The Swamp Gnome's Retreat Traditional Cache
SC_Reviewer: Cache appears abandoned. No response from owner.
Archived.
SC_Reviewer
Volunteer Geocaching.com Reviewer
The Swamp Gnome's Retreat
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Located 206 feet above sea level. Terrain can be wet after a rain. NOTE: The cache container was replaced on March 12, 2005 and the site checked and updated. The new container is waterproof but fairly small, so if the finder leaves anything the item should not be so large that the cover will not fit properly.
When there is too much human activity around the Swamp Gnome’s Nest in Kalmia Gardens of Coker College, the Swamp Gnome heads down the trail and over the swamp boardwalk to the Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve. He leaves the boardwalk and follows the Nature Trail to his swamp retreat hidden deep in the swamp white cedar bogs where two-legged beings rarely intrude on his privacy.
The Segars-McKinnon Heritage Preserve is one of sixty-six Heritage Preserves in South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources manages these Heritage Preserves to protect some of the best examples of significant, rare, and unique plant and animal habitats that make up South Carolina’s natural diversity. This 927 acre preserve in Darlington County protects the northern shoreline of about 3.5 miles of Black Creek and is across the creek from Kalmia Gardens of Coker College. The cache was placed with the knowledge of the administrators. Be sure to stop in at the main office of Kalmia Gardens in the Thomas Hart House built in 1820 and sign the guest register.
To find the Swamp Gnome’s Retreat, park at Kalmia Gardens of Coker College and go to coordinates 34°21.993N and 080°06.997W at elevation 238 feet above sea level. Descend the 96 stair steps to the boardwalk by Black Creek. Head down the boardwalk and at coordinates 34°22.007N and 080°06.985W turn north on the boardwalk.
Some distance down the Nature Trail watch for the Gnome’s fishing hole. He loves fishing and always keeps a fishing pole handy. The site is on the right at 34°22.180N and 080°06.742W and you may see some swamp critters whether you want to or not. The swamp water sometimes creeps up on the trail in this area. Hiking boots can be helpful.
Continue on until you reach a fork in the Nature Trail at 34°22.221N and 080°06.982W. From there head to the site of the cache.
IMPORTANT: To qualify as a finder, you must not move logs, dig holes, pull undergrowth, or in any way disrupt or disturb the natural terrain. This is a thinking cacher's cache!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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