Three types of trees dominate the woods in Roche-A-Cri State Park. They are oak, pine, and aspen. In this cache, you will be visiting six spots along Acorn Trail in the northwest part of the park. At each stop you will be asked to look for a certain tree or trees, and then decide if what you see are oak, pine, or aspen. Based on your answers, use the corresponding number for each to replace the letter in the final. After you have identified all six spots, proceed to the final you have figured out, where you will find the container and log book. Make sure you have the following list with you. It contains the information you need to get the final coordinates.
- WP1--A: oak = 1; pine = 2; aspen = 3 *** It's the type of tree clustered around the sign.
- WP2--B: oak = 8; pine = 6; aspen = 4 *** It's the predominant type of tree you are seeing at this spot at the higher levels.
- WP3--C: oak = 7; pine = 8; aspen = 9 *** There are many of these close by on the left side of the trail. A couple are even bent over.
- WP4--D: oak = 3; pine = 6; aspen = 9 *** It's the predominant type of tree you are seeing at this spot.
- WP5--E: oak = 7; pine = 3; aspen = 0 *** There is a large one of these about three feet from the sign here.
- WP6--F: oak = 0; pine = 3; aspen = 6 *** There is a good group of large ones to the left of the trail near this spot.
The cache final can be found at: N 44* 00.ABC W 089* 48.DEF
The types of oak you will see here are red, white, and burr. The leaves of the red oaks have pointed tips, and the trees are very susceptible to oak wilt. The white oak trees are broader-spreading, and their leaves have round-lobed tips. The burr oak trees, relatives of the white oaks, have leaves with blunted round ends and acorns with fringed caps.
The types of pine you will see here are red pine, white pine, and jack pine. Red pine has orange-brown plated bark with needle clusters of two that snap easily. White pine has dark smooth bark with needle clusters of five that are very soft and flexible. Jack pine is a tough scrubby type of pine, shorter than the others with scaly bark and fairly short needles.
The types of aspen you will see here are bigtooth and quaking aspen. Some people call these "popple". They have heart-shaped leaves edged with "teeth", which are more pronounced on the bigtooth aspens. The bark is smooth with a whitish cast to it.
This cache is in Roche-A-Cri State Park. A current Wisconsin State Parks sticker (hourly, daily, or yearly) is required for all parked vehicles. The park is closed to non-campers from 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Do not hunt for this cache during those hours.
Starting on January 1, 2013, hunting and trapping has been allowed in certain areas of Wisconsin state parks during certain hunting seasons. To see what the dates are and which areas are open to hunting in Roche-A-Cri State Park, click on the "Related Web Page" below the D/T star ratings at the top left of this cache page. Then scroll down for the link for this state park.
The Geocache Notification Form has been submitted to Park Manager Joe Stecker-Kochanski of the Wisconsin DNR. Geocaches placed on Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource managed lands require permission by means of a notification form. Please print out a paper copy of the notification form, fill in all required information, then submit it to the land manager. The DNR Notification form and land manager information can be obtained at: http://www.wi-geocaching.com/hiding
Permission to follow the trail of this puzzle cache through the Roche-A-Cri Woods State Natural Area has been granted by Thomas A. Meyer of the Wisconsin DNR. The container is NOT located within the SNA boundaries.