Beebe Hill Fire Tower Mystery Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Note: The coordinates listed are for the tower, not the cache.
The cache is located near the summit of Beebe Hill in the Beebe Hill State Forest, Columbia County.
The Trail
There are two ways to tackle this one.
The first and easiest is from the state forest edge along Engel rd. at the state forest sign ( coords. below). To reach this trailhead turn off of route 203 onto Stonewall rd about 1.5 mies west of Austerlitz. Follow Stonewall rd for .5 miles to Engel rd. on the right. Follow Engel rd. for .5 miles to the state park sign and gate on the right. From here it's about a one mile hike up the old road to the observers cabin and the tower.
The second, longer and more scenic trail starts from a parking area( coords. below) off of county route 5 near Barrett pond. Begin by following blue markers to the trail register. The trail, from the register, marked with red discs, passes through a mostly hard wood forest and climbs gradually to the top of the hill.
After the sign-in register, you will cross a small creek on a foot bridge. You pass the "Chance of Thunder Lean-Too" and then a small fen (Opal Pond). Soon you are at the top of the hill and the tower. If you choose this route for your hike, you may also want to grab the letter box along the way.
The Tower
The structure on Beebe Hill is a 60', 1928 vintage, Aermotor LS40 tower that was originally erected on Alander Mt by the Taconic State Park Commission. The tower was removed from Alander in 1930, transferred to the Conservation
Department and erected on Washburn Mt. in 1933. The tower was moved from Washburn to Beebe Hill in 1964. The tower ceased operation at the end of the 1988 season and was officially closed in early 1989 when the Department of Environmental Conservation determined that fire towers were no longer effective and decided to phase them out of service.
Today the tower and observers cabin are 80% restored and scheduled to be finished in 2007.
Climb the fire tower and enjoy the magnificient views. The Catskill mountains are clearly visible to the south.
The Cache
Stand at the base of the tower and project a waypoint of 227 degrees true ,140 ft. You are looking for a 30 cal. ammo can. This cache may be tough to find during the winter months.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng gur onfr bs n oynpx pureel gerr.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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