UPDATE: 3/1/24:
2019 was the 100th Anniversary of Michigan State Parks and we're still celebrating!. Join the Michigan Geocaching Organization (MiGO), the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Geocaching.com for the first official GeoTour in Michigan.
This tour was originally scheduled to run for three years, kicking off on Friday of Memorial Weekend in 2019 and continue through May 31st, 2022. The success of this awesome tour has not gone unnoticed. On February 2nd, 2022, The DNR announced the extension of the GeoTour through September 24th, 2024!. Join us in making a final push to complete this very popular and very successful GeoTour before the sun sets on it.
Each geocache is in one of Michigan's state parks. The geocaches are arranged by MiGO Region with twenty-five geocaches per region. The Ticket to Celebrate 100 is available for download from the DNR's Geocaching page. It explains how to qualify for prizes in each of the four regions and for the GeoTour as a whole.
Day use areas of state parks are open from 8AM to 10PM. Geocaching is limited to those hours. Entry into Michigan's State Parks requires a Michigan Recreation Passport. See the Resources section below for more information.
The sun will set on the MSPCGT at midnight Tuesday, September 24th. The MSPCGT will go off the air as a GeoTour and the caches will disappear from the map. There is a lot of construction going on in our State Parks in 2024. Some of the GeoTour caches will have to be pulled earlier. The remaining geocaches in the tour will be archived October 1st, 2024. Players will have until December 31st, 2024 to claim any prize they have earned. Hiders will be contacted to request removal of the geocaches they hid unless they have made arrangements with park managers and have a permit in place to keep the geocache in play, with a new GC Code.
Now for some good news: MiGO and the DNR are busy working on a new project that will kick off in the Spring of 2025, code named MSPGT 2.0. Are you interested in helping? Keep your MiGO Membership up to date and stay tuned to the website.
Cache:
This cache was hidden as part of the Michigan State Parks Centennial GeoTour, presented by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Geocaching Organization. Record the codeword printed on the log book and on a label inside the cache container to the appropriate box on the Ticket to Celebrate 100 form. See the instructions on the form to claim prizes.
This is a four stage multi-cache with a with three field puzzles and a projection. It is not at the posted coordinates. To determine the location of the cache, start at the posted coordinates and answer the following questions with information there to figure out where stage 2 is:
3/1/23 Note: With the surfacing job done by the DNR in the fall of 2023, stages for this puzzle are no longer in place. Answers for those questions are now given in the waypoint list below until the DNR replaces thie missing signage.
- Stage 2 is at N43° 35.ABC W85° 27.DEF: Use information found on a sign at Stage 1.
- A = Number of prohibited users on the second line.
- B = Number of allowed plus number of prohibited users on the second line.
- C = Number of horses on the second line.
- D = Number of cycles on the sign.
- E = Number of allowed users on the second line.
- F = Number of prohibited users on the third line.
- North Checksum: A+B+C = 6
- West Checksum:. D+E+F = 9
- Important: To get to stages 2, 3 and 4, you need to walk the White Pine Trail, not the road.
- Stage 3 is at N43° 35.ABC W85° 27.DEF: Use Information found on a sign at Stage 2.
- A = Number of 1s in phone number.
- B = Fourth digit of phone number.
- C = Eighth digit of phone number.
- D = Seventh digit of phone number.
- E = Number of 1s in phone number.
- F = Number of 7s in phone number.
- North Checksum: A+B+C = 10
- West Checksum:. D+E+F = 7
- Stage 4 is at N43° 35.ABC W85° 27.DEF, but to get there, you will need to calculate a projection using information on a post at stage 3.
- Bearing = UVW degrees.
- Distance = XYZ feet.
- U = 1.
- V = Multiply yellow digits on north side.
- W = Multiply yellow digits on south side.
- XYZ = yellow number (not digits) multiplied by the black number.
- Bearing Checksum: U+V+W = 17.
- Distance Checksum: X+Y+Z = 3.
- Double check your result: Stage 4 coordinate checksum: (N43° 35.ABC W85° 27.DEF), A+B+C+D+E+F = 26
The website GeoLifeLine.com can help with your projection of your GPS device won't compute it for you. Use the result in Degrees and Decimal Minutes after rounding to three decimal digits. As an alternative, stage four is oh-thirty-four less north and oh-oh-seven more west than stage three.
You are looking for a Regular size container. Please return everything as good or better than you found it.
Thank you aghudley for creating, hiding and maintaining this MSPC GeoTour cache.
Photo courtesy of Friends of the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail, Hudson Keenan Photo, 2010.
Nature lays a late fall carpet on the White Pine Trail.
White Pine Trail Linear State Park - Northward:
The White Pine Trail State Park one of the more unique parks in the system. It is a linear park, ninety-two miles in length, stretching from Comstock Park on the north end of Grand Rapids, to Cadillac. As of the fall of 2018, all but 29 miles of the trail are paved. As of December 20th, 2018, the Michigan State Senate approved funding to pave the remaining stretch between Sand Lake and Big Rapids.
Photo courtesy of Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, Charles Conn Collection.
Stanwood Depot around the turn of the century.
History:
The White Pine Trail came into existence in the 1990s after the abandonment of the former Pennsylvania Railroad line between Grand Rapids and Cadillac. The Michigan Department of Transportation had taken over abandoned rail line in 1975 and leased it to the Michigan Northern Railroad until 1984. After sitting idle for several years, the Michigan DNR acquired the right of way and turned it into the White Pine Trail State Park.
Over one hundred years prior, the Grand Rapids & Indiana Railroad was constructed connecting Richmond, Indiana, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Mackinaw City, Michigan. Service began through Stanwood in the Fall of 1870. Stanwood Depot was constructed at mile marker 281 from Richmond. In 1874 a small station and siding were placed a mile and a half north of Stanwood to service the Ring and Rust Sawmill.
At the time, it was the longest north-south rail line in the United States. It's primary reason for being constructed was the harvest of timber in the northern half of the lower peninsula of Michigan. For decades, timber was hauled south to the furniture city of Grand Rapids. Management of the GR&I, and the other major north -south rail line, the Michigan Central, had the foresight to realize that timber would not sustain a railroad in the long run. Both marked their lines to tourism very early on. In 1887 the two lines collaborated with a boat company to build the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island. Both companies courted people to visit and settle in northern Michigan.
Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Transportation.
White Pine Trail Map of Mecosta County.
Activities:
The White Pine Trail is suitable for cycling, walking, running, skating, skiing and, north of the Russell Road Staging Area just north of M-57, snowmobiling. Horses are not allowed on the trail. The trail sees very active use around towns it passes through. A few hearty souls make it a point to regularly cycle the entire length of the trail. Some even do a complete round trip over a weekend.
Information:
For more information follow this link to White Pine Trail State Park on the DNR′s Recreation Search site. The White Pine Trail Linear State Park is managed by office at William Mitchell State Park in Cadillac.
Special thanks to Sludge_Shoveler for help with this geocache.
Special thanks to Cold Cache Crew and Silent Whistles for the Southwest regional prize.
Resources: