Horn Pond Bowling Alley Traditional Cache
Massquerade: I am regretfully archiving this cache since there's been no response from nor action by the cache owner within the time frame requested in the last reviewer note. The cache owner should retrieve any remaining cache contents at their earliest convenience.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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Rocky came by and said lets go for a ride. Rocky
had a nice new ride he wanted to try out. We brought along Shortman
and Mrs. Loch for a nice ride. The question was where to go for
this ride. I suggested that we go to the bowling alley down at Horn
Pond. While we were out there we stopped and placed cache.
Enjoy.
Background
Horn Pond has long been a local hot spot. Back in 1803 the
Middlesex Canal opened running from Merrimack down to the Mystic
River. The canal made its way north through Woburn starting at Horn
Pond and used Horn Pond Brook as a source of water. “Its natural
beauty, pleasant scenery, and convenient location at roughly
halfway along the canal route made it a logical and attractive area
for both day and overnight excursions” (Woburn – A Past Observed,
McElhiney, 1999). For this reason, and the fact that the change of
50 feet in elevation in the area required three locks, a number of
inns, taverns and guests house sprang up along the pond.
One of the most famous inns of the time was the Horn Pond House
near the middle lock. In addition to the standard guest services it
also owned and operated a bowling alley and dance pavilion on the
Horn Pond Island. It is unclear when it established the bowling
alley, but it is noted in many of the local histories of the day.
The Placement
Having recently placed several caches in the Horn Pond area I had
been eying what is left of the island. Since the time of the
Middlesex Canal much has changed in the area. The canal path has
been paved over and is now Arlington Road; the south end of the
pond has been dammed and Lake Street runs across it; finally the
island has all but disappeared due to the increased water level of
Horn Pond.
Still, I wanted to place a cache on the island but had no way to
access it. That is where Bigrock’s new ride came in. He showed up
at my house with a canoe on top of his car and asked if we wanted
to go for a ride.
Of course Horn Pond is a beautiful place to canoe so we headed down
to the Sturgis Street launch. From there it was a nice water cruise
to the island. As we approached the island we thought we saw
several large crows perched in the trees. Once we got close we
realized they were too big to be crows, they were Double-crested
Cormorants. Watch out when walking on the island.
The Cache
Now hiding spots were limited but we managed to find a spot that
should be easy for a cacher to find but not necessarily so for
muggles. The container is a 2-3 inch diameter container with a
screw to lid that is wrapped in black tape. Please be careful on
the island for the birds have left their mark. Please rehide the
container as carefully as you can to prevent it from being muggled.
Good luck and good caching,
Loch Cache and Rocky’s Water Taxi
Congrats to koneko on the FTF
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
ABBXBSGERR
Treasures
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