The Elm Fork of the Trinity
River runs through several counties in North Texas before joining the West Fork
and the East Fork in Dallas County. It
is joined by Denton Creek just to the north of this cache area.
The watershed includes eight counties in North Texas.
The Elm Fork of the Trinity River feeds Lake Ray Roberts and Lake
Lewisville that is a source of water for the City of Dallas and surrounding
suburbs. Please go to this link for
more information –
http://www.ias.unt.edu/projects/elmshed/
The Elm Fork of
the Trinity River is also home to many species of aquatic and non-aquatic fowl.
You may see snowy egrets, cormorants, mallards, and blue herons. Several years ago in the fall, I found Canadian geese hanging
out in the parking lot.
The cache is in
McInnish Park in Carrollton. At stage one,
you will be looking for the coordinates for stage 2.
From here, you can walk or drive to stage 2 and 3.
If you walk, along the way, check out the ancient native pecan at N32
57.252 W096 56.369. If you take the
scenic route along the river, there are several things I would like to point
out. There are several “rapids”
along the way that are actually outcrops of the Eagle Ford Shale.
This is an Upper Cretaceous aged formation (85 -95 million years ago) that
was formed, in part, by water-laid volcanic ash.
Fossil sharks teeth and ray “crusher” teeth have been found in the
Eagle Ford in various locations throughout Dallas and Denton County.
The erosional remnants of this formation are found in our topsoil.
It contains a clay mineral called montmorillonite that is the primary
culprit for our foundation problems here in North Texas.
It is also very slick when wet. I
suggest that after a rain you stay away from the mud because you will end up in
the river if not careful. You
should be able to find safe footing further up and away from the river.
At stage 2 you will be
looking for coordinates to stage 3. Stage
3 is a relatively simple hide. You
will be looking for a 7.62 mm camouflaged ammo box.
The original items for trade in here are a Garrity 3 LED headlamp, a
camera for a quick shot, 2 lithium AA batteries, four o'clock seeds, a clip, an
alien antenna topper, headphones, and the Intel Bunny Hopper TB.
At any point along the
river, you may encounter thorns, poisonous plants (poison ivy, poison oak), or snakes (some venomous).
This is a river bottom, and this is their home. Please take appropriate
precautions. Do not stick your bare hand into any spaces without first
checking it out with a long stick.
On your way out, check
out the Elm Fork Nature Preserve. I
wanted to do a cache in there but the curator of the Preserve did not give
permission to do so.
Congratulations go to thepadre for being the FTF!
Park at: N32 57.187
W096 56.262