In the Thicket of Things Traditional Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A "thicket" is an in-between stage, after a meadow and before a forest. To understand how a thicket is created, you first need to understand a natural process called "succession." Succession works like this:
First, an area is cleared of all, or most, trees. This may happen after a forest fire or flood, or when people bulldoze. Seeds of plants travel by wind or water and land on the bare ground. The first seeds to grow into plants are grasses, weeds, and wildflowers. A meadow has been formed.
As the meadow grows, seeds of new plants begin to grow under the grasses. These plants have the ability to grow taller than the grasses and weeds. When these first young shrubs or trees begin to grow, they are protected by the grasses already in the meadow. As the shrubs and trees grow bigger, they begin to block the light so it can't reach the smaller grasses. The smaller plants die out and leave only the shrubs and trees.
Usually, lots of shrubs and trees grow at the same time. In a thicket, many young trees grow close together. As years go by, the trees grow taller than the shrubs and the shrubs die out too. As more years pass, the stronger trees crowd out the weak ones. The trees that are left are much taller now, and what was once a meadow, then a thicket, has now become a forest.
That is succession -- the process of a meadow growing, over time, into a forest. Thickets, as the middle stage, are important to wildlife as safe places to hide and raise young.
Thickets can be found near other habitats. They may be in the middle of a forest, in a meadow, on the side of a road, or on a sandbar in the middle of a river.
This is a winter friendly cache for those who want a little exercise in the snow. There are a few ways to get to this one and like most, the shortest way is not the easiest, so you may want to stick to the trails. Be on the lookout for wildlife, as a white tailed deer beds in a nearby thicket, an owl roosts in a nearby tree and if you're quick you may spot a few other well camoed forest friends.
Bring your snowshoes or cross country skis and join the muggles who frequent this area daily.
There is a FTF prize and lots of trading items.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
ghpxrq ybj naq bhg bs fvtug
Treasures
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