A Historical Journey of "Bubblin' Crude"
North Burnaby -- Traditional Cache
N49 15.391 W122 57.893

Oil that is.  Black Gold.  Texas Tea.

As the Fraser River gold ran dry and the last of the giant trees were chopped down, speculators searched Burnaby for other natural resources that could prove lucrative. In 1918, the dream appeared to become reality when small traces of oil were discovered along Crab Apple Creek.

The truth of the matter is everyone involved with the great oil find of 1918 jumped the gun. With such a rush to strike it rich, few people took notice that the initial oil samples were scant at best. As it turned out, what little oil that was beneath the surface cost more to extract than what it was worth. By the end of the decade, the stocks in the Spartan Oil Company were worthless.

The two oil rigs were a prominent landmark for a good part of 20 years before they were finally dismantled.

I have the honour to inform you that according to your order, I proceeded last Monday in charge of an exploration expedition consisting of Captain Bazalgette, RM, one Private, RM, and three Indians with rations for five days for the purpose of ascertaining the relative position of Burrard Inlet with regard to Queenborough.

The route I pursued for the purpose of affecting this was by the small River Brunette to Burnaby Lake, making the latter my Head Quarters.

The distance from Queenborough to the lake I ascertained to be by the River about 6 miles. The river is exceedingly tortuous in its course, and its stage at the time that I proceeded up it was very low, but perfectly navigable for small canoes the portages owing to the fallen timber are numerous; but these obstacles might easily be removed.

The Lake is two miles and a half in length by one in breadth and the deepest part that I could find, I sounded at two fathoms, its entire shores are also very swampy – its bearing is N.70 W. from where the Brunette running to the Fraser flows out of it – and is about N.70 W. of Queenborough. On the Second day I despatched Captain Bazalgette R.M., to reconnoiter the head of the lake and he discovered a river which he followed up on a Westerly course for 3 miles (Still Creek).

This river runs into a lake but with an almost imperceptible motion, it is also much deeper than any other part of the latter that I sounded. Its average depth being three fathoms, it also winds in small turns of every fifty of sixty yards but its general bearing is West, its shores are swampy and covered with alder, its general appearance might be likened to a Canal.

On the same day I started with an Indian and two days provisions and took a course due North from the eastern point of the lake over a Mountain 600 feet above the level of the sea – covered with dense forest – on reaching the summit I found Burrards Inlet to be immediately beneath it on the opposite side branching off into two arms the Southern most one of which bore to the eastward and appeared to terminate within a short distance. The Northern most one hugging the base of the opposite high range of mountains was shut out from any observation. The mountain I ascended had an exceedingly steep descent to the Northward the breadth of the inlet was at the broadest part two miles: observing on this occasion that the mountain a short distance from where I had crossed it terminated abruptly to the Eastward and that a comparatively cleared valley about a mile in width skirted it in the direction of the Inlet, I devoted my third day to endeavouring to find out the nearest and most direct point from the latter to Queenborough and by returning about a mile and a quarter down the river Brunette from the Lake, I entered the valley and found it lead over a perfectly level and nearly cleared Country direct to the termination of the Southernmost branch of the inlet the distance from River to the latter being about two and a half miles and I compute the distance that exists between that part of the river and Queenborough to be about three miles in a direct line this would make the nearest point of the Inlet five and a half miles from Queenborough.

On the fourth day I tried to get up the River at the head of the Lake further than Captain Bazalgette had been but after three miles the snags were so numerous from the fallen trees that I found the labour of getting the Canoe over Too great to proceed much further than he had already been the depth of the River continued the same at this point – it also flows through a perfectly unbroken valley which heads due West to Burrard Inlet. From the head of the lake and the distance across the former I should say to be about eight miles.

I have the Honour to be
Sir,
Your Most Obedient Servant
G.S. Blake
Lt. , R.M.A.

This cache is along Still Creek not far from the spot where the oil rigs once stood.

After a cache was archived by the owner a while ago I couldn't help but to jump on the only spot available around Burnaby Lake to reactivate this cache. There wasn't a lot of wriggle room to help geocachers find adventure except to do one thing. Hopefully there is one element of surprise.

There is no need to bushwack through any vegetation. Please respect the plants and animals. Your hands may get a bit cold but the cache is in easy reach. Just make sure you reach for the right thing and don't get skunked.

I tried to waterproof a typical Scruffy container but moisture may seep in. Please let me know if the logbook or anything inside gets wet.

Enjoy your outing and remember:

...every Geocacher is a potential explorer.  Within his or her own breast burns the same fire that urged adventurers of old to set forth in their sailing ships to distant lands.