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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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Wallkill Valley Rail Trail
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Catskills Live! is very pleased to highlight a 12.2 mile
section of the Wallkill Rail Trail as part of the Quadricentennial
Celebration. The trail trends north to south throughout the Towns
of New Paltz and Gardiner, extending to the Town lines of Rosendale
and Shawangunk.
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The rail trail is open from dawn to dusk. This section of rail
trail is not paved and is frequented by bicyclists, walkers,
joggers, birders, and wayward parachutists who have missed their
planned landing site.
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Much of this almost level segment of former rail bed is well
suited for large-wheeled strollers and wheelchairs although, in
places, gravel is present.
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While many scenic vistas are present along portions of the rail
trail, the cache is located near a high rail trail bridge that
provides one of the most outstanding views anywhere within the
Wallkill Valley. It is this vista that provides the scene of the
voyage described below and is, in fact, the real treasure
associated with this New York State Quadricentennial Challenge.
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Wallkill Valley - A Fanciful Voyage through Recent
Geologic Time
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As you stand on the rail trail bridge (see coordinates below)
looking westward, it is easy to mentally drop back in time.
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In your minds eye, picture yourself on the deck of Hudson's Half
Moon sailing on a moonlit eve amidst glistening icebergs on a cold
glacial lake surrounding you. A huge continental ice sheet is
melting, slowly receding northward, impounding the north-flowing
Wallkill River.
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Streams loaded with fine sediment are flowing into the lake from
the Shawangunk Mountains and elsewhere. Today you see these fine
lake clay layers along the rail trail.
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Suddenly, you find the Half Moon barely afloat in the ancestral
Wallkill River. The glacial lake has drained. The river is lazy,
weaving and meandering slowly - new life is springing up everywhere
as the cold landscape warms from permafrost and arctic tundra
conditions. Colorful wildflowers and spring freshets sparkle in the
warm spring air.
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A few thousand years pass. The landscape is evolving. By 11,000
years ago, beaver dams make sailing the Half Moon difficult. Trees
now border vast swamplands and marshes that fill much of the
valley.
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Mastodons (ancient tusked elephants) are grazing within and
alongside the marshes - freely roaming north and south along the
Wallkill River valley and throughout the Hudson Valley corridor.
These 4 to 6 ton animals can be seen crushing and chewing twigs,
branches, leaves, and other vegetation.
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They stand 9 feet tall and 15 feet long, excluding their 8 foot
curved tusks. Occasionally they get mired down in a pothole (e.g.,
Cohoes mastodon) or in the soft, grassy, marshlands (e.g.,
Sugarloaf mastodon). They share the marshlands with 7-foot giant
beaver, ground sloths, and much bird life.
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By around 10,000 years ago, the Half Moon is no longer mired
down — the Wallkill River is running swift and clear, much
like today. Big storms churn up the glacial lake clays, turning the
river the color of chocolate milk. Looking over the side of the
Half Moon you see deer running. Not far behind them are some of the
valley's first native Americans. Much of what we know of them stems
from artifacts excavated from rock shelters found in the nearby
Shawangunk Mountains.
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| As you continue to sail through time, the vast
marshlands fill in, and you now wind your way through deepening
rivers and forested woodlands thick with huge oaks. You sail
northeastward, over Dashville Falls in Rifton, soon reaching the
Rondout Creek and the mighty Hudson River. |
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| The year is now 1609 and you turn over the helm to Henry
Hudson. You sail northward with dreams of the Northwest Passage and
great riches. The stage is set for trade, colonization, and
enterprise throughout the New World. |
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The Cache
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Access to the cache is available from a number of parking
locations. The cache is a 2-liter cylindrical poly bottle hidden
close to the rail trail, within the 30-foot right of way that
extends from either side of the rail trail centerline. The cache is
filled with kid-friendly items and, initially, four NYS
Quadricentennial Challenge geocoins designed to travel throughout
the world. The Wallkill Valley Land Trust approved the
placement of this geocache.
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Parking
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There are a number of parking areas that are suitable for
reaching this cache. The two best are located in New Paltz off
Plains Road and in Gardiner, just off Route 44/55. Whichever
approach you select, be sure to enjoy the spectacular view from the
rail trail bridge. First look at the scenery — including deer
and fox, if you are lucky! — and then drop back in time on
the Half Moon as you sail through the ages.
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Please Cache In and Trash Out!
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