Lake Phalen 101 Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Cache is a camoed lock-n-lock near the jogging trail. Stealth is a
must. The trails can be very busy on nice days.
History lesson courtesy of Wikipedia: Lake Phalen was named after
an early Irish settler of Saint Paul, Edward Phelan. Phelan built a
cabin near Phalen Creek in Swede Hollow. Phalen Creek travels from
Lake Phalen and drains into the Mississippi River just north of
Lambert's Landing. The lake that was drained by the creek became
known as Phalen's Lake despite Phelan never living near its shores.
The Saint Paul Water Company set up a supply plant at Lake Phalen
in 1869 and the lake was used as Saint Paul's primary source of
water until 1913. John Fletcher Williams, a local historian, wrote
in 1876 "It is a disgrace, that the name of this brutal murderer
has been affixed to one of our most beautiful lakes - one that
supplies our households with water." Phalen had been accused of
murdering his partner, John Hays in 1839, however another man later
confessed to Hays' murder.[19] Soon after the park was acquired, in
1899, the Saint Paul Board of Park Commissioners attempted to
"tame" the lake shore. Emergent vegetation and other plants, such
as bulrush, grew all around the lake shore. The lake shore became
almost constantly dredged and wetland areas around the lake were
filled in to create lawn space. Eventually 400,000 cubic yards
(305,822 m³) of vegetation and sediment was dredged from around the
lake shore. In the 1920s, 50 percent of the shoreline was lined
with riprap. Beginning in 1906 with a herd of sheep, the lawn space
next to the lake was cut right up to the lake shore. As a result of
these practices shoreline erosion became a problem. In 2001, the
lake began a five year shoreline restoration program. The program
converted a majority of the riprap to natural vegetation. The
percentage natural vegetation around the lake changed from 28
percent to 74 percent.
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