This cache will take you on a nice long hike through the heart of Punderson. You will begin at the northern end of Lake Punderson and follow the Erie Trail as it leads you very close to Stump Lake and beyond. This is a letterbox hybrid, so there will be a stamp and inkpad in the cache.
Please do not remove them!
The actual cache container is NOT hidden at the posted coordinates.
Begin there and follow the letterbox clues to find the cache.
If you have done letterboxing before, be sure to bring your stamp and book along. The letterbox clues are below, and don't forget to check the inside of the cache lid for the coordinates to the Joker Micro cache (GC6TQDZ)!
Punderson State Park is open to the public from 6 am to 11 pm. While caching after dark is allowed, please be sure to exit Punderson by 11 pm when the park closes.
Letterbox Clues
For the purposes of these instructions, consider a “pace” to be a single step with either foot, while walking in a brisk manner. This distance can vary for each person depending on their size and gait, but a single pace should be roughly 2.5 feet.
Begin at the posted coordinates at the edge of the Marina Shelter parking lot near the north end of the lake. Carefully walk along the campground road to the east / southeast for about 400 feet until you see the Erie Trail sign on the left (northeast). Take the trail and walk northeast up the slight incline for about 260 feet until you reach the top where you should see a sign pointing to the right for the Campground, and another sign below pointing straight ahead for the Erie Trail.
Continue forward on the Erie Trail as it slopes downward. This section of the trail can be extremely muddy at times, so watch your step! The hill can be slippery and the trail ahead may have patches of deep mud. You can usually skirt around the mud if you stick to the edge of the trail, or sometimes you’ll see pieces of wood in the middle of the mud patch that you can step on so you won’t sink in.
Walk along this section of the trail for about 725 feet. The trail starts out heading northeast, then turns to the southeast about halfway along. You will come to a junction where the trail splits to the right and the left. The trail to the right goes up to the campground. Take the trail to the left (northeast) and after walking about 50 feet, you will see a large wooden bench on the left. The bench faces a large swampy pool, one of several in the park. If you like, you can sit down on the bench to rest and clean your muddy shoes!
UPDATE: Sorry! It looks like the bench has been removed. Apparently the park decided that this spot was not so scenic after all. Tiny pieces of the bases are all that's left.
You should also see a side trail that heads off along the swampy pool to the right, but do not take it! Continue walking along the main trail to the northeast. Walk forward following the trail for about 425 feet until you reach another trail junction. Here you should see three options. To the far right is the Erie Point Trail, and there will be a wooden sign with that trail name on it. In the middle is the section of the Erie Trail that runs along Stump Lake. To the left is the section of the Erie Trail that you need to take.
Line yourself up with the metal trail sign to begin your final approach to the cache. Head northwest along the trail and take 100 paces. You may need a few more than 100 if you have a short gait. When you’re done counting out the paces, there should be a medium-sized tree on your right. The tree is very close to the trail and there are no other trees nearby. The closest one is about ten feet farther off the trail. There is also a very small rock formation in the roots, partially covered with moss. If you look to your left, you should see two trees about 30-35 feet off the trail that used to be growing together. One is now leaning and the other one has completely fallen, with its roots exposed and sticking up high. There should be no other trees between you and these two trees, so you can walk right over to them.
Walk along the left side of the fallen tree to the end so that you are directly facing the top side of the roots. Turn your head to the left and you should see a large tree with dark bark and a green mossy base, about 25 feet away. Don’t confuse it with the one that is farther to the left! Walk over to the tree and line yourself up so that you are facing down the hillside (roughly southwest). You should see another large tree with a green mossy base about 20 feet down the hill. You may have to skirt around some saplings to get to it, but there at the base of the tree, you will find the hidden container.
Good luck!