Please read all the rules of the trail before heading to the trailhead.
The listed coordinates for the cache are for the East Portal parking lot. I recommend you start your journey here. Each set of coordinates on the page will take you to one or more signs explaining some aspect of the region's history. Using the information found on them, you will collect the numbers necessary to find the cache container.
Note: All locations are on the Hiawatha Trail.
Stop One
N 47* 23.367' W 115* 38.910'
Check out the information and photos here. There's a photo showing the meeting of two steam shovels, taken on March A, 1909. Pay attention to what I'm asking for here; several folks have gotten the wrong answer at this step.
Stop Two
N 47* 22.570' W 115* 40.075'
According to a January 8th, 1940 story out of Roland, Idaho, skiers heading for the slopes there left St. Maries at B:CD am and returned at 7:30 pm.
Stop Three
N 47* 21.545' W 115* 39.643'
From the St. Maries Gazette, there's a story here about an accident that injured 6 Austrian workers. It's dated November EF, 1907.
Stop Four
N 47* 20.845' W 115* 37.801'
The grave here is that of a gandy-dancer who died during the 1910 fire, when he leapt from one of the trains attempting to take people to safety. The rest of the passengers on his train took refuge in Tunnel GH and survived the inferno. Again, pay attention to the question and all of the information on the sign.
Stop Five
N 47* 20.515' W 115* 36.446'
The mine tunnel here in Adair was dug into the mountain in search of copper ore. By 1924 in had reached IJKL feet.
Stop Six
N 47* 20.394' W 115* 37.491'
According to the information here, in 1951 the Milwaukee Road had 232 diesels, MNO steam locomotives, and 116 electric engines in operation.
Stop Seven
N 47* 20.961' W 115* 38.952'
The distinctive pink 'Traveler' china used on the Hiawatha Streamliners was introduced in 19PQ.
Stop Eight
N 47* 21.037' W 115* 40.688'
Welcome to the town of Falcon! One of the signs here speaks of the many nationalities who worked in the area, carving out the route of the Milwaukee Road through these mountains. Find the reference to "RSTU National Flags"
Stop Nine
N 47* 21.449' W 115* 42.552'
Early Forest Service rangers were a breed apart. According to the picture here of Cyrus J. Bingham, he stood over six feet tall and weighed VWX pounds.
Stop Ten
N 47* 21.105' W 115* 44.186'
According to the sign here, the Milwaukee Road had 742 miles of track in 18YZ.
Now put the appropriate values into this formula -
N 47* FA.HZI'
W 115* VQ.MB(S-3)'
Please Read Before Starting Out
There are no trick questions, but they were selected to provide the numbers I needed, not necessarily for any special historic significance. Read all of the questions carefully and answer what is being asked; don't just focus on what you think are the most interesting or important bits. Some of the first folks to search rushed overly much and made mistakes, leading to their frustration.
You might also find it beneficial to plot out the waypoints ahead of time, so you have some idea what you are getting yourself into. It also would be extremely helpful if you take close up photographs of the signs for future reference. That way if you have trouble with one of the numbers, you can refer to the picture to help fix errors.
One last note: The accuracy wasn't as good as I'd have liked when I placed the container (those canyon walls can be troublesome), so if you are having problems finding the cache once the coordinates get you into the general area, the hint should help you succeed.