Quadricentennial Challenge
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Catskills Live! Trails & Wilderness Association
issues a challenge to all — venture forth and seek all 15
Quadricentennial Challenge geocaches. Go to many great places
throughout Ulster County — visit the shores of the Hudson,
feel the cool air in an historic cement mine, enjoy our small
parks, ride on our rail trails, summit two Catskill peaks, and
savor the breath-taking view from Gertrude's Nose in Minnewaska
State Park Preserve. Bask in our county's treasures with family and
friends, exercise your body, and build lasting memories.
Over 100 specially minted commemorative Quadricentennial
geocoins were released from 15 Challenge geocaches set up in 2009
in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the exploration of New
York State by Henry Hudson. Congratulations to Joe The Mailman, the
first person to complete all 15 caches! Funding for the Challenge
was provided by Ulster County and the Hudson River Valley
Greenway.
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Saugerties Lighthouse & Ruth Reynolds Glunt Nature
Preserve
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The Saugerties Lighthouse and Ruth Reynolds Glunt Nature
Preserve are located along the Hudson River in Saugerties, in
northeastern Ulster County, New York State. This exceptional
17-acre preserve is owned and maintained by the Saugerties
Lighthouse Conservancy. It affords visitors with a superb view of
the Hudson River from an artificial sand bar and lighthouse that
project far out into the river.
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The red brick lighthouse may well be situated within a stone's
throw of the actual pathway of Henry Hudson's Half Moon. Here, you
can see the Hudson stretching north and south much as it looked 400
years ago. Look out at the river and imagine the river's banks with
no buildings, draped with century-old trees. Picture the native
Delaware or Lenape peoples (locally referred to as the Esopus after
the name of their village) gazing at the full sails of the Half
Moon from their villages, wondering about the strange ship and its
mission. Soon, Dutch settlers would follow and trade would blossom
— especially the beaver fur trade.
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As the Hudson River became more and more important for shipping
and trade, lighthouses were erected to avoid disasters in shallow
river reaches.
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The original Saugerties Lighthouse was built in 1838 and was
rebuilt in 1869 in its current charming form. It is likely that the
lighthouse was built to steer ships away from the shallow submerged
delta (Washburn Point) that formed at the mouth of the expansive
Esopus Creek that deposits its sediment load here from the Catskill
high peaks. This delta was dredged in 1888 and 1889 to make a deep
channel for ship access to Saugerties harbor.
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The nature preserve trails are supported by a sandbar comprised
of these dredged sediments.
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The web site of the Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy provides additional
information, including a link to make overnight reservations to
stay in the lighthouse's bed and breakfast inn. Ruth Reynolds Glunt
was instrumental in gaining protection of the lighthouse, in part,
through getting it placed on the National Registry of Historic
Places.
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Public viewing of the interior of the lighthouse is available
from Memorial Day through Labor Day on weekends from noon to 3:00
pm, or by appointment. This exceptional lighthouse and its
extraordinary river vistas clearly warrant its inclusion on a
future Hudson River Legacy Trail.
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The nature trail, lighthouse area, and tidal flats are
particularly well-suited for bird watching, wildlife observation,
reflection, boat watching, and hiking. Some of the plant species
present are invasive, such as the tall reeds called Phragmites and
the sharp, black seeds of the Eurasian water chestnut.
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Boardwalks are present along portions of the trail.
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Please read these paragraphs carefully:
The cache is located approximately 60 feet off the nature trail
that leads to the Saugerties Lighthouse. Because the Ruth
Reynolds Glunt Nature Preserve trail is, at times, completely
covered by the Hudson River, a degree of creativity was needed to
place the cache such that it was likely to remain available. Most
of the route to the cache is via a hard-packed trail. A short
diversion is needed from the trail to reach the cache.
Be sure not to head in to the cache location until you see your
GPS direction arrow point perpendicular to the nature trail. To
minimize the need for random cache hunting, the constructed cache
container is well illustrated within this geocache write-up! Access
via land entails a nearly level round-trip hike of about 1 mile.
Portions of the trail flood at high tide so please be sure to
consult local tide tables when planning your geocaching
trip.
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The Cache
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The cache consists of a 2-liter cylindrical poly bottle filled
with kid-friendly items and, initially, four NYS Quadricentennial
Challenge geocoins designed to travel throughout the world. The
real treasures here are the scenic views of the Hudson River, the
historic lighthouse, protected freshwater tidal wetlands, and the
peaceful setting steeped in time. This geocache was approved by the
Saugerties Lighthouse Conservancy.
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Parking
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This geocache is located approximately two miles due east of NYS
Quadricentennial Challenge — Esopus Bend Nature Preserve. A
parking area is accessed from Lighthouse Drive, which is situated
on the north side of the Esopus Creek in Saugerties. The Preserve
is open year-round, from sunrise to sunset. Geocaching is not
permitted after sunset.
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Please Cache In and Trash Out!
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