Located near Voyageurs National Park and the Rainy Lake public fishing pier on Hwy 11 East of Ranier, this cache takes you on one of the most beautiful walks right through the Tilsen Creek Bog (permission granted to place). This is a very unique experience you don't often get and remains the highlight to our trips out here. You will find this cache hidden nicely from visitors on a seating area along the bogwalk. Please do not disturb wildlife, including plants and trees. You will not need to leave the walkway. The hide was meant to make you look a little bit, and the difficulty rating is reflected as such. It won't prove to be too difficult; nothing has to be removed, messed with, or manipulated in order to find. I have included waypoints for a typically-empty parking area near the cache. Read on for information about the bogwalk and the bog itself.
A few years ago, a local ski club lost access to the private property they used to access the ski trail for off-season maintenance. For a couple of years they struggled to move mowers across a terribly narrow, rocky trail but finally gave up. That's when they dreamed up the wild idea for a wooden walkway that crosses a section of the ski trail and leads over the bog. After unsuccessfully applying for a Federal Recreational Trail Program grant, they changed our approach and proposed a public walkway to be used by a variety of groups - hikers, bikers, bird watchers, and school classes, and were awarded a 75% matching grant for a $200,000 project. They raised over $30,000 for the local match and contracted with the Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa to provide labor. This 1/2 mile long 8' wide walkway was constructed in only 30 days in April 2019.
For anyone interested in the construction, from the mastermind himself: "The walkway just floats on the bog like a floating sidewalk. In order to make this possible, the workers laid sills (8’ 5x6 treated timbers) directly on the bog crossways. Then three 16’ 5x6 stringers were placed on the sills, along with 2x6 decking on top. All material was full thickness rough cut treated. We initially thought we’d have to pin the walkway to the ground occasionally along the way, but it was so heavy when done, we did not. We used 5” GRK screws on the deck and maybe 12” ones to fasten stringers to sills. Over $5 grand in screws!"
As for the bog, some very fun facts: what you are seeing (and walking through) is an important eco-system supporting a variety of plants including the Tamarack tree (also called the Larch). At first glance, these trees look like other conifers, but they are actually deciduous as they lose their pine-like needles every fall. What makes a bog different from a swamp is the fact that bogs are made up of a floating mass of rotting moss resulting in a soil known as peat. Interestingly enough, the decaying process actually causes the peat moss to "burp" in the spring time as the moss releases gas into the atmosphere. If you see this phenomenon, be sure to include it in your log! It is recommended to wear mosquito repellent as the bog can be breeding area for those pesky bugs. However, much to our amusement, we learned that this bog is host to carnivorous plants that actually capture mosquitoes and other insects with their sticky leaves and are able to break down their capture as a source of nutrients. You will see pictures of these plants at the cache location; look closely on your return journey to see if you can find any!
This is be my first cache hide, and I am honored you even read this far, let alone are interested in finding my cache. I hope you find it as beautiful, fun, unique, and enjoyable as I do. Thank you!
Resources: rainylake.org and Burgess Eberhardt (mastermind of project)