Background
The William Forward WMA consists of 2,083 acres of salt marsh and upland habitat from sea level to 45 feet.
This area is approximately 700 acres of upland surrounded by more than 1,300 acres of salt marsh. The uplands are predominantly mixed oak and white pine woodlands with mature stands of red pine and spruce. Old fields have been taken over by white cedar. There are also approximately 60 acres of open fields maintained under cooperative agreements with local farmers. A small apple orchard is also present. Marsh grasses dominate the marsh acreage. This is a good area for bird watching so binoculars would be a good accessory to carry along for better viewing.
The marsh is green in summer but splendidly gold and russet in fall. Visit late in the season to catch the bird migration and miss the insatiable mosquitoes and greenhead flies of midsummer.
Portions of the Parker River and two of its major tributaries, the Little River and the Mill River, run through or border the area. The Parker River is about 100 feet across at this point, while its tributaries are roughly 30 feet wide. These are all tidal waters and during high and flood tides the surrounding marshes are underwater. The Parker and Mill Rivers are known for their white perch runs in the spring. There are two very small ponds (less than an acre each). Be aware that mosquito control ditches, some of which may be hidden by overhanging vegetation, cut much of the marshland.
The uplands support ruffed grouse, deer, fox, cottontail rabbit, coyote, raccoon, woodcock and gray squirrel. Depending on the weather and tide, ducks and geese may be in the rivers. Furbearer populations appear low, but numerous nongame species are present, including several species of song, shore and wading birds. This area is not stocked with pheasant.
The area is open for deer hunting from October to December. Be sure to wear blaze orange during that time.
Puzzle
Solve the two-part puzzle below to obtain the coordinates to the cache location.
(Click the puzzle to open in a new page to print.)
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.
Cache
The hike into the cache is about 3/4 of a mile along well marked trails. Some parts of the trail, especially as you get near the cache, have poison ivy on the trail. The final approach to the cache area is a 150' bushwhack. Expect and plan for ticks, mosquitoes, greenheads (in July and August) and poison ivy. Swampy, wet, marsh conditions will be encountered in the lower lying areas.
The area is peaceful, beautiful and teeming with wildlife. It is only slightly marred by the periodic passing of the MBTA commuter train. If you continue a few feet beyond the cache area, or a few hundred feet to the end of the trail near the cache, you will have nice views of the Parker River salt marsh area. On one of my runs out to this area, I enjoyed a sunset by the edge of the salt marsh near the cache and spotted a deer by the edge of the woods. I have also seen snowy egrets foraging for food and red-winged blackbirds perched on top of cat-o-nine tails.
The cache container is a large ammo can and is stocked with bird-related items. Please rehide the cache so it can't be seen from any angle to avoid it being found by hunters. The hint is a spoiler to help find this well hidden cache and to minimize the cacher impact on the area.
The initial contents are the FTF prize of a Peterson's pocket field guide for birds, a small pair of binoculars, a goldfinch figurine, a bird feeder, a miniature bird house, bird stuffed animals and a bird flag.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on GeoChecker.com.