Smokey Bear 75th Anniversary GeoTour
Since 1944, Smokey Bear has taught millions of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires. 75 years later, Smokey is celebrating a milestone birthday. Honor him and this timeless message of wildfire prevention by finding all 75 caches in this GeoTour.
About This Specific Location
Trap Pond State Park located in Laurel, Delaware is home to the northernmost natural stand of baldcypress trees. The logging of the rot-resistant cypress trees created a much needed timber industry for early Delaware settlers and the pond was created in the early 1700's to support this effort.
Present day, Trap Pond State Park's forests are a rich mixture of hardwoods and pines. One in particular, loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is known as Delaware's most commercially significant tree species. Although State Parks do not harvest their timber, many tree farmers in Delaware exclusively grow this tree. The loblolly pine is a rapid grower capable of attaining sawlog size in 35 to 40 years. Loblolly pine is manufactured into lumber, railroad ties, piling, and paper pulp. There is an estimated 43,000 acres of commercial loblolly pine in Delaware. Enjoy your walk through a naturalized stand of these majestically tall trees.
Park Hours: 8am-sunset
Daily Entrance fee (or Annual Pass): $4 in-state; $8 out-of-state from March 1 - November 30
At the listed coords you will find a "Planning Your Visit" sign and a stone circle that will provide the answers you need.
AB: The stone circle shows the width of the _____ _______. AB = number of letters in the 2 CAPITAL words.
C = number of stone rings that form the circle (do NOT count the center circle with words) MINUS 1
D: on the Trail Legend number of times American Holly is listed
E = number of LOOPS in the Campground
FINAL COORDS:
N38° 31.BAD W75° 28.CAE
Digital Root of ABCDE = 8
Proceed to the Trailhead coords for the American Holly Trail to head to the final.
More About This GeoTour
By visiting all of these locations, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of why it is so important to prevent wildfires - whether in your backyard or out in the forest. The Middle-Atlantic Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact are the Hosts of this GeoTour. We offer several trackable prizes so please use this GeoTour Passport to keep track of your progress.