Spot On - The Poplar Ridge Loop Traditional Cache
Spot On - The Poplar Ridge Loop
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Another great park with lots of trails. Cache is in an ammo can painted black and green.
This is the third of the Winged Deer Park caches.
Winged Deer Park Self-Guided Nature Path
http://www.etsu.edu/writing/wingeddeer/path.htm
From: http://www.johnsoncitytn.org/ParksRecreation/?CONTEXT=art&cat=5&art=51&BISKIT=3789151226
"Established in 1991, Winged Deer Park is a 200-acre district park. The J. Norton Arney family previously owned and operated the farm from the 1940's through the early 70's. Mr. Arney was a noted car dealer and raised and trained show horses in the area. The farm was used primarily to grow hay and had several large stables along the lakefront property. The city purchased the property in 1985 and the original farmhouse was converted into the parks and recreation administration office. The facility includes a meeting room, landscape patio area and working offices. Complex amenities include five lighted softball fields, athletic office, scorer's tower and restroom, three lighted soccer fields, Batter's Up batting cages, a 9-hole disc golf course, playground area, soccer concession building with restroom, 1/2 mile lighted and paved fitness trail which winds through the forested section of the park. The lakefront area features two sand volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, picnic shelter with restrooms, public access boat ramp, green space, lighted handicap accessible boardwalk, and a Festival Plaza multi-use area with restroom."
Parking available at: 36 23.523 82 22.132
Elev at parking 1500ft approx
Elev at cach is 1690ft approx
Off the paved trail from the above parking. If you take the paved trail and go right, towards the pavilion, this is the clockwise direction for the loop. The trail at the corner of the parking is the counter-clockwise loop trail head. Easy enough to walk, but not sure I'd take a stroller or bike up here.
Trail will take you up to the top of Poplar Ridge.
You can walk the Poplar Ridge Loop either to the right counter-clockwise, or to the left, clockwise.
To take the clockwise one would require a little steeper climb up the trail, along the fence line.
The the cache is place is near the Winged Deer Park boundary, so don't cross the fence. The trail follows the fence line for a little bit. When I placed the cache there were a few trees down across the trail, you can easily step over them though. Careful when its wet, the leaves on the ground and trail are very slick when wet.
Accuracy of coordinates should be very close. I had 13ft accuracy and was able to get GPS to go to 0ft after going away 100ft and coming back to cache location. Tree cover may interfere with this, but it is on top of the ridge, so coverage should be good.
Poplar Ridge Sign
Please do not leave any food products or anything that smells like food (i.e. fruit scented items). Animals will find and destroy the cache if you do. Thanks. Also, please cover well and don't leave any tracks or trails that others could follow. Cache is near trail, so beware of muggles.
NOTE AND DISCLAIMER: This cache is hidden in the great outdoors. Welcome to the South! We've got skeeters; we've got chiggers; we've got ticks; we've got ants; we've got snakes and other critters; we've got poison ivy, oak, and sumac; we've got mold and allergens; we've got kudzu and other pesky vines; and boy, have we got briars, brambles, and stickers! Depending on the place you elect to enter the off-trail portion of the hunt, you may very well find these and other denizens of our environment. Please dress accordingly and take adequate precautions whenever you interact with nature.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
arne guerr sbbg ebggra fghzc - haqre qrnq gerr
Byq qrnq gerr.... ab fghzc nf zhpu