Not too large a Burden Mystery Cache

Part I – The Search for Information

Parking is available on many of the streets around RPI, including 15th St., Sage Ave., College Ave., and Peoples Ave. The parking lots around campus are mostly gated, and the ones without gates are patrolled somewhat frequently, and the Parking Staff loves to give out tickets. To save your bank account, we suggest you find on-street parking. Gated parking lots are open, mostly, after 5 pm on weekdays and all weekend.

P. N 42° 43.810 W 073° 40.635 – The building in front of you is the Student Union for RPI. This is the place that students meet to work, but more importantly, meet to relax. It contains the Games Room, a couple of dining locations, and, most importantly, the first Ben & Jerry’s on a college campus.

At these coordinates, face east. P = Subtract 2 from the number of brick archways you see.

C. N 42° 43.848 W 073° 40.786 – You are now standing in front of the Ricketts Building, home to RPI’s Chemical Engineers (of which we were 2). This building was named for Palmer Chamberlain Ricketts, Class of 1875, president of RPI for 33 years. He was considered the father of modern RPI, as he was responsible for moving the campus up the hill and a great deal of curriculum reform.

At these coordinates, look for the stone above the main door. Take the last number of the date you see here for C.

H. N 42° 43.825 W 073° 40.873 - Multiple choice question for this one. Look for the plaque nearby that gives the name of this sculpture. (Note: This sculpture is more amusing during windy days). Choose the correct name of the sculpture below, and H = the number of your answer:

R. N 42° 43.760 W 073° 40.943 – Face East and enjoy the building in front of you. In a previous life, this was the St. Joseph’s Seminary Chapel, and behind you, where the library currently stands, stood the Seminary. After RPI purchased the property in 1958, they used the Chapel as the main campus library. In the 1970’s, the Seminary was razed to make way for a more spacious library. Given the importance of computing in the technical professions, it seems only natural that the Chapel then became the home of campus computing.

While facing east, note the name of the building inscribed over the main door. R = the number of words in the name of the building. In this case, a middle initial counts as a word.

E. N 42° 43.909 W 073° 41.026 – If you face east here, you are looking at West Hall, the western most building on RPI’s main campus. Built just after the end of the Civil War, this building has had a long and varied history, including use for a time by the Student Army Training Corps program of the War Department, and from 1925 to 1952 as Catholic Central High School. More interestingly, though, legend has it that this building is haunted by a spirit named Betsy. Depending on which account you believe, Betsy either died while trying to rescue children from a fire inside the building, or she went insane while tending to insane residents. In any case, her moans and groans can still be heard inside the building late at night, and some rooms have signs reminding you to turn off the lights for Betsy.

Another multiple choice question. Facing east, what is the name of the building inscribed above the main door. Look carefully, as the inscription is quite old and faded. This inscription will be difficult to read in the dark. E = the number of your answer.

I. N 42° 43.837 W 073° 41.063 – You are now standing on what is known as “The Approach”. It connects RPI’s campus with downtown Troy. It was completed in the early 20th century after a fire destroyed most of the original campus, contained between 5th and 8th Streets. After this fire, RPI bought the land between 8th and 15th Streets, and moved the majority of the campus up the hill. The city then built the Approach to symbolize that, even though the campus was moving, RPI was still connected to downtown Troy. It fell into disrepair throughout much of the latter half of the 20th century, but was rebuilt in the late 1990s and reopened in its current state in 1999.

At the coordinates, look for the second bronzed plaque from the left. If you don’t see any plaques, you may need to adjust your altitude. Once you find the plaque, find the year a fire destroyed the main building of RPI, a building that stood on the spot of the current Approach. I = the third digit of this year.

You should now have enough information to fill in the coordinates of the final cache, which are listed below.

N 42° 42.RPI W 73° CH.E11

Part II – The Hunt

Leaving RPI, head toward Burden Pond Environmental Park. Park at N 42° 42.369 W 73° 41.313, off of Delaware Avenue. Follow Delaware Avenue back down the hill, the trailhead is near the flag pole by the spillway of the pond.

Burden Pond was formed in the Wynants Kill as early as 1809 to provide water power for the Troy Iron Works downstream. The Burden Pond waterwheel used by the Iron Works is commemorated in a mural at the southern entrance to Troy on Route 4. Burden Pond Environmental Park is now property of the City of Troy.

The pond is much smaller than it was in the heyday of Troy's industry, due to the increasing deposit of sediment. A substantial portion of the pond is now a marshland filled with purple loosestrife, an invading plant from Europe which has displaced the native cattails. The coverage of the loosestrife is most apparent in August, when the pond is filled with its purple blossoms. Waterfowl that habitat the area include ducks, herons, gulls, northern harriers, swallows, and red-winged blackbirds. The trails themselves sport red, white, and chestnut oaks, red maple, box elder, shagbark hickory, American elm, white ash, black cherry, mulberry, and basswood trees, as well as innumerable shrubs and smaller plants.

Along the way, make sure to stop at the Burden Falls, a nice overlook is located at N 42° 42.444 W 73° 40.826. This is a series of cascading falls, but be careful around the edges of the overlook, as the rocks there can be quite slippery.

CAUTION: Bridges in this area are not always as stable as they may seem.

If it looks like there's a path around a bridge, it's probably there for a reason.
Also, take care on the trails, as they get quite slick with leaves covering them.

As with any natural area in Eastern New York, make sure to check yourself for ticks when finished. We have noticed a few in this area, although they are by no means prevalent.

Also, remember to CITO, as litter abounds. If any Scoutmasters know of any Scouts looking for an Eagle Scout project, this area could be just the place.

Please rehide the cache as good or better than you found it. There are numerous trails nearby, so during winter months make sure to not leave dead end tracks to the cache.

Good luck, and enjoy the cache!