At Your Service - Cascadian Style Virtual Cache

The Glacier Public Service Center on State Route 542, Mount. Baker Scenic Byway, serves visitors headed into the northern reaches of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, and North Cascades National Park. In 1938, Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the center, which is representative of the Cascadian style of architecture. It is listed on the federal register of historic places.

Operations include 24-hour self-service outdoor information, restrooms, picnic tables, and staffed visitor services on a seasonal schedule.

The legacy of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
Have you ever hiked to Heather Meadows and seen the warming hut up past the ski area? Stopped by the ranger station in Glacier to sign in or get a map? Picnicked at Douglas Fir or Silver Fir campgrounds? These places are what remains of work performed by young men enrolled in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression (1933 -1941). Many of these men came from some of the poorest, hardest places back East while others came from our own backyard.

Hard Times: Everything in Trouble
In 1933, the United States along with the rest of the world was in the terrible throes of the Great Depression. One in four men between the ages of 14 and 34 had no job, banks were failing and families were losing homes and farms. In addition to economic hardships, the country also suffered from decades of misuse of forests and other natural resources: dust storms on the Great Plains, over-logging in the Northwest and beetle infestations in the forests of the East. The country was on the verge of environmental calamity. Enter Franklin Delano Roosevelt. As New York State Governor during the depression’s early years, he spearheaded a jobs program for unemployed young men. As he was sworn into office as U.S. President on March 9, 1933, the idea of expanding the program nationwide was on his mind. On March 21, he gave a speech before Congress on the environment and unemployment. Six days later, the Emergency Conservation Work Act was introduced in Congress, signed into law on March 30 and enacted on April 5. The Civilian Conservation Corps was born.

Virtual Logging Requirements:
Please message or email your answers to the following questions.

1. What does a forester use to find out about a tree while it is still growing? (two words) ______________ _____________. What does it extract? (three words) ___ __________ __________.

2. How old (estimated) is the Douglas Fir?

3. How many total andesite columnar rocks are directly behind and to the right of the Civilian Conservation Corps memorial?

4. What year was the building placed on the National Register of Historic Places?

Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.