Anne's W&OD Trail Patrol Ride "Camp Alger" Cache Traditional Geocache
runfairfax: Time to retire this one, the container just keeps going missing and the wasps have returned to the area.
Anne's W&OD Trail Patrol Ride "Camp Alger" Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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This is a pretty easy one to find. Don't overthink it.
There is a W&OD historical marker about Camp Alger near this spot. It was an army encampment during the Spanish American War. This is on my normal route for the W&OD Trail Patrol.
As the current Park Mgr. points out, and I'd be remiss if I didn't repeat it, the actual camp was not on the trail in this spot. It did spread down that far, though, and the idea at the time was to place the encampment near the RR line (which of course is now the W&OD Trail.) Soldiers did buy various food items and necessary wares from people who lived along the trail. You can see one of the old houses said to have been used as kind of a 19th century convenience store in the vicinity.
In the summer of 1898, typhus sickened many of the soldiers at Camp Alger. Eventually, they were moved to "healthier" locations. Some by RR, some by marching. It was a clever idea to locate a military encampment near a RR. However, there wasn't really enough clean water around. That was a big problem!
In case you were wondering, Russell A. Alger was Secretary of War during the McKinley Adminstration.
Coordinates should be pretty accurate. Not perfect. Under the lines, there is a little variation. I took five readings and picked the average. This cache does not require getting dirty or getting ticks, a real plus when it's not winter!
Park is open only during daylight hours. Please respect that when hunting. Do not hunt this cache after dark.
1.5 for terrain only b/c it may be a little difficult to reach to get the actual cache for someone in a wheelchair. The area is pretty wheelchair friendly, though.
The link above takes you to Paul McCray's website. Paul is an expert on the history of the W&OD Trail and was the Park Manager. Enjoy his website and his collection of old photos. Next time you run, hike, bike or geocache along the trail, it'll make you appreciate how things used to look!
Enjoy this bit of local history! Cache was appropriately placed on Memorial Day weekend.
CONGRATS to flydad who was FTF this cache!
NOTE: The historic marker sign tends to attract wasps in warm weather and so the cache is not placed there for everyone's safety (including my own!). The cache is NOT on or under the sign. If you find the log wet (it was in a baggy in the container, but sometimes that fails), please post a note and I will go out and put in a dry one).
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Jul abg fvg naq jngpu gur jbeyq tb ol sbe njuvyr?