I start off this blog post with an apology. My main blog posts are always published on a Thursday but, since we are on vacation, I was unable to get it written and published in time. For those of you that were expecting it then, I apologize.
A view back at the lower battery. (click to enlarge)
A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to finish off all of the caches located around Signal Hill. It was there that I came up with the idea to do a three part blogging series on our beloved and historic Signal Hill. Why three parts, you ask? Well, there is so much to write about when it comes to Signal Hill, the Battery, and all the caches that exist here. Therefore, to do the area justice, I am breaking it up into three parts: The Lower Battery, The Upper Battery and Towards the Valley. I decided to do the Lower Battery first, since it was the place I visited recently and I have some nice pictures to include in the post. Even though I have the rest of Signal Hill done, I will be going back there with my son, tinyseeker, since he doesn’t have them all yet.
Flower Power! (click to enlarge)
Actually, this was my first walk on the Lower Battery. I had been to the top several times and had even walked part way down the stairway, but always walked back up to my car. This time, however, I went with my geocaching buddy, Diego, and we were on a mission to get those last two caches. While I was expecting a long tiresome walk towards the top, I wasn’t expecting the unexpected – a trip back in time to a much simpler and relaxed era. Just like the relaxed times of the sixties (as seen in movies), the atmosphere in the lower Battery is one of calm and worry-free. The houses seem to be clinging on to the rock for dear life while the residents are either sitting outside or doing some gardening. Absent from this area is the rat-race, busy lifestyles that seem to exist just a kilometer away.
These signs are located throughout the lower battery. (click to enlarge)
Upon entering the Lower Battery, we noticed a unique sign called [Here]Say that had a phone number that you could call if you wanted to know information about the area you were standing in. We decided to call it and were greeted with a recording of a lady asking us to enter the code on the sign. After we entered the code, we were presented with an old story about this particular area in the voice of a local resident. How cool is that? The code we seen was 126, meaning that there might be more of these signs around. We couldn’t wait! We ended up finding six more of those signs on our stroll through the area. There is also one cache that almost immediately greets you when you enter the area. It is called
A View For A Screw (GC3BEEN) and was placed by
jackamo55. The cache definitely lives up to its name on both counts.
The beautiful mural near Waldegrave’s Cache. (click to enlarge)
The second cache in the Lower Battery is
Waldegrave’s Cache (GC1YDH3) which was placed by
vickyth. The cache description provides the best details about this area, known as Fort Waldegrave. Part of it reads:
Located at the Entrance of St. John’s Harbour, Fort Waldegrave is named after Lord Waldegrave who was Governor of Newfoundland during the Napoleanic Wars. This Fort along with others was built for the Protection of the City. Cannons were first mounted at Fort Waldegrave during King William’s War. During Queen Anne’s War, the French captured the gun emplacement and fired the cannon across the harbour at the South Side Castle. A fort was built at the site and it served to protect St. John’s harbour during the American Revolution. Very near to Fort Waldegrave is a beautiful mural that was painted by
Derek Holmes and depicts what life was like here, not too long ago. I was so amazed at how he managed to make the faces look so real and capture facial expressions so well. It is definitely worth a look, in person.
A place that makes handcrafted pottery. (click to enlarge)
As you continue to walk through the Lower Battery, there are no more caches to get until you get through to the other side. You are, however, treated to various houses of different styles that seem to be growing out of the rock. Some houses are old and some are newly built and look very expensive. There is a bed and breakfast here, for sale. The asking price for it is over $2 million! Ouch!
An old twine shop for getting nets, traps, and pots made. (click to enlarge)
There are also a few businesses that seem to have been here awhile and have stood the test of time. One such business is a pottery shop that makes handcrafted pottery and souvenirs. We didn’t go inside but managed to look in the window. From what we seen, they are of good quality. The other business located here is an old twine shop. Twine shops were where a fisherman went to get his fishing nets, lobster traps or crab pots made or mended. With the fishery in the state it is in, it is a wonder this business survived. We couldn’t tell if the place was still in business but, if it is, it may be the last twine shop in the area.
Diego starting our journey up the trail. (click to enlarge)
After our pleasant stroll through the little streets of the Lower Battery, we came to the last house. From there the trail up to North Head, and on up to Cabot Tower, starts. The trail seems to start by walking up onto somebody’s patio. How weird is that? As we were heading up onto the trail to get our last two caches, we noticed two ladies cleaning blood from the patio. When we inquired, we were told that a moose had fallen down a cliff in the area. The only way wildlife officials could get the animal out was to cut it up into four quarters and drag each piece out to their truck. The incident seemed to have added some excitement to their, otherwise, peaceful day. Diego and I briefly continued to talk about the animal’s demise as we began our trek up towards North Head.
Next to Piglet’s Bottomless Pit cache. (click to enlarge)
About half the way to North Head, you will arrive at
Piglets Bottomless Pit Cache (GCWNRM). The cache was put there by (guess who)
Piglet1. This cache is placed near a crack in the rock. If you listen closely, you can here the wave action splashing inside the crack. The cache description asks you to toss a stone down into the crack. A lot of cachers must have already done this because I had problems finding a stone to throw. I managed to find one and threw it down the pit. While the pit is not bottomless, the stone fell a fair distance before I heard a splash. The trail is a busy spot, so watch out for muggles when retrieving the cache.
View near the North Head cache. (click to enlarge)
Our final destination for the day was North Head, which is directly across the narrows from Fort Amherst. The last cache we needed on Signal Hill was in sight – on the GPSr, that is. This cache has a very fitting name and is called
North Head (GC1GVJY). Placed by
meteorman, it boasts some spectacular scenery with Fort Amherst in front of you and Cabot Tower, overlooking, behind you. The cache, itself, is located near a large boulder which should provide some cover from the view of muggles.
From here, the trail continues up many, many steps until you reach the top of Signal Hill and the Upper Battery. Join us on a future blog post for part two of this series as we explore the Upper Battery including Cabot Tower. For now, we encourage you to pay a visit to the Lower Battery. You won’t be dissapointed.
What about you? How many times have you toured the Lower Battery? Did you notice the [Here]Say signs? Have you called the one in our picture yet? If so, let us know by leaving a comment below. You can also let us know how we are doing!
Until next time, Happy Caching!
Frank (Jewel)
Caching Heaven 