Some of my earliest memories of exploring the Traverse City area are of the summers shortly after my uncle came home from WWII. He (who knew everything there was to know about anything) would often take me with him to pick blueberries. One of his favorite places was "out in the plains". We would drive out of town on a dirt road he called "The Supply Road" to "Tin Can Corners". This was where a string of tin cans hung from a tree beside the road. We would usually turn north from there and after a while he would point off to the side and say, "Over there, that used to be Camp 5".
Camp 5 was the largest lumber camp in the Traverse City area. Part of the Hannah and Lay operation, it was the home of many of the local men who worked full or part time in the woods. Local historians Al Barnes and Larry Wakefield both locate the camp in the area about a mile north of the intersection of Muncie Lake Rd and Supply. (Tin Can Corners?) While hunting mushrooms in the area, we came across a stub of a telephone pole with the numeral 5 on it. There was also some rusted trash in the vicinity that we have removed. It is in the right area and we believe it marks the spot where a local group were planning on placing a Camp 5 monument before the area was closed to motorized traffic. Although it is not in a clearing, a hundred years have passed since the camp flourished. You can tell that the woods have been cut over at least once more since the first lumberjacks worked here. We have placed a cache close to this marker to commemorate "Camp 5" and the pioneer settlers who worked there.
The cache is a clear one quart plastic container hidden close to the 5 marker. The coordinates are the average of a dozen readings taken over three visits. Our readings varied each visit and we never actually observed the combination listed but we know they will get you close. When you find the 5 post, you’re there.
The original contents included a log, a collection of goodies, and a geo coin for the first to find. Please take the time and effort to return the cache as best you can exactly as you found it.
There is parking less than a quarter mile to the north at "The Rock" and it is an easy walk on a two track to the cache. You may be able to get even closer from the south and east. This area is closed to motorized traffic, please preserve it for Geocaching and obey the signs.
