It's morning on a cloud covered day in 1903.   A long bellow from the Sawmill's whistle alerts the people of Barnet to take cover.   All work in the town grinds to a halt while brave and curious folk congregate along the beach.  Within five minutes, an explosion rocks the area and the north facade of Burnaby Mountain thunders down to the ocean in a massive avalanche.  After the dust settles, it's clear that the planned explosion was a success. In one blast the engineer managed to topple an impassible cliff while laying a sturdy foundation for a roadbed. The "big blast" was the first stage of a new land route linking Vancouver, Barnet and Port Moody.  Although there was intermittent train and ferry service along with a North Road stage coach, direct road access to Vancouver was non-existent.  This caused problems for the movement of goods and services.  The Barnet/Hastings St. road would greatly reduce travel time to the city.  And that was only the beginning.  The new route would bring electricity from the Bunzen lake Powerhouse and ever-lasting prosperity to the community -- so the people thought.

Travelling along the Barnet Highway from the West, you will pass the "Big Blast" site close to the Kask Bros. cement plant.  The highway still rises in that area before taking a dip closer to the waterline.  There is public parking alongside a Trans Canada Trail kiosk at  N49 17.338  W122 56.532
 

The Barnet road contract was awarded to Charles McDonough, a grocery store operator from New Westminster who knew little about construction.  After logging a linear strip for the roadway the remaining tree stumps were blasted from the ground.  This proved to be problematic for the clean-up as dirt and debris on the timber from the blasting process quickly dulled cross-cut saws.  Work was drastically delayed and the contract was abandoned soon after. The contract reverted to an experienced road builder by the name of Hugh Gunn who was also given the daunting task of blasting a route to Barnet along the steep cliffs of Burnaby Mountain.  This was accomplished by filling an existing crack in the rock face with an explosive charge and in one blast the face of Burnaby mountain was changed forever. The photograph on the left shows the Hastings/Barnet road just after it was paved in the late 1920s.  It was during that time a trolley service was introduced between Downtown Vancouver and Capitol Hill.

If you found the parking lot listed above, the cache shouldn't be too far.  Notice that the Kask Brothers Cement plant on the north side of the trail is in itself a part of Burnaby's heritage.  It is one of the oldest businesses still in operation.  A nearby creek is named after the Kask family who settled the area over one hundred years ago.

Further along the trail, you will be walking on the site of North Burnaby's original garbage dump.  Although nature has taken a firm hold over the years, treasure hunters of a different sort have been known to find antique bottles and toys amongst the rubbage.  Digging in the abandoned garbage dump is now illegal since the area has been reverted to parkland.

The cache itself is located along the main trail.  Beware of muggles.

Enjoy your visit.