Dominion Land Survey Challenge Letterbox Hybrid

GC2C6KJ - The Dominion Land Survey Challenge

 The Dominion Land Survey Challenge is a 3 Stage Cache.  Completion of this geocache will require you to do considerable research to become familiar with the Dominion Land Survey system and how it applies to the legal land descriptions used in Saskatchewan.  It will require you to become familiar with the Saskatchewan Rural Municipality mapping system and learn how to determine land ownership. You will also learn how to convert legal survey descriptions (LSD's) to GPS co-ordinates and vice-versa.  These are all skills that will make your future geocaching  more rewarding. This year marks the 100th anniversary of The Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association (SLSA). This is commemorated by a Puzzle Cache ( GC2AQYD  - “SLSA 100 Years” by: wixter ). You may find it useful to complete this geocache as well.

Good luck and enjoy the hunt.

YOUR QUEST BEGINS:
The year is 1873 and you are a Dominion Land Surveyor responsible for the legal survey of a road allowance South of what is to become the City of Saskatoon. The main camp for the survey crew has been set-up at the Beaver Creek area where the Brightwater  Creek empties into the South Saskatchewan river.  At the  end of the day you need to have your survey notes stamped by the chief surveyor but find that he has left the official survey stamp several miles to the South along the road allowance.  All he remembers are some directions he has written in his log book.  You must use his instructions to find the surveyors box containing the DLS Challenge seal and stamp your log and surveying notes.  Please complete the following:

Find Stage 1 (the posted geocache co-ordinates) – This is a reference point only and is a physical survey pin located at the SE corner of LSD 04-02-035-06W3M. From this point you travel due South for 4.3 furlongs (43 chains) which will bring you to a safe off-road place to park your horse.  From this point you will find the  Stage 2 cache which is directly two rods South of an antique buried telephone cable marker (the cache is located within the centre of a diamond willow clump near the East boundary of the road right-of way.

The final Stage – Is located as described in the Stage 2 cache.  It is a large ammo box and contains a cache note, log book, DLS Challenge completion stamp and a good selection of trade items  & tools related to geocaching.  The box is locked with a 5 digit alphabetic combination lock.  The combination is the first 5 letters of the last name of the registered landowner(s) of the land that GC14F – “Sask-cache-one” (Saskatchewan’s oldest geocache) is located on.  Please use the cache stamp to stamp your book and use your stamp to stamp the cache log book.  Alternatively  if you don’t have a personal stamp you may use the DLS Challenge Stamp to date and log your find.  In winter the stamp pad may be frozen and  the use of a red washable marker you bring with you may be used to ink the stamp. Please make sure that you leave the DLS Challenge stamp in the cache box and re-lock the cache properly for the next cacher.

History of the “Old River Road” :

The road allowance you hike from stage 2 to the final stage is one of the oldest historic roads in Saskatchewan. It was once part of what was known as the Elbow - Fort a la Corne Trail. This trail ran through this area as it proceeded from Moose Jaw and the Cypress Hills, joined near Elbow, then headed up to Moose Woods (currently Dakota Whitecap Reservation), Clark's Crossing, Batoche, and Fort a la Corne. The Beaver Creek area north of this location was a major stopping point for all manner of fur traders, buffalo hunters and pioneer settlers.  It was officially surveyed as a road allowance during the initial provincial survey and remains a surveyed road allowance to this day.  It was also referred to in later years as “The Old River Road”. It was replaced by the modern provincial highway #219 (now Chief Whitecap Trail). 

The road has been closed for more than 50 years.  I originally hiked this road 30 years ago and it was then a series of “blow holes” where the wind had eroded down to the fine sand.  Nature has now reclaimed the road allowance and erased most of man’s attempts to improve nature.  There is a variety of wildlife in the area and I discovered a coyote den near the final stage.  Please exercise care when hiking in the area. This is a very fragile ecosystem and is easily damaged. An excellent cache to complete which compliments this adventure is huleyanne’s GC191HT – “Colony Trek Trail” which contains additional information.  You may also wish to review Narratives of Saskatoon 1882-1912 , located on the Roots WEB site.

References/Resources and Useful WEB Links:

• Letterboxing North America (the sport of letterboxing).
• Dominion Land Survey System . A good description of the Dominion Land Survey system. There are many others (use a "GOOGLE search").
• Imperial Measurements.  Imperial units used in early surveying.  You should have a copy of this with you when completing the Dominion Land Survey Challenge. A calculator would also be an asset.
• Conversion of LSD (legal survey description's) to GPS co-ordinates.  The final stage is located within LSD 06-26-034-6 W3 if you convert this to GPS co-ordinates you will be have the co-ordinates of the center of the DLS parcel.  Stage 2 has instructions on how to determine the exact final cache co-ordinates.  This really isn’t required as this geocache challenge can be completed without using a GPS?? You will however need to use this converter to convert the GPS co-ordinates of GC14F to a LSD land description to determine current the land owner as listed on the RM map.
• Making and using a “Pace Counter”. You can use the "Pace Method" to determine the total distance you have traveled on your hike to the final stage, or you can use your GPS if you so choose.  Give it a try and see how close you can come (my pace averages out to 65 paces = 100 meters).
• Google Earth..
• Saskatchewan RM index .
• RM of Dundurn- No.314 Map – Available for viewing or purchase at the RM office, or for viewing only at the Saskatoon Library (Main Branch).
• RM of Corman Park- No.344 Map – Available for viewing or purchase at the RM office, or for viewing only at the Saskatoon Library (Main Branch).
  

Thank you to the Rural Municipality of Dundurn No. 314 for their enthusiasm and support for this geocache placement..

Parking Note (Jan. 01, 2011): Please park your cachmobile so that you do not block access to the old road allowance. The local ranchers occasionally use the road allowance to haul feed to their cattle and check on their herds.

"Old River Road" Access Note (July 10, 2014):  The North entrance to the "Old River Road"  is gated. The Administrator for the R.M. Of Dundurn has granted permission for "Hiking Only" along the R.M. Road Allowance that leads to the final stage. Pleas do not drive to the final cache across privately owned pasture land (Winter or Summer).  Thanks for your consideration..