Polar-Equator Trail Traditional Cache

On my way to the cabin I pass this sign and have always marveled that I am so close to halfway between the North Pole and the Equator. I can not recall seeing any other signs marking the Polar-Equator Trail. This seems like a perfect place for a cache.

PLEASE USE STEALTH WHEN RETREIVING THIS CACHE.

The following information was excerpted from a Michigan Polar-Equator Club brochure from the 1990s.

In January 1965, the Michigan Polar-Equator Club was established on the campus of Michigan State University.

One of the objectives of the MP-EC was to establish and maintain a trail across the State of Michigan as close to the 45th Parallel as possible. The 45th Parallel crosses Michigan from east to west starting just south of Alpena, through just south of Gaylord in central Michigan, then crosses through the Jordon River valley and across beautiful Torch Lake.

Near the west side of Torch Lake is a 12-foot cairn was erected "on" the 45th Parallel. Constructed with native stone, each of the 83 counties in Michigan is represented by having its name carved on a stone. There is also one piece of granite from Brunswick, Georgia. The 45th Parallel continues west across Grand Traverse Bay through Leelanau County near the communities of Suttons Bay and Leland. The 45th also touches the southernmost point of South Manitou Island, 15 miles west, in Lake Michigan.

(NOTE: To visit the cairn and Goldfinch's marvelous Halfway There, Almost Anyway virtual cache by following this link.)

In February 1971, the House and Senate of the State of Michigan recognized the Michigan Polar-Equator Trail as a significant tourist attraction in Michigan.

The State of Michigan is about 135 miles wide at the lattitude of the 45th Parallel, but the Polar-Equator Trail is a little longer than that. Torch Lake, some rivers, wetlands and the lack of roads makes it impossible to travel to east to west. So, there are a few jogs in the Trail.