A Little Light History Traditional Geocache

The third cache in and around Kugluktuk will bring you to a small historic marker, and, just up the outcrop, to a beautiful vista view eastwards across the Coppermine River.  While not in a terribly built up housing area, you are near the road leading to where the local folk gather their drinking water (if they don't wish to use tap water; most prefer to get their own).

You are now looking for a small container, a little larger than a bison tube, with room for the log , and possibly smaller lapel pins.  A pathtag, for instance, will NOT fit into the container. 

The original contents, along with the original cache, were muggled. Subsequently, the second cache was also muggled, and then the third as well. Hopefully this fourth time is the charm and this one lasts longer.  It used to be part of my flashlight series, but thanks to muggles it is no longer so, so the "light" refers now to the amount of history you'll get. Please use some stealth, the area can be busy from time to time.  It's hard to forecast when people will swing by looking for their fresh water, so be watchful.

A word of WARNING, though. When you come, please plan to come "old school", with a proper GPSr. Smart phones will now (as of the summer 2015) work in Kugluktuk BUT ONLY if they are connected to the Bell system. But a GPSr with the coordinates loaded will definitely get you to GZ.

Did you know that Samuel Hearne and John Franklin (uh, excuse me... Sir John Franklin; yes, that one.  The one whose two ships were lost in the Northwest Passage and have recently been found) both travelled from the Hudson's Bay post at Fort Prince of Wales (what we call Churchill nowadays) to the mouth of the Coppermine River?  The first did it in 1771, and the second in the years between 1818 and 1822.  Looking for?  Well, copper of course.  Hence the name of the river, and the inhabitants who lived here, the Copper Eskimos.  Diamond Jenness, a later explorer to this area, commented about the harsh conditions that these people lived (and believe me, still live) in, and yet somehow it produced as he put it "an invincibly optimistic race" of people.

Come visit the north, meet these wonderfully welcoming people, and perhaps learn something of their history, both at GZ and at the nearby Visitor's centre.

It's not a tricky route, and for most people it will be a comfortable 20 minute walk (or less) along gravel and dirt roads or trails from the hotels.

Whereas before, you had to look down at the base of a post, now you need to look up. The cache is magnetic. Good luck.