Pickerel Pond
. Updated 9/19/23: Begin this cache at the end of Little Herring Pond Road. The listed cords are for the parking area of the David E Alper Nature Preserve. Stage one listed below: assume N 41 49.xxx and W 070 34.xxx for all stages except stage 6. The way follows the ridge with views of the ponds to the East and West. As you continue on you will be following a series of sandy and swampy woods roads that gradually become paths and then a deer trail for a short bit. It's mostly easy walking; the high trrrain rating is for a short stretch of bushwhacking between two stages. Along the way you’ll see ponds, long abandoned bogs, houses and possessions, glimpses of the encroaching McMansion world and lots of trees. Pickerel Pond is a small kettle pond, an oasis of town land managed by The Wildlands Trust bordered on three sides by the Ponds of Plymouth development. There are places to sit and contemplate the view if you have a mind to… .
Each of the stages is different. Look at the attributes and think about them. Bring your reading glasses, sneakers and long pants. After stage five, head uphill on the trail and consult your Open Street trail map for the shortest bushwhack north to the loop trail around the Pond. . Follow a hundred feet to the Pond loop trail and head to stage 6. While some of the stages could be a bit tricky to locate, the final shouldn’t be too hard. I've moved the location of the final after it was muggled three times in an effort to thwart the rascals. If you found the original and want to search for the new one and log another find, fine my me. Most of the stages are well off the ground and everything should be good in less than 6 inches of snow; more than a foot would be iffy. To return to your car, continue around the pond, and follow your original track to head back to your car.. Be happy. Take some pictures. It’s about two and a half miles round trip.
....edexter