Enjoy a 25-mile road tour through the pretty back roads of northern Chester County. You'll visit five covered bridges. Get a clue at each bridge to determine the coordinates for an ammo box hidden on a hiking trail near the last covered bridge - the Sheeder Hall. The hiking portion on Horseshoe Trail is less than 1,000 feet one way.
Further on the trail, you can bag another cache from Notanumber called "Living in Harmony" GCJGGA who I thank for clueing me in about Horseshoe.
Sheeder Hall Covered Bridge
 Kid Friendly  Dogs Allowed
 Historic Site  Ticks  Wear bug repellant! |
|
|
If you enjoy caches like this one, check out my other covered bridge caches.
Start your tour at Bartram.
A. Bartram Covered Bridge N39 59.390 W75 26.220 Spans the county line between Delaware and Chester. Bartram crosses Crum Creek. But it no longer takes traffic; that's left to an adjacent regular bridge on Goshen Road. There's a pretty parking area on the East Side where you can sit on a bench near the bridge and listen to the babbling brook.
Bartram quiz- What's next to the small brass plaque on the left side of the bridge's east portal?
1. Fire hose
2. Fire alarm pull station
3. Fire extinguisher
ENTER A answer (1, 2 or 3) = ________
B. Valley Forge Covered Bridge N40 05.230 W75 27.375 also known as the Knox, it is located in Valley Forge National Park and crosses Valley Creek. You can find a parking lot 500 hundred feet before the west portal N40 05.164 W75 27.445.There's a nice walking and biking trail that starts next to the west side of the bridge where you'll find a bench to sit and watch. And listen.
Valley Forge quiz- What is the bridge's height limitation?
1. 8 feet
2. 9 feet
3. 10 feet
ENTER B answer (1, 2 or 3) = ________
C. Rapp Covered Bridge N40 08.290 W75 33.170 The first of three bridges that crosses French Creek. There's a picnic table and you can fish in the stocked creek.
Rapp Bridge quiz- What white sign is on a five foot post in the southwest parking lot about 75 feet from the road?
1. Fires Prohibited
2. No Parking Over Night
3. No Dumping - Violators Will Be Prosecuted
ENTER C answer (1, 2 or 3) = ________
D. Kennedy Covered Bridge N40 08.420 W75 34.580 is a Burr Arch type with cement deck for those who care about these things. I parked off the intersection on the east side about 150 feet before the bridge.
Kennedy quiz- What is the name of the engineer listed on the bottom of the big wooden plaque inside the bridge on the north wall?
1. Richard J. Craig P.E.
2. Cyrus B. Hoffman P.E.
3. Robert P. Simmons P.E.
ENTER D answer (1, 2 or 3) = ________
E. Sheeder Hall Covered Bridge N40 08.870 W75 37.220 the fifth bridge and third to cross French Creek. There's a small parking spot on the west side where the clue is located.
Sheeder Hall quiz- How much is the fine on the No Littering sign located by the parking area?
1. $750
2. $1000
3. $1500
ENTER E answer (1, 2 or 3) = ________
Cache Container Coordinates:
Enter the number for each of your five answers and add them up:
A______ + B _______ + C _______ + D_______ + E_______
= Total ________
The coordinates for the cache are determined by your total (not all possible totals are listed. Only one right one and four wrong ones.)
If your total is 8, the cache coordinates are: N40 09.635 W75 40.372
If your total is 9, the cache coordinates are: N40 09.685 W75 40.451
I f your total is 10, the cache coordinates are: N40 09.662 W75 40.479
If your total is 11, the cache coordinates are: N40 09.642 W75 40.455
If your total is 12, the cache coordinates are: N40 09.635 W75 40.415
Start your walking hunt from parking spot off the road here N40 9.616 W75 40.291 about 3 miles from Sheeder. The trailhead is 150 feet away at the Horseshoe Trail sign post N40 9.617 W75 40.324 That's someone's driveway you see. Don't use it! Take the trail next to the post. The hike in is under 1000 feet.
The pictures are NOT spoilers.
Encrypted hint beneath poem.
___________________________________________________________
The Old Covered Bridge
The old covered bridge
That spans the swollen stream
Is what I picture in my mind
At the start of my favorite dream
You can tell the bridge was stately
When it was young and new
But the years have been unkind to it
As its' age just grew and grew
The stories that this bridge could tell
Are numerous, happy and sad
Each could fill a book or two
With the experiences it has had
The stream at times has a gentle flow
At times it's swift and fast
Always being an integral part
Of the covered bridge and its' past
The area's nestled in a grove of trees
A place for picnics and fun
A place for Mom and Dad to rest
And a place for children to run
The bridges' ultimate time of the year
Is the fall, when summer's done?
When mother nature gets out her paintbrush
And pastels in the warmth of the sun
Each time I close my eyes to sleep
I hope for my favorite dream
The dream where I see the covered bridge
That spans that swollen stream.
Vi Nguyen
_______________________________________________________