Come on a journey to remember and commemorate
the history and travels of Captain John
Smith!
Over four
hundred years ago, Englishman John Smith and a small crew set out
in an open boat to explore the Chesapeake Bay. Between 1607 and
1609 Smith mapped and documented nearly 3,000 miles of the Bay and
its rivers. Along the way he visited many thriving American Indians
communities and gathered information about this “fruitful and
delightsome land.” In December 2006 the U.S. Congress
designated the routes of Smith’s explorations of the
Chesapeake as a national historic trail—the first national
water trail. Are you ready to follow in the wake
of Captain John Smith? Visit sites along the National Historic
Trail and learn about the native cultures and the natural
environment of the 17th-century Chesapeake through the Captain John
Smith Chesapeake Geotrail. The Trail provides opportunities for you
to experience the Bay through the routes and places associated with
Smith’s explorations. Caches will be located in museums,
refuges, parks, and towns in Virginia, Maryland and Delaware along
the rivers and creeks that Smith and his crew explored four
centuries ago.
The Captain
John Smith (CJS) Geotrail launched June 4, 2011 with over 40 caches
within Maryland, Virginia and Delaware. A trackable geo coin will
be awarded to the first 400 geocachers, while supplies last, for
locating at least 15 CJS caches. To be eligible for the coin,
geocachers must download a passport from either the CJS Geotrail or Maryland Geocaching Society website.
Geocachers must find and log at least 15 finds, record the code
word from each cache on their passport and post a picture of
themselve at each cache location. After discovering the 15 required
caches, geocachers may have thier passports validated in person or
via mail at the National Park Service, Chesapeake Bay Office
located at 410 Severn Ave, Suite 314, Annapolis, MD 21403. Please
refer to the passport for complete validation instructions.
Participating in the CJS geotrail is fun and we
hope that many people join in. However, it is not a requirement for
logging your find on this cache once you find the container.
You are seeking a traditional hide. A Lock & Lock stocked with
a variety of items. Please no night caching.
James River Park #2
“Sturgeon”
One week after arriving on Jamestown Island, an expedition to the
head of the James River was led by fleet commander Christopher
Newport. Following the instructions of the London Company to seek
minerals, Newport traveled 74 miles up the James to the fall line
around present day Richmond. Twenty-four men, including Captain
John Smith, accompanied him into the territory of paramount chief
Powhatan.
Crew member Lieutenant George Percy kept a journal of this
expedition and wrote, “Wheresoever we landed upon this river
we saw the goodliest woods, as beech, oak, cedar, cypress, walnuts,
sassafras, and vines in great abundance which hang in great
clusters on many trees, and other trees unknown, and all the
grounds bespread with many sweet and delicate flowers of divers
colors and kinds. There are also many fruits, as strawberries,
mulberries, raspberries, and fruits unknown. There are many
branches of this river which run flowing through the woods with
great plenty of fish of all kinds. As for sturgeon, all the world
cannot be compared to it.”
Sturgeon spawn upriver in the spring and would have been seen in
great numbers on the James. They are sluggish swimmers and could be
captured and literally wrestled ashore or caught by looping a noose
around the tail. Sturgeon are very large, growing up to ten feet in
length and weighing several hundred pounds. Good to eat, this fish
became a life-saving resource for the Jamestown settlers.
The James River Park System, a unique part of Richmond’s
Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities, includes
over 550 acres of shoreline and islands in the capital of Virginia,
extending in 14 sections from the Huguenot Bridge in the west to a
half mile beyond the I-95 Bridge in the east. It includes most of
the fall line of the James River. Rocks, rapids, meadows, and
forests make for an area of unspoiled natural beauty -- a little
bit of wilderness in the heart of the city.
Within and along the James River Park System, opportunities abound
for strolling, whitewater rafting, paddling, fishing, tubing,
hiking, mountain biking, trail-running, swimming, sunbathing,
bird-watching, picnicking, rock climbing, rock-hopping,
dog-walking, nature study, photography, even recreational tree
climbing, snorkeling, camps, and other guided activities. There are
no concessions in the park, so it’s a bring your own picnic
kind of place. If you do bring food and drink with you, remember
that glass containers and alcohol are prohibited, and please use
the trash and recycling containers provided or pack out your
trash.
Thanks to huggy_d1 for helping with
this hide and to the Maryland Geocaching Society for assisting with
this
project!