Maine Spirit Quest #18 - Mars Hill Mountain Traditional Cache
Northwoods Explorer: Checked on it and it appears to be missing
Maine Spirit Quest #18 - Mars Hill Mountain
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is the location where the sunrises, in the USA, first for a few months in the summer when the sun is at its highest.
Welcome to the top of Mars Hill Mountain from the parking lot you have gained 1000 vertical feet in about one mile. The summit sits at an elevation of 1695 feet. The flat top is fairly clear of trees due to the fact that in the 1960 there was a road to the top to mark the first place where the sun hits the USA. Hawaii became the fiftieth on August 21, 1959. A fifty-star flag greeted the sunrise at Mars Hill on July 4, 1960. The first “official” flying of the fifty-star flag, however was recorded later that day as taking place on July 4, 1960 at Fort William McHenry National Monument in Baltimore, Maryland. This site was chosen because that is where Francis Scott Key, wrote the Star Spangled Banner in September 1814. The reason it was flown was the symbolism of the first rays of the raising sun falling on a new fifty-star flag with Hawaii being the furthest from Maine and where the sun sets last. The Mars Hill Chamber of Commerce then tried to develop it as a recreation area including picnicking and tenting. The remains of this period of time are evident in the areas just below the summit in the forest, including an old car and coke machine. There are still the remains of the three flagpoles at the summit and according to the NOAA it is the first place to see sun in the USA during the late spring and early summer months.
To reach this one you will have to climb Mars Hill Mountain. Go to the Big Rock Ski Area parking lot and use one of their trails to the summit. The cache is well hidden due to the traffic in the area. It has a logbook. Please make sure that it is returned to its resting place and covered so it is not easily seen by hikers. Off in the distance you can see katadhin and Number Nine Mountain, the one with the tower.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Sebz gur uvturfg fhzzvg znexre urnq fbhgujrfg (254 qrterrf) sbe 63 zrgref be ybbx sbe gur gbjre ng #9, frr gur fcehpr gerr gung vf gnyyrfg gb gur yrsg, vg vf unatvat arne gur onfr bs vg gb gur fbhgu.
Treasures
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