This Cache is placed as part of the New York State Park Saratoga/Capital District Regional Geocache Challenge. There are 60 geocaches hidden within 18 state parks and historic sites in this parks region, and geocachers finding 40 or more will be eligible to enter their names in a drawing for valuable prizes. The first 75 people to find 40 or more caches will receive a special geocache challenge coin. If you are interested in trying the challenge, you can pick up a geocache passport at any of the participating parks and sites or download it at www.nysparks.com
This cache contains a unique stamp which must stay with the cache. Use this stamp to mark your passport. This stamp is NOT a trade item. Some of the items in the cache are park souvenirs and do not need to be replaced with a trade item.
To find this cache, take the Charcoal Kiln trail that starts at the far end of the main Cherry Plain State Park lot. Follow it up a brief but steep climb and stay left at the fork to cross the creek. You’ll soon come to the trails end at a seemingly inconsequential destination.
Take a look around where you are standing. Did you notice that you are on a raised circular bed of land? If you lived here 150 years ago, you would be tending a circle of wood, stacked and simmering under a layer of dirt to induce a slow burn. After days and nights of monitoring this kiln, the cultivated charcoal would be sent by wagon to Troy to fuel its growing iron foundries. But luckily, you are here in 2015 and can relax in the serene beauty of the cherry and ash (the tree not the charcoal product!).