SWS - Manistee River on the GL&MR II Wherigo Cache

Cache:

This cache is not at the posted coordinates, which is private property, so don't go there! The cache is a Reverse Whereigo cache that can be played using the instructions near the bottom of the cache description (see Playing the Reverse Whereigo:).

There is a dearth of easily accessible whereigo caches in Kalkaska County. At time of publication, there was only one other. This cache was hidden as a simple whereigo to benefit players trying to qualify for the Michigan County Grid Challenge by MiGO, the Michigan Geocaching Organization. To learn more about that challenge, visit the MCGC page on the MiGO website.

This cache is on the grade of the logging railroad on its approach to a spot where logs were dumped next to the river. Logs were floated from here to mills in Manistee, usually in the spring when water levels were high from winter snow melt. The cache is on property owned by the State of Michigan. The posted coordinates are the site of the log dump down river from CCC Campground. The posted coordinates are at someone's cabin, so I repeat, don't go there. There is nothing left of the log dump to see.

^{Photo © Kevin Springsteen, a.k.a. aghudley.}
This cut leads down to the GL&MR log dump on the Manistee River.

Grass Lake & Manistee River Rail Road

The Grass Lake & Manistee River Rail Road was incorporated by Simeon Babcock, Michael Engleman and other Manistee investors to harvest timber from north of Grass Lake in Missaukee County, and from points east. The railroad started operations on September 3rd, 1886, with ten miles of trackage, several of which paralleled the Crawford & Manistee River. The company came under control of the State Lumber Company of Manistee in 1889. The line continued to harvest timber and dump it in the river until it was abandoned in 1892.

^{USDA imagery, Google Earth, 2005, enbellished by K.M.Springsteen.}
Aerial imagery of CCC Bridge and Campground showing log dumps for GL&MR (blue) and C&MR (pink).

Playing the Reverse Whereigo:

There are two ways of finding the location of Reverse Whereigo caches. One is the traditional approach in the field, using a phone app (search for Reverse Whereigo App) or a whereigo cartridge common to all Reverse Whereigo caches (see Cartridge in Sources) loaded an older GPS device capable of executing cartridges. The second way is to use a Reverse Whereigo Solver on the Internet prior to entering the field. In both cases, you need these three digit strings to determine the location of the cache:

004396, 865946, 880184

For the traditional approach, you will need a GPS with Whereigo capability or an equivalent phone app such as WhereYouGo for Android or Whereigo® for iPhone. You will also need the traditional cartridge common to all Reverse Whereigo caches was created by -Waldmeister-. Once you have the cartridge, you can play any Reverse Whereigo in the field. The link to the cartridge is included below (see Cartridge in Sources:)

Using the traditional approach, your task is to find the cache by periodically querying your Reverse Cache Box for the distance to the final location. Notice that it won't give you direction, which turns this to a game of hot and cold. Try to use your Reverse Cache Box as few times as possible. All instructions and necessary information needed to complete the cartridge is contained within it. The cartridge is multilingual. To begin, select 'Play' then type the three digit strings into your player.

Once you zero in on a spot close to the final, you can try to find it yourself without any more queries. If you make a query within 25 yards, you will receive the actual coordinates and can follow your GPS from there. After you make the find, feel free to post the output stats (number of queries, etc.) from your search with your find log. There is a "completion code" for this cartridge but it is not needed for anything here.

For cachers without a Whereigo capable GPS or Whereigo phone app, an alternate approach is to use a Reverse Whereigo Solver (search the internet) to solve the final coordinates from anywhere. One such is listed in the Sources: section below.

Sources:

The following sources provided information for this cache page. Thanks very much to my two railroad history friends, Jim Hannum and the late Don Meints for their hard work. Thanks also to -Waldmeister- for creating and sharing the cartridge.

• Hannum: In the Pines - An Atlas of Michigan Logging Railroads, James S. Hannum, M. D. © 2017, Michigan State University Press
• Meints: Michigan Railroads and Railroad Companies, Graydon M. Meints © 1992, Michigan State University Press
• Meints: Michigan Railroad Lines, Graydon M. Meints © 2005, Michigan State University Press
• Cartridge: universal Reverse Whereigo cartridge by -Waldmeister-.
• Solver: A Reverse Whereigo Solver by Cache Sleuth