At your destination, you’ll encounter some moss on the forest floor. Mosses are mightier than you might be led to believe from their soft, rootless forms. There are more than 12,000 different moss species (600 in NY alone!) that can grow in all kinds of conditions – from tropical rainforests to the woods of Grafton Lakes to even Antarctica! Mosses are mini-worlds of their own, providing habitat for a whole host of tiny, often invisible and sometimes aquatic creatures. Because they don’t have roots, mosses need to soak up water from their surrounding environment to survive. After absorbing the water like a sponge, a moss uses its camel-like abilities to save the water for a non-rainy day. This helps not only the moss, but also the soil below by slowing potential erosion damage. There’s truly more to mosses than meets the eye!
This cache has been placed as part of the New York State Saratoga/Capital District Regional Geocache Challenge. There are 76 geocaches hidden within 18 state parks and historic sites in this park region, and geocachers finding 40 or more will be eligible to receive a 2017 Schoharie Crossing Historic Site commemorative and trackable geocoin. If you are interested in taking the challenge, you can pick up a geocache passport at any of the participating parks and sites or download it at www.nysparks.com