While I was in the park one day looking for hiding spots for new caches, I decided to check out an area that I had been curious about for a long time. My curiosity led me on a short but very interesting adventure, and took me to a location that has rarely been seen by park visitors.
Many years ago when the power lines were put into the park, a maintenance trail was cut along the large swampy pool that can be seen from the road. Over the years the pine trees in the area have grown larger and the tall grass farther off the road is no longer cut, so the area has become hidden.
When hunting for the cache, you will be walking along the edge of a large swampy pond. This may have actually been a part of the bigger lake at one time, separated by any number of natural or manmade occurrences. It may also have formed on its own, in a fashion similar to Lake Punderson, thanks to a fallen chunk of ice from the glacier. After you find the cache, you can walk a little farther to get a good look at the area if you wish. There is not a lot to see other than swampy water, but it is an interesting spot, and possibly good for bird-watching, but great for hiding a cache!
There is also some evidence that there may have been a building foundation here at some point. When you walk in about 50 feet from the trailhead, check out the stones where you need to step down. You may be able to spot a large moss-covered block of rock nearby.
Watch your step as you walk to the cache as the ground is very uneven almost the entire way, even in the tall grass. The area could also be wet and swampy at times. The trail is not maintained, so you may encounter protruding branches, thorns, and lots of poison ivy. Please be careful as you take this short adventure as I wouldn’t want anyone to get a poker in the eye!
Don't forget to check the inside of the cache for the coordinates to the Joker Micro cache (GC6TRG0)!
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.