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"Rafael
E. Sanchez Memorial Trail"
You are looking for a cache on
the Rafael E. Sanchez Memorial Trail in Lake Okeechobee Ridge Park.
Both the North and South Parking areas are listed as waypoints in
order to stage vechicles for your hike. A map can be printed or
viewed by clicking on the Related Web-Page Link above. Please use
the trail and "DO NOT BUSHWACK" directly from the highway to
the cache.
Lake Okeechobee Ridge Park is a 250 acre county park along the
east side of Conners Highway (US 98/441) in western Martin County.
The Rafael E. Sanchez Memorial Trail runs the length of the park,
from Port Mayaca north to almost Chancey Bay. This unconventional
conservation site is a narrow strip of tropical hardwood hammock
sandwiched between expansive sugar cane fields to the east and the
cleared area of the Herbert Hoover Dike to the west. This small
forested ridge is thought to be the historic shoreline of Lake
Okeechobee before the dike's construction, and contains large, old
growth trees that offer a glimpse of what this area might have
looked like 100 years ago. Migrating songbirds find welcome respite
from sugar cane and the open water of the "Big Lake" in this long,
narrow strip of hammock, and can be concentrated in significant
numbers in migratory months.
Put on your boots, bring your bug spray and be sure to bring a lot
of water and snacks for this six mile journey through old
Florida!
"Sugarcane"
Sugarcane is a tropical,
perennial grass that forms lateral shoots at the base to produce
multiple stems, typically three to four meters high and about five
centimeters in diameter. The stems grow into cane stalk, which when
mature constitutes approximately 75% of the entire plant. A mature
stalk is typically composed of 11–16% fiber, 12–16%
soluble sugars, 2–3% non-sugars, and 63–73% water. A
sugarcane crop is sensitive to the climate, soil type, irrigation,
fertilizers, insects, disease control, varieties, and the harvest
period. Sugarcane is a cash crop, but it is also used as livestock
fodder.
Thanks for hiking with us.
From your friendly Western Martin County Geocachers. Joshism,
Sticks & SkaryShari.
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