Peace, Harmony, & Healing Traditional Cache
Peace, Harmony, & Healing
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*************Congrats to ConnArtist for FTF!!**************** North on Elm Street/Ingham Hill road, past I-95. After .5 miles turn left at Great Cedars Conservation Area. Plenty of parking; coordinates provided. Round trip to cache and back is 1.5 miles on well-marked trails. Trail maps are available at the Old Saybrook Parks & Recreation web page, http://www.oldsaybrookct.org/Pages/OldSaybrookCT_Recreation/index . Open dawn to dusk.
Welcome to the west side of Great Cedars Conservation Area. This 320 acre tract, formerly known as the Gleason Property, was successfully protected by the Old Saybrook Land Trust and the town in 1999. It is significant for its size and unique biological features. I have long wanted to place a cache in this area so here it is, and there is room for more. There is a lot to see here even before you start searching for the cache. After parking, you’ll notice a large field containing a small monument surrounded by colorful pieces of cloth. This is the Old Saybrook Stupa, a “Buddhist symbol of the enlightened mind and its path to realization”. Hence, the cache name. The colorful cloths are actually prayer flags; upon close inspection you will see the symbols. As you follow the yellow trail towards the woods you will see a rare white cedar bog, or swamp, to your right. This swamp is home to the state’s largest Atlantic white cedar tree, 75 feet tall with a circumference of 6 feet, 8 inches. I’m not sure where its located, but it could probably be spotted more easily in the late fall, winter, or early spring. A little further along on the trail you will pass a gate on your left. Inside this private, fenced-in area are two buildings constructed from bales of hay. The original Hay House, built in 1974 by Ben Gleason, is the oldest hay bale structure east of the Mississippi. The current owner, David Brown, is building a new straw bale barn. Hay House Farm tours take place Wednesday and Sunday afternoons. Visit the owner’s web site for more information at http://hayhouseonline.blogspot.com/. Soon after passing the Hay House you will be continuing on the yellow-blazed trail out to Lake Rockview and the cache site, where you may find some peace, harmony, and healing. The trail deadends, so retrace your path to return. If you continued on the yellow trail it would bring you to the Clark Community Park trails, only 0.2 mile away. Enjoy this beautiful area!
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qbjarq gerr
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