The Goose
Updated 5/21/24: At the southern most edge of Westport at Horseneck Beach State Reservation, Gooseberry Neck sticks out into the tide at the entrance to Buzzards Bay. Once an island, The Goose was first joined to the mainland by bridge and later a causeway completed in 1923. The next thirty-five years saw the devastation of the Hurricane of 1938, the rebuilding of the causeway and the use of the Neck as a military installation for spotting submarines in WWII, and it's return to civilain life harboring a colony of vacation cottages before being wiped clean by Hurricane Carol in 1954. Now a state beach run by the DCR, Gooseberry Neck is a wonderful place to hike, birdwatch, and enjoy the ocean views. Horseneck Beach is just to the West. Two fire control towers, once part of the coastal defense system, are the only buildings remaining here, though the foundation ruins of numerous structures and several benchmarks are scattered about and hidden by the heavy undergrowth.
The debris from the winter's storms have been cleared away and the causeway is once again open to vehicles. Drive across, park and head south to the first stage via the trail at the end of the parking lot, then continue South as directed down the east side of the island along the beach until you reach the final. The small clear cache holds only a log, a pencil and a few trinkets to trade if you like. Please recover as found. Retrace your steps, or for more fun, continue around the neck, then head north up the west side of Gooseberry Neck (where there used couple of other caches and a letterbox), to check out the fire control tower ruins, and several benchmarks. Enjoy yourself.
edexter
PS: The cache has no dress code, but if I were you, I'd be wearing long pants and sleeves, gloves, eye proection and decent shoes. There is no need to bushwhack but in the summer and fall when the vegetation is dense the path gets pretty scratchy. Personally I wear insect shield clothing (think ticks) and spray when I cache...