With this, my first cache, I am replacing a cache I found last year but has since been archived. I've added a stage and the final is a 1.7-quart Lock-and-Lock container that is packed with items for all ages.
FTF gets a shiny, new, unactivated 2006 Massachusetts Geocoin. Congratulations to YBLee for another FTF, this one in the pouring rain.
This is a really nice area, with a short walk in and a bench in the shadow of Anawan Rock. The sedimentary conglomerate hill is surrounded on three sides by the Squanakonk Swanp.
You don’t have to do any bushwacking to find Stage one. Also, you don't have to do any serious climbing to reach the final, but the rocks and leaves can be slippery after a rain or snow storm. So please watch your footing.
I have upped the ratings since first placing the cache, because the terrain and difficulty at the two stages are so different. Stage one is wheelchair accessible, but stage two is not.
It was here in August 1676 that Captain Benjamin Church captured Anawan, a Wampanoag sachem (or chief) and advisor to King Philip. This action effectively ended King Philip's War in southeastern Massachusetts. Anawan, with his remaining warriors, fled to this location to hide from English troops that were searching area to mop up any Indian resistance.
Church stumbled onto one of Anawan’s warriors who told him Anawan was camped near the north end of Squanakonk Swamp. After a difficult march to the site, Church and his company surprised Anawan, who surrendered without a fight.
Anawan was taken to Plymouth. Despite Church’s request that Anawan be spared, the authorities there beheaded him.
Some believe the area is haunted, with mysterious Indians running through the woods yelling “Iootash,” Wampanoag for “Stand and Fight.” There are also reports of people seeing and smelling smoke despite the absence of any campfires. Is it true? You be the judge.
When you're done with the cache, there's a letterbox nearby called Red Dragon of Anawan Rock