Songs of Rainbow Esker Traditional Cache
Flowery: I really debated about whether or not to archive this cache. It doesn't get much visitation, but it is a really great spot and the few people who have visited it really enjoyed it. However, there is now quite a herd-path to the cache and it was quite open and visible when we went out to check on it today so we decided it was better to remove it. Maybe we'll put another, smaller cache out there in a different spot at some point, or maybe someone else will! Glad to see most of our original CDs we put out were traded. Thanks for the CDs everyone!
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What CD would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island? Please bring a CD to trade up with one we've placed in this cache. While you're here, you can pretend you're on that island - you'll need a boat (or skis/snowshoes in winter) to reach this cache (hence the terrain rating). There will be a period in the early winter and early spring when the cache will not be reachable due to unsafe ice conditions.
NOTE: REGULAR HUNTING SEASON runs from October 21 through December 3 in the Adirondacks so please make sure you wear something orange, make plenty of noise on the trail, and be careful out there!
Although this site may look like an island, it's actually part of an esker. Eskers can be found in many lakes in the Adirondacks due to the glaciers that scoured the landscape during the last ice age. An esker is a long, narrow strip of land formed from sediment deposits where a river flowed under the glacier.
The cache is a green-lidded tupperware container located on a finger of land connected to the esker that separates Rainbow Lake and Clear Pond. We recommend you consult a map when attempting this cache as the turns are easy to miss. Please be cautious of rapidly-changing weather conditions as there is no shelter once you get out into the state land. There are two possible approaches to this cache:
1. Longer canoe carry/shorter paddle: Park at N44º27.709', W074º11.234' on Clark Wardner Road. This is the only public boat launch on Rainbow Lake. The carry trail is across the street from the parking lot, and it's not real long. Don't forget to sign in and out of the DEC log. Paddle down this narrow bay - we recommend you stay to the right in periods of low water. Eventually pass left through the break in the esker on the left shore then paddle to the north. Turn right through an easy-to miss cut into Clear Pond. You're on your own from there!
2. Shorter Carry/Longer Paddle: Pull off the Mud Pond/Kushaqua Road in Onchiota at N44º30.130', W074º07.664, which leads to the public access to Rainbow Lake and Lake Kushaqua. Paddle south (left) through Rainbow Narrows and into Rainbow Lake. Turn right through the cut in the esker into Clear Pond. Paddle southwest from there.
This island/esker has two nice campsites and is a beautiful, quiet picnic spot away from the hustle and bustle of the boat traffic on Rainbow Lake. We nearly always see loons here in summer. Notice the old stone foundation at the takeout - there used to be a house here from what I'm told by the family that used to own the land. I don't know who originally built the house (let me know if youfind out!) but the most recent owner was George Brett, who used to spend summers at Clark Wardner cabins on Rainbow Lake in the 1930s. One day while out paddling, Mr. Brett noticed an old deserted house out on the esker (I don't know who had originally owned the house). He inquired about it upon returning to shore and ultimately bought the property as a summer camp for his family. The main house was located over the cut in the esker and the lower level housed boats that could be launched directly into the lake. There was also a separate cookhouse and a small winterized cabin. Unfortunately, as is the case with many old camps in the Adirondacks, the camp began to require too much work and expense to keep up as the grandfather became older, and the family worried about potential access to emergency medical care at the water access only camp. Mr. Brett turned the camp over to the state in the mid-1970s under the forever wild clause. The buildings were torn down once the land belonged to the state and now only a portion of the foundation of the main house remains.
The Cache contained the following CDs at initial setting:
Songs from the wood - Jethro Tull
American Beauty - Grateful Dead (Flowery's favorite)
Hits - Joni Mitchell
Tomorrow the green grass - Jayhawks (Loggo's favorite)
Under my skin - Avril Lavigne (Tweety's favorite)
In between Dreams - Jack Johnson
The Commitments soundtrack
One Stone, Two Birds - The Sofferman Perspective (jazz)
Pink CD (kids rock mix) - Violet's favorite
Feel good music (mix)
Please take a CD and leave a CD. Also included in the cache is a first-to-find prize, a bag of toys for the kids (please let me know if these get low), logbook, and a bottle of bugspray for cachers to use if needed. Please take pictures to share, and we hope you enjoy this special place as much as we do! While you're in the area, don't forget to check out NFA's Desert Island Book Swap nearby, so you'll have everything you need!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gnxrbhg: A44º28.927', J074º10.194'. Ybbx haqre n qbjarq ybt
Treasures
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