This is our first ever placed cache. As a family, we've been hiding caches since the 2000s, using a mounted GPS device that was geocache-enabled from our vehicle windshield!
We love Nanoose Bay, located between Nanaimo and Parksville on Vancouver Island. To access this cache, head east at the Petro Canada along NW Bay Road from highway 19. The trailhead for the Notch Hill Loop Trail is 3.6 km from the gas station and there is parking on each side of the road. At the top of the trail is a lovely swing that you can sit on and wonder at the view.
A nurse tree is a living or dead tree that provides nutrients for young seedlings, helping them survive weather conditions or hungry animals, allowing new trees to grow in their outdoor "nursery." This natural phenomenon, common in old-growth forests, transfers vital nutrients from the decaying wood, supporting forest ecosystems for centuries.
The start of the trail has a wide gravel path which is somewhat steep. Keep right and go up the steep hill.
The cache is hidden a short distance up the trail a few metres off the path.
This cache was placed on Dec. 1/25 on a team member's birthday. There is a Christmas-themed trinket for the first to find this cache