This is one of three caches we placed in the Little Roche-A-Cri Creek public use area in June of 2011. The three caches are: Logging a Smiley, Logging a Multi, and Logging a 'Real Purdy' Spot. If all three are done together, and in that order, they will take about an hour to do, and you will walk no more than a mile and a half total. Use the logging road to go in, then use that and the faint trail along and above the creek to get to the caches. At no time will you have to go down to the creek level or go far away from a trail, nor will you have to walk through any wooded areas except near the creek. The adjacent wooded property north and west of the logged area is private, so do not go that way.
Note on 10/5/2011: The popple has grown up enough to obscure most of the logging road. These "twigs" are over eight feet tall in some places. Also, many trees on this DNR property that were not logged a year ago were broken off or uprooted in the 9/2/2011 wind storm that went through the area. The storm damage necessitated the relocation (and near-archival) of the third cache in this series, "Logging a 'Real Purdy' Spot". Getting to GZ of this particular cache is more difficult now, but it can be done, and the actual location of the cache is unaffected. Just watch your footing!
In the fall of 2010, much of this acreage was selectively logged. We never explored this place before the logging, so we don't know what it looked like then, but all of us who visit here now will have the chance to see the results of the logging and how the land here renews itself over time. We have visited here in April, May, and June so far, and each time there are different things to see. Turkey hunters use this land in the spring, and deer hunters (bow and rifle) use this in their respective fall seasons. Please keep this in mind when planning a visit and if you see other vehicles in the parking lot at those times. Caches are available in the winter, but no parts of any are winter-friendly.
Our coordinates here may be a bit off on these three caches, since every time we visited and took readings, we came up with something different. Use your geosense and the hints to make the finds. Please replace all containers exactly as you found them, and make sure that they are covered with natural camo when you leave.
For this cache, you will be taking a walk along the logging road for a while, then moving in to the old path along and above the creek. Take time to check out the logged area as you walk in. Because the stumps are still fresh from the cutting, you can easily count the tree rings in them. See what trees were spared from the logging, and try to imagine what this place will look like in five years, or ten, or twenty. When you are above the creek, look down to see where its meanderings took it many, many years ago and how the terrain here developed from its eroding action. Notice the kinds of wildflowers that are blooming at the time of your visit. Most of all, enjoy logging a smiley here.
This cache is in a public hunting area,
so wear blaze orange and take precautions
if you search for this cache during hunting season.
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to Justine Hasz of the Wisconsin Rapids office of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained by looking at this page on the WGA website.