International Year of Forests – Brecksville Multi-Cache
Cleveland Metroparks: Time for 2012 caches. Thanks to all who have found this cache over the past year.
International Year of Forests – Brecksville
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The above coordinates are the parking coordinates. Begin here for this 7 stage multi cache.
"The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests for the benefit of current and future generations."
And with good reason... According to the UN website "Forests are home to 80% of our terrestrial biodiversity. The livelihoods of over 1.6 billion people depend on forests."
For more information, you can go to www.un.org/forests.
This multi cache will take you along the Hemlock Loop Trail in the Brecksville Reservation. Please follow the green pine tree trail markers on all posts as you make your way on this 2.5 mile hike. This trail overlooks the Chippewa Creek Gorge and leads down to the flood plain. After crossing a park road you will head back up scenic ridges and near meadows before arriving back where you began. You will learn about several forests types as you walk through them. Along the way you will find information to obtain the final coordinates for the cache. All information is from existing natural and man made items already in the park. There are no micros or tags to search for. All stages except the final cache can be found from the trail.
To begin your hike please follow the paved trail to the Brecksville Nature Center at stage 1. You can grab a trail map here to help on your hike.
Your first stage will take you inside the center to admire the craftsmanship of the building. This center was built in 1939 as a WPA project and is made out of wormy chestnut. American Chestnut was once a dominant forest tree in the eastern half of the US. The chestnut blight wiped out over 3 billion trees in the in the first half of the 1900’s. Use the information display in the center to find the leaves carved into the posts around the room. Do not count the square carvings above the posts. Take the number of carvings and add 3. If you arrive when the center is closed you may count the number of hinges on the doors on the back side of the center and add 3. This number will be A in the final coordinates.
Follow the Hemlock Loop trail to the left/west when you leave the center to your second stage. You will need to cross the park road to get there. At the scenic overlook please count the number of posts holding up the roof of the shelter. This number will be B in the final coordinates.
After this stage you will head east along the trail and continue through the hemlock beech forest. This upland, mixed conifer-broadleaf forest community can be found in the cool microclimate of steep, north-facing river valley walls and ravine slopes. Dominant canopy species found in old growth remnants of this forest include eastern hemlock, sugar maple, beech, and black cherry, with white pine as a co-dominant in some stands. These stands may have red oak, red maple, and tulip tree mingled with the hemlock. Hemlock is also found on the river valley slopes and steep ravines of the lower Rocky, Black, and Vermilion rivers west of Cleveland. Along the trail you will pass two magnificent red oaks between the fence and the gorge.
Farther along the trail you will come to stage 3. On the right/south side of the trail there is a single hemlock tree with a very tall dead tree nearby. How many trunks does the hemlock tree have? This number will be C in the final coordinates.
After this it’s all downhill for a while. The trail leaves the hemlocks behind and enters the floodplain forest. This forest type occurs on temporarily flooded soils along major rivers and streams. Dominant trees include black walnut, and sycamore. Other associated species include box elder, and cottonwood. Black willow, red osier dogwood, and silky dogwood are present on frequently flooded low terraces of major rivers. You will walk through this forest to stage 4. Please stay on the Hemlock trail, keep an eye out for those green pine tree markers.
Stage 4 is a sign with information about a resident of this forest. How many letters in the second word on the sign? This number will be D in the final coordinates.
As you walk east through the floodplain forest you will draw closer to Chippewa Creek and after a bit you will come to a large man made structure which is stage 5. At this structure count the number of vertical cables that support either side of the span. Count only one side and subtract 4 from that number. You will end up with a single digit number. Vertical cables minus 4 will be E in the final coordinates.
The trail bears to the left and after a bit crosses the parkway. Follow those green markers back west and begin your climb into the Beech Maple forest. Beech-Maple forests dominated by sugar maple and American beech were the most common forest community in Northeast Ohio at the time of European settlement. Some remaining old-growth beech trees are over 400 years old. This upland forest community is characterized by a dense to moderately dense canopy of deciduous trees, an absent to sparse shrub layer, and a moderate to well-developed ground layer of non-woody, herbaceous plants. Tulip trees also are often common in this community.
After the first hill you will come to the last counting exercise at stage 6. Please count the number of trees and leaves on all sides of this sign post and that number is F in the final coordinates.
The final cache is located at:
N 41.18.ABC
W 81.36.DEF
Now continue on up the hemlock trail and you will come to the final cache. The cache container is loaded with Metroparks goodies and is within 100 feet of the trail. After signing your name continue on the trail to complete the loop and arrive back at the nature center and parking.
Thank you for visiting the Metroparks and learning a little about the forests around you.
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