near the top of Pillar mountain on the southwest trail up from Swampy Loop area. It's up along the trail at the ridge but before you reach the first pillar (if you are walking uphill). It's an ammo can style container with trade items, a logbook, and a pen, just a little ways off the trail.