What you will need to complete this Earthcache is a 8' tape measure and a camera.
Your journey to this cache can be done from the green trail system. Be prepared for a good hike though this beautifully wooded park that is dotted with several lakes. The wildlife abounds here so be on the watch for all kinds.
One type of wildlife is be espically on the look out for the the Massasauga Rattlesnake. I don't wish to alarm anyone about the danger of having a confrontation with one of these snakes. Many of us have walked the trails in this area many times and I've never heard of anyone crossing paths with a Massasauga Rattlesnake. But an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so I've provided a few links if you want to learn to more about these snakes. Remember that these snakes are protected in Michigan so do not harm them.
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
Eastern Michigan Remains Last Stronghold for Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Eastern Massasauga Observation Report
Erratics are defined generally as any rock that is not native to the area which it is currently located. The name "erratic" is based on the errant location of these boulders. Below your feet is glacial till and limestones, sandstones and shales farther down. Basically sedimentary rocks. Which means any rock you find other then one of these three types would be considered as an erratic.
Glaciers form during climatic episodes when more snow accumulates during the winter than melts away during the summer. Over time the snow thickens and under the pressure of its own weight is compressed into ice and begins to flow outward. During warm intervals, glacier ice melts and the glaciers recede (melt back). During cold intervals, more snow accumulates than melts and the glaciers advance. Rocks and soil frozen in the base of the glacier are dragged along. These materials can act an abrasive to erode the landscape over which the glacier passes. This abrasion can smooth the face of rocks and round out hills. It can also gouge out valleys.
Like rivers, glaciers tend to follow the path of least resistance. The glaciers that flowed into the northern United States from Canada during the Ice Age followed the beds of Lake Huron and Lake Michigan and courses of former river valleys that were eroded. The glaciers gouged out rock from the base and sides of these valleys creating the troughs occupied today by the Great Lakes.
Glacial erratics were transported by glacial ice. This erratic boulder was moved here from the north by the actions of the glaciers that covered this area over 10,000 years ago. As the ice sheet moved south it picked up rocks. Then as the ice sheets melted the rocks were deposited.
Erratic boulders can be found all over this state park. Their size and type of rock varies. What I found for you to discover is an erratic that has been fractured. The fracture was not caused by the glacier, but by water finding a fracture within the rock and freezing. Although as I walked through this park I did notice several other examples of this same granite type.
To claim your find please email your answers for questions 1 - 3 to the cache's owner. Which will open a new email with the questions in the body. Just add your answers.
1.) This erratic has lichens going on most of it's surface. Look for a bare area and tell me what the rock really looks like. Bonus points if you can tell me the type.
2.) Measure how far the fragment has moved away from it's parent. Measure this distance from the highest point.
3.) Measure the greatest dimension of this erratic (lenght, width or height).
4.) Take a photograph of yourself or team with a GPS and this erratic in the photograph. Post this photograph with your online log.
A state of Michigan State Park sticker is required for enty to this park.
A permit has been filed with this park's office for this geocache.