The Whittier Tunnel Virtual Cache
Hidden : 10/11/2024
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size: virtual (virtual)

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Geocache Description:


This virtual geocache is the Whittier Tunnel -- the longest rail-highway tunnel in North America (2.5 miles) that provides a vital sea-land-rail shipping link to the vast areas of interior Alaska. It was only useable by railroads until it was modified in 2000 to allow one lane/one way of highway traffic when it was not used by the train, and to add safety features.

World War 2 Strategic Importance

The Whittier Tunnel was key in the battles of World War 2 in Europe and had very little to do with the World War 2 battles in the Pacific.  It was constructed in 1941-43 as a railroad-only tunnel as part of the "Northwest Staging Route" of the Lend-Lease strategy against Nazi Germany. The sea-rail link was needed to carry vital supplies from Seattle to Anchorage and on to Fairbanks.   

Simultaneously, the construction of the 1,300 mile Alcan Highway created a network of airfields across Canada to allow aircraft produced in middle-American factories to fly to Fairbanks. 

Soviet Air Force pilots stationed In Fairbanks flew 8,000 aircraft to Siberia and on to combat on the Eastern Front, where the entire German Luftwaffe Air Force had an operational strength of only 4,000 aircraft.  Fifteen airstrips/airports were built in remote Alaska and 20+ airstrips built in Canada for airplanes to fly to Fairbanks.  Aircraft just built in Michigan could be fighting in Stalingrad just a week later using this supply route.  

All the supplies for the bases also had to get to Fairbanks and could not be carried on the aircraft. Two routes were built simultaneously because each route was an engineering gamble to do quickly. The AlCan Highway (now Alaska Highway) went over land through Canada was a very seasonally restricted route for supplies for just a minimal amount of supplies, most of which was needed at the intermediate airfields.

Shipping directly to Anchorage was very restricted and seasonal at that time.  The Whittier Tunnel and railroad connection to Fairbanks was a second route that could move a lot of supplies by ship and railroad and tie into the existing road and railroad connection between Anchorage and Fairbanks.  

An amazing amount of construction was done in just a few years while the USA was anxious to get quickly involved in the distant European battles. The Whittier Tunnel was key to the WW2 battles in Europe, and not in the Pacific battles against Japan.  

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Geocache Logging Requirement: 

There is no physical log to sign for a Virtual Geocache (which is fortunate because your GPS won't work there anyway). So just add a pic from inside the tunnel to your log  -- it might not be much from inside a train, but just do the best you can. Have fun in the tunnel!

[This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between January 17, 2024 and January 17, 2025. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 4.0 on the Geocaching Blog.]

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Obahf cbvagf pna or pynvzrq va lbhe ybt vs lbh ubax gur pne ubea va gur ghaary be fnl n "yvtug ng gur raq bs gur ghaary" wbxr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


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