BuckResv - Nayaug Winter Home Traditional Cache

Park at N 41° 43.822, W 072° 30.230. This cache is part of the Buckingham Reservoir series of 13 caches. Most of the cache locations are on or near well-worn trails, however, some of them may be extra challenging during certain seasons of the year.

There is an abundance of wildlife in the area. It’s quite possible to encounter beaver, bobcats, coyotes, deer, fishers, red, grey and yellow foxes, four varieties of owls, snapping turtles, timber rattlesnakes, various water snakes, weasels and the very rare occasional wandering bear. Exercise caution and remember that this is their home.

From Glastonbury: From Settlement to Suburb by Marjorie Grant McNulty "Like other river tribes, the Nayaugs maintained more than one camping ground. In warm weather they set up their rounded wigwams and longhouse on the meadows near the river; when the weather began to grow cold, crops withered and hunting-time approached, they moved back into the hills of East Glastonbury and made rock shelters in the cliff ledges their winter home. Game abounded: wolves, foxes, bear, wildcats, deer."

Informally from the Glastonbury Historical Society, "The Nayaug Indians would travel up Roaring Brook for their winter hunting encampment. They would find south or southeast facing caves in the hills, build a frame on the front to extend the size of the cave and cover it with furs. From there they would hunt for the winter, replenishing their supply of furs and skins." This particular cave has a perfect vantage point overlooking Roaring Brook where animals would have come for water during the winter.

From Skip Russell a long-time resident of the area, "This particular cave was excavated in the 1930s. Many artifacts were found and shipped to the Peabody Museum in New Haven. I remember snow-shoeing down to the cave when I was about 11 to 12 years old in the winter. It was zero to ten degrees Fahrenheit out. At the site, I took off my jacket hat and gloves. The sun to the south warmed the area nicely and there was no wind."

The following list of artifacts found at the site was extracted from the Yale Peabody Museum Anthropology Online Catalog at http://research.yale.edu/peabody/COLLECTIONS/ant/ You can search the catalog yourself by going to this link and typing “Novelli” in the Description field to view the list of artifacts.

This is the entrance to the largest of the caves. It faces south, so it is warm in the winter. It also overlooks a large pond. (GC1HWAD, BuckResv - Ironmaiden, is on the upper end of this pond.)

We’ve placed a few special items in the treasure cache to reward your efforts getting here. The original contents included 22 different state quarters, materials for making a rubber band gun (take 1 pair only please), a brand new first aid kit in a Nalgene bottle from Cabela’s, two large pieces of quartz, one rose and one purple, and another brand new useful tool item from Cabela’s.

Use caution approaching the cave(s). Large animal scat and Bobcat skulls have been found inside. Distinct Fisher tracks have been found at the entrance and steam has been seen rising from the entrance in the middle of the winter. No one says the cache is in one of the caves anyway.