Survivor Florida has a keen interest in cache quality. He's
even gone so far as to develop his own rating system (the 'SFOR'
system). He's given out a few
SFOR 10's and a few SFOR 2's. Anything 7 or above is considered
high quality.
There are a few basic requirements for a high SFOR rating:
- First, it has to be a regular. The maximum SFOR for a micro is
6. The minimum SFOR for a regular is 4.
- It needs to be a nice walk or bike ride through generally
interesting terrain (some combination of tough terrain, scenic
terrain, or geologically interesting terrain).
- It helps to supply some sort of interesting information
regarding the location.
- The cache description needs to answer any questions that might
arise in the hunt (unless it's a puzzle cache), such as where to
park, what to do at the fork in the trail, etc.
- It helps if the cache is in good shape.
- Lastly, the coordinates need to be accurate. You lose at least
one SFOR point for bad coords.
Given those requirements, I have attempted to place a cache that
should rate pretty high on the SFOR system.
The cache is located within the Hilochee Wildlife Management
Area. There is a $3 daily use fee per person. Hunting is allowed at
certain times of year (see below). I encourage you to visit
this site for more
info on the area and its regulations. Bikes and horses are
allowed, motorized vehicles and dogs are not (unless used for
hunting during hunting periods). Unless you are a hunter, I
strongly recommend you avoid the area during hunting
seasons.
Parking is available near
this cache. The trip is about 3.5 miles round trip along
generally flat and cleared semi-paved/dirt roads (although during
certain times of year the side roads may be very overgrown). The
main road that weaves its way into the area (called Riddick Grove
Road) is easy for off-road bikes or legs. At around 1.1 miles (N
28° 24.657 W 081° 43.106) you'll probably need to ditch the bike
and hike the rest of the way, as the road you want leaves the main
road and is not as well maintained. I recommend staying left (or
west) as you go around lakes, as I have not explored the other way.
As with all caches in areas like this, please keep an eye out for
snakes and gators.
As you leave the entrance gate, you'll notice a picturesque lake
on the right and a classic Florida orange grove on the left.
Further in, the grove ends and is replaced by your classic slash
pine plantation. On the way to the cache you'll pass no less than
five small lakes. Feel free to bring the pole and drop a line if
you are licensed.
The cache is a 50 cal. ammo can and is not difficult to find. It
is located just off a cleared area in the scrub. No major
bushwacking is required.
Seems like just yesterday when the area was 99% orange groves.
The Central Florida citrus industry took off starting in the late
1800's and boomed for more than 80 years. Many of the area's older
residents have direct ties to the groves. The dark days started
during the winter of 1983/'84, when a hard freeze killed a
significant number of the tress. Another freeze the next year was
even worse. Trees damaged but recovering from the previous year did
very well during a mild January, but an early February hard freeze
cause some of the sap-filled trees to literally explode. Any ones
that remained, assuming they didn't get kocked off by the cirtus
canker or Mediterraean fruit fly outbreaks of the latter '80s, were
finished off by the freeze in '89. Most of Central Florida's citrus
industry was wiped out in that eight year period. Interestingly,
the population boom of the area (very obvious as you make your way
down the once isolated US-27) has much to thank for the bad weather
and epidemics of the '80s. State land managers, seizing the
opportunity of the relatively cheap land at a time when many of the
state's wildlife resources were being brazenly destroyed by
develpoment, purchased large tracts of the old groves, bulldozed
them, and planted row upon row of the ubiquitous 'slash pine'. The
idea was that these fast-growing trees would help return the area
to a more natural state and encourage the wildlife, driven out by
citrus grove management, to return. The Hilochee tract stretches
from its northern (or upland) ex-grove portions down across FL 474
into Polk county. Along the way there are portions that were used
for sod farming and even sand mining. Several active sand mines (or
pits) still exist along 474.
For your $3, I recommend taking the short trip down 474 off
US-27 and grab both
Mother Lode -Purple Bear Doodoo and
Mother Lode - Lost in Hilochee
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