This is a challenging journey, with a cache at
the end. It’s for those who love---do not just
tolerate---bushwhacking, those who crave being in wild places,
those who know that sweat, scratches, insects, ticks, bruises, mud,
poison ivy, wet feet and an element of risk are prices to pay for
those wild places, and those who savor the achievement of making it
to a lonely, wild place that’s tough to get to. If this is
you, take a journey to The Backside of Beyond.
You’ll see some great stuff: massive
beaver dams and beaver lodges, huge open water wetlands, more swamp
and drowned trees than you thought possible, ducks, geese, and
other birds a-plenty, and if you’re lucky, great blue herons,
beaver and maybe a deer or two. You will almost certainly not see
any people, and virtually no signs of civilization. You’ll
stand in places that look similar to those that existed around here
thousands of years ago. Who knew such wild places could be found so
close to Boston?
It’ll take you a couple hours (+/-) to
do this, with the shortest route being about 2.5 miles round-trip,
more than half of that heavy bushwhacking. Below is a route I
mapped out that optimally combines backcountry exploration,
scenery, and at least survivable bushwhacking. Of course you may do
this cache as you wish, but there is one caveat to The Backside of
Beyond: Full bragging rights are only accorded those
who come in from the W from the recommended Middleton Road
trailhead below. I
say this because some map/satellite savvy cachers may be tempted to
try to find shorter or easier routes in from the N or NE (i.e.,
from route 114). I say don’t bother; seek an easier cache if
your goal is only to increase your number count. That’s not
what this cache is about.
Park at the Sudden Pond trailhead (waypoint
SPTH below) on Middleton Road in Harold Parker State Forest, about
a half mile S of the Harold Parker headquarters ranger station. Set
out E on the trail for Beaver Dam (BD1), skirting the N shore of
Sudden Pond. At a trail junction at 0.37 miles (listed mileages are
my GPS odometer readings, not air miles), consider taking a
side-trip to the S to check out the dam at the SE end of Sudden
Pond, 0.12 miles away. There’s a picnic area on the other
side, accessible from a trailhead further S on Middleton Road.
After returning to the junction, continue straight the way you were
heading, cross a log bridge over a creek, and reach BD1 at 0.47
miles. (NOTE: see 2/13/10 owner's maintenance log and special note
at the bottom of this cache description for updates on this log
bridge, and alternative ways to cross the creek). While at BD1,
take some time to admire this amazing beaver dam and the pond
behind it. Your bushwhack begins here. Head ESE for Overlook 1
(OL1), where you climb a small hill (0.67 miles) to get your first
good look at the Knight Pond wetland environs. [On your way to OL1,
consider a minor detour to check out Haverood's Fire Ring, HRFR; it
will add less than 0.1 mile to your trek, and it's a good place to
sit and take in the woods scene as you listen to the babble of
water in the stream below.] From OL1, head E to Overlook 2 (OL2) at
0.85 miles. This is a really pretty place, with good views of the
wetlands and a great rock for sitting. Here you get a good idea of
how big Knight Pond really is---and you're only seeing
part of it from here. Looking due E over the water, you
can see a small point of land 0.15 air miles away---that’s
where you’re going---to The Backside of Beyond. But first you
have to go around a wide inlet of water. So from OL2, head N to
TRL1, where at 1.06 miles you’ll gratefully stumble out of
the woods onto an old woods road. Head E on that road, making 2
quick rights at a triangle, to a dead-end turn-around at TRN, at
1.19 miles. Now set your GPS for The Backside of Beyond and resume
bushwhacking SE to find the cache at 1.33 miles.
Congratulations! Spend some time exploring this cool place,
whose main daily inhabitants are clearly beavers. Heading back,
find TRN again at 1.54 miles (listed mileage now includes 0.07
miles I clocked wandering around the cache site), and savor another
easy 0.12 miles on the old woods road going W (with 2 quick lefts
at the triangle) to TRL1 at 1.66 miles, where you must begin
bushwhacking again. Here you face a choice: either head (first SW
then) S again to OL2 to return via your original route, which is
longer but probably easier and less nerve-wracking, or head WSW
directly back to BD1, which is shorter but is a thick, wet,
thorny---OK, I'll say it---miserable bushwhack. Do this only if you
don’t get nervous easily. That said, I’ve done it three
times and survived.
Going that route, you’ll get back to BD1 at 2.03 miles.
Crossing the log bridge and regaining the trail, you’ll feel
like you’re back in civilization. Head W on the trail back to
the trailhead (SPTH), where you’ll arrive, elated, at 2.49
miles.
Please do this cache
safely! Study the maps and satellite photos first,
and take a map with you. Bring extra batteries for your GPS, a
separate compass, good clothes, water and your fully-charged cell
phone in case you bust a leg and need to get hauled out.
That’s minimal. Think seriously about safety, and
you’ll likely want to bring other stuff too, like I do.
Don’t start late in the day. Very important: pay
attention to hunting season, and dress accordingly and make some noise if
you go out at those times. Consult page 8
of
(http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/regulations/abstracts/hunt_fish_abstracts.pdf)
for MA hunting information and schedules. My reading of these
indicates there is never hunting on any Sunday.
Finally, the cache is a small ammo box.
It’s well hidden but you don’t have to move
anything. Matter of fact, please
don't move anything! Please rehide
carefully, as I have learned that there is no such thing as a
muggle-proof location. Have fun!
Congratulations to
Haverood on their
FTF!
UPDATE 12-18-2011: Due to beaver activity near BD1, it is no
longer possible to cross the little log bridge at that location.
You have 3 options to get to the other side. First, you can
cross the enormous and very long beaver dam holding back the huge
lake just upstream of this point (do-able, but not recommended).
Second, you can go downstream a couple hundred feet to a second
beaver dam (N42/36.653 W071/03.517), which can be crossed either on
top or on rocks just below (rocks below requires about a 4' leap).
I have done this crossing a couple times and it's do-able. Third,
continue downstream yet another couple hundred feet to a third
beaver dam (N42/36.623 W071/03.486). Have not done this
crossing; it may be better or worse than beaver dam #2; take your
chances.