Meadows Path Traditional Geocache
ThirstyMick: Looks like this one didn't survive the winter. The spot it was nestled in looks about ready to bust apart, so I'll refrain from replacing it and think up something better for this section of the park. Thanks for the heads up ElToro!
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Small Lock-N-Lock in the Meadowlands.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO PARK ON THE TURNPIKE, that would be dangerous, illegal, and kinda dumb. There's nowhere up there to park and you'd end up getting all sorts of wet and muddy in the marsh traveling the 200 feet to the cache.
This cache is along a well groomed trail in DeKorte Park. Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst will take you to the parking area. Entrance is free, but there is usually a guard; just tell him or her you're going to the park.
If it's open, I'd advise taking the Marsh Discovery trail to get to the cache. Trust me, it's worth the slightly longer walk.
Cache is just a couple feet off of the trail. Please, look first with your eyes, before leaving the trail. This one should be easy, do not tear up the natural environment or dig through any reeds.
The turnpike would be an awful place to park, but it does provide an interesting contrast. To your east you see industrialized New Jersey. The traffic whizzing by rushing to the next meeting or appointment. To your west, a serene Meadow, reclaimed for nature by the Meadowlands Park Commission.
This park used to look like everything else around here (it was literally a trash dump) but in 1990 the Meadowlands Park commission began cleaning it up creating what is now DeKorte Park, reclaiming this part of the Meadowlands as a Land of Meadows.
Birds noticed this change, and DeKorte is now (once again) a major stop along the Atlantic Flyway. Hundreds of bird species spend part of their year here. While placing this cache I saw a flock of Tree Swallows, 4-5 Red Winged Blackbirds, a swan and countless ducks. What will you see when you find the cache?
This trail ends at a fence just north of the cache. One day it won't. There is still work to be done, cleaning up the Meadowlands from years of abuse. The construction site you passed on your way to the park entrance will one day be part of the Meadows Path, a huge project planned to connect all of the Meadowlands Parks from Brackish Marsh in Kearny up to Little Ferry. For now, the separate parks are little oasis' of beauty. Please CITO if necessary, and don't forget your camera!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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