The approach to the cache requires a fair amount of bushwhacking but none of it is particularly severe. Parts of the approach can get wet and muddy after severe weather, and there are thorns the closer you get to the cache. Long pants, sleeves, and boots are recommended.
After a few rough starts, the squirrels have chosen a secluded location with a nearby view of Lawrence Brook Dam. Lawrence Brook is a tributary of the Raritan River. Originally called Piscopeek by the Unami Lenni-Lenape Native Americans, its current name comes from Mr. Thomas Lawrence, a New York City baker who acquired its surrounding land in the 17th century. Originally a ten mile (16 km) stream, its course now includes man-made lakes created by dams built in the 19th and 20th centuries including Deans Pond, Davidsons Mill Pond, Farrington Lake, Mill Pond, and Westons Mill Pond. Its lowest section, near the Raritan River, is tidal; it hosts marine wildlife and is regarded as a coastal area.
This geocache is near the northern tip of 290-acre Farrington Lake, near the Lawrence Brook Dam, where the lake officially ends and Lawrence Brook resumes its journey. The dam, named after New Brunswick Mayor Edward Farrington (1915-1918), is directly responsible for the creation of Farrington Lake. Mayor Farrington envisioned the construction of the dam to supply water to New Brunswick and Farrington Lake is the result. Mayor Farrington never saw the final creation of the dam or the lake, having died in office in 1918. Once you get past the graffiti, Lawrence Brook Dam is quite spectacular after a good rainfall and insanely pretty when it's covered in icicles.
Although fishing is not permitted on the dam, the lake offers some good fishing including sunnies, catfish, bass, trout, crappie, and probably more. Grab your child and your fishing gear and a picnic lunch and spend a pleasant day geocaching and fishing at the lake. Several hiking trails, plus a bike trail or two, can be found in the area.
The cache container is a handcrafted work, sourced from materials in our own back yard and that of our neighbor's (taken with permission, of course), plus some plywood, a few bits of hardware, and some construction adhesive. Our cache had been the unfortunate victim of natural disaster and several acts human vandalization early in its life; its original roof was blown off by a particularly nasty storm in August 2016, and the cache was vandalized several times in the following months including the unfortunate loss of the original Guardian Squirrel that was provided by my mother/Jessica's grandmother. The cache is now hidden much further away from any of the established trails, and is in a much more concealed location than before. We are hopeful that this will mean the end of human vandalization. We kindly ask that all cache visitors respect the work we put into this container. It may not be perfect but it's definitely a labor of love.
We hid this cache with our standard log pack (log book, pencil, sharpener, dry pack, and muggle card) plus about two dozen trinkets to get it started. If the trinkets are running low or all gone, please mark this cache as needing maintenance. Thanks!