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**Thunderbird** is a thematic multi-cache located at one of Alaska's most popular hiking trails. Due to muggling of the original container, the original lat/longs now lead to a plate indicating the location of a regular-sized prize cache within a few hundred feet. Please use stealth at both stages.
The Thunderbird is the Grand Spirit of the Sky Realm. Stories about Thunderbird dominate the Pacific coast from California north to Alaska. She is described as being two canoe-lengths from wingtip to wingtip, so large she creates storms as she flies. Clouds are pulled together by her wings, her wingbeats create thunder, and sheet lightning flashes from her eyes when she blinks. The most infamous story about Thunderbird is a battle between her and a giant monster whale.
Thunderbird and The Whale
A giant whale became a monster destroyer of the whales that furnished oil to the children of men. It slaughtered the oil producing whales till none could be obtained for meat and oil. What were the people to do?
Thunderbird saw their plight and soared from her nest deep in a dark hole in the mountains. She soared far out over the calm waters and poised herself high up in the air, waiting for the "killer" to come to the surface of the water. The whale came and as quick as a flash, Thunderbird dove and seized it in her mighty talons. Then, with great effort, she soared away toward the mountains.
Passing beyond the oceans with her ponderous load, she, tiring, was compelled to land and rest. Each and every time the monster was allowed to reach solid land there was a terrible battle; for the whale was strong and fought for its life with terrible energy. These battles ripped up all the trees by the roots and since that time no trees have grown upon these places to this day; they have been prairies ever since.
Thunderbird finally carried the whale to her nest in the lofty mountains, and there a final and terrible contest was fought. Here, in a struggle to the death, they uprooted all the trees for many miles around the nest and also pulled the mountains down. A great storm erupted with hail and flashes of lightning filling the darkened, blackened sky. A great and crashing "thunder-noise" filled the air. The earth shook, and the great waters of the ocean roiled.
Thunderbird finally triumphed. It killed the beast and tore its great and mighty body to pieces; and then, finding that it was not good to eat, it hurled the pieces from its nest in all directions. The respective pieces turned to stone under the curse of the enraged bird.
In an interesting connection between ancient stories, sociology, and geology, this monumental battle dates back to around 1650 to 1700, at which time the Cascadia Subduction Zone (a very long sloping fault that stretches from mid-Vancouver Island to Northern California) let loose with a magnitude 10.0 earthquake, causing spontaneous volcanic eruptions, tsunami, and numerous landslides. These massive earthquakes happen about once every 350 years, and if you're doing the math, we're due for another appearance from Thunderbird...
Happy thoughts!
Take the Eklutna exit and follow the signs to Thunderbird Falls. Signal strength varies, with accuracy no greater than +-50 feet. Use your GPS to keep from making mistakes at the end of the trail. There is parking and restrooms availible at the trailhead, with a seasonal parking fee. Enjoy the hike at all seasons. And in case you think Thunderbird is only a myth...check out this!
ALASKA'S SUPER-SIZED BIRD
By PETER PORCO
Anchorage Daily News
October 15, 2002
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A giant winged creature, like something out of Jurassic Park, has reportedly been sighted several times in Southwest Alaska in recent weeks. Villagers in Togiak and Manokotak say they have seen a huge bird that's much bigger than anything they have seen before. A pilot says he spotted the creature while flying passengers to Manokotak last week. He calculated that its wingspan matched the length of a wing on his Cessna 207. That's about 14 feet.
Other people have put the wingspan in a similar range. Scientists aren't sure what to make of the reports. No one doubts that people in the region west of Dillingham have seen a very large rapto-like bird. But biologists and other people familiar with big Alaska birds say they're skeptical it's that big. A recent sighting of the mystery bird occurred Oct. 10 when Moses Coupchiak, a 43-year-old heavy equipment operator from Togiak, 40 miles west of Manokotak, saw the bird flying toward him from about two miles away as he worked his tractor.
"At first I thought it was one of those old-time Otter planes," Coupchiak said. "Instead of continuing toward me, it banked to the left, and that's when I noticed it wasn't a plane." The bird was "something huge," he said. "The wing looks a little wider than the Otter's, maybe as long as the Otter plane." The bird flew behind a hill and disappeared. Coupchiak got on the radio and warned people in Togiak to tell their children to stay away.
Pilot John Bouker said he was highly skeptical of reports of "this great big eagle" that is two or three times the size of a bald eagle. "I didn't put any thought into it." But early this week while flying into Manokotak, Bouker, owner of Bristol Bay Air Service, looked out his left window and 1,000 feet away, "there's this big ... . bird," he said. "The people in the plane all saw him," Bouker said. "He's huge, he's huge, he's really, really big. You wouldn't want to have your children out."
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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Cevmr Fgntr: Juvyr snpvat gur snyyf, purpx haqre gur frpbaq iregvpny cbfg ba gur evtug fvqr bs obneqjnyx.