Smith Stagecoach Stop Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A family-friendly stroll and multi-cache located not far off Highway 6 in the Tillamook State Forest. Explore the past and present at this new forest education / recreation facility known as the Smith Homestead Day Use Area.
This multi-cache combines an exploration of the past and the present all within an easy and family-friendly walk not far off the Wilson River Highway (Oregon 6). While the surrounding area, formerly called the Tillamook Burn, is known mostly for the forest fires that burned through here in the 1930s and 1940s, today it is a thriving young forest. Fires and salvage logging after the fires essentially removed all the trees from this vast landscape. Tree planters planted more than 72 million trees, restoring the burned landscape. One neat thing about this spot is that it’s one of the few places along the Wilson River where you can see trees that survived the fires. This particular place is important because it’s in the general vicinity of the first homestead in the Upper Wilson River. Walter and Alice Smith staked their claim here in the late 1800s, and a few years later helped open the Wilson River Wagon Road. In those days, a stagecoach trip from Forest Grove to Tillamook took two days and cost $1.50. The stage stopped overnight here at the Smith Place and visitors eventually began calling Walter and Alice’s road house the “Halfway House” because it is located halfway between Forest Grove and Tillamook. Nothing tangible remains from those earlier times, except the stories you can read at this new recreation and education site built and maintained by the Oregon Department of Forestry. Bring your picnic and plan to stay a while at this attractive spot. These coordinates will take you to an interpretive site with signs that will tell you more about this place. Be discerning about which group of signs we’re talking about here. There are others nearby, but they do not figure into the equation. Once you arrive at the right spot, have a good read and gather the information you’ll need to do the math that will produce the coordinates you need to find the cache. You’ll find the cache about a quarter mile away at: 45. 35. x22 123. AB. CDE X = The number of interpretive signs in this immediate spot. A = The number of homestead children pictured in the photo B = (The year the family moved to the homestead) minus (the year Walter filed the claim) C = (The number of times they had to cross the Wilson River) minus 8 D = (The number of miles hiked to the claim) minus 7 E = Add each individual number in the year the Smiths enlarged their home. Then subtract 15 from that number. No need to bushwhack. You can stay on a trail until fairly close to the cache. The cache is not buried. No need to dig, hack, or disturb the surrounding vegetation. You’re looking for a standard ammo can. When you get to the cache, be sure to log your find, and take a photo with the camera. Oh, and keep an eye peeled for the ghosts of a generation of stagecoach travelers.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qba’g jbeel vs lbh trg fghzcrq, whfg jngpu bhg sbe gur sreaf.
Treasures
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