This is the fifth of ten in the Boxborough-Centric geocache series.
This is a three-stage multi in Fisk Wood, which is part of the Have Not Pond Conservation Area. Listed coordinates are for Stage 1, a well hidden Bison tube. Stage 2 is a small container. The final is a slightly larger “small” container holding a log and some small trading items, and it holds an essential clue for the tenth in the Boxborough-Centric series. These caches are not snow friendly. The listed difficulty rating is for Stage 1; the others are easier. Please restore all the camo and any telltales you disturb before leaving.
Fisk Wood was part of a 40 acre property owned by Cynthia Fisk. After her death in 1991, her family donated this 20 acre parcel to the Town in her honor for conservation purposes. Subsequently, a portion of the adjacent Hamilton Farm on Barteau Lane was gifted to the Town for conservation by the developers of the High Pastures subdivision. Together, they are known as Have Not Pond Conservation Area. For the story behind this name, see the Riding Ring GC2A1Q8 geocache which is nearby.
A trail map for the Have Not Pond Conservation Area can be viewed and downloaded from the Town's website here. (I have KMZ files of all the Boxborough Trail Guides for downloading to your GPSr, if you want them. They are really helpful.) Stage 1 is off the Blue trail. It will be easy bushwhacking from there to Stage 2 and the Final. Parking can be found at the two noted waypoints (PKG1 is not shown on the trail map.) The shorter hike is in from PKG1, but the prettier hike is in from PKG2.
The Boxborough-Centric series is a collection of nine individual caches, each with a clue to the tenth. All are located in Boxborough, Mass. They will take you to some of the more interesting places in the town. Several of these caches will rely on information that can be found in a book called Boxborough: Portrait of a Town, published by a group of Town residents in 1983. A special copy of this book, reserved just for this cache series, can be found in Boxborough's Sargent Memorial Library. The librarians will show you where it is. Please do not mark it up. Bring a pen and paper with which to make notes because you cannot take this copy out. Or, for a cost, you may make copies of a few pages at a time in the library if you prefer. The library’s hours can be found on its website here. You need to find ALL the first nine caches with their respective clues to find BC#10 Boxborough Centroid GC2DDCR. You do not need to find them in order.
You will see some beautiful old stone walls as you hike your way through the woods of Boxborough, and the Have Not Pond conservation area is a great example. These indicate that the land once was all cleared and most likely used for cattle grazing. The soils in much of Boxborough are too “bony” for tilling and planting of crops, but cattle grazing and orchards were very common farming uses. On page 74 in Boxborough: Portrait of a Town is a great aerial photograph from 1939 showing some of the extensive orchards. You can read more about Boxborough’s farming heritage in chapter 4.