This series of mystery caches is meant to teach you more about local flora and fauna, specifically the wildflowers of the Adirondacks. It is also meant to serve as a winter friendly geoart, as there are not a lot of winter friendly hides in the area. A little less than half of the caches (A-J) in this series will also allow you to make the TL geoart I am creating and introduce you to the James Frenette Sr recreational trail system. This dog friendly trail system is located next to the Tupper Lake Country club and golf course and has close to 4 miles of trails available mainly for cross country skiing, snowshoeing and fat biking during the winter but are also available for your exploration during the rest of the year as well. See the gallery for trail map and trail names. This series of caches is easiest to do in alphabetical order as this will take you on a big loop through 4 different trails (golf course loop, cranberry lake loop, little logger loop and the skidder trail. All caches are placed just off the trail system in either small or medium lock and lock containers (aside from 1, which is an old nut container). Minimal bushwhacking required.
THIS CACHE IS NOT AT THE PUBLISHED COORDINATES. To get the location of this cache you must figure out the common name of the wildflower below. Once you know the answer, enter it into the puzzle checker and the correct coordinates for the cache and potentially also a hint, shall be revealed. Hope you enjoy this series as well as learning a bit more about the local wildflowers!
Scientific Name: Chamaenerion angustifolium
Family: Onagraceae
Color: hot pink
Flowers: July-September
Habitat: burned or logged forests, woodland boarders, forest meadows, alpine meadows, mixed forests, boreal forests, roadsides, and moist areas along streams, lakes and bogs
This wildflower got its name because it is one of the first plants to colonize an area after it has been burned. A single plant can produce 80,000 seeds, which in turn produces many more plants and helps these areas to more rapidly recover. These wildflowers also have extensive root systems that can help prevent erosion in these areas that may otherwise experience landslides after having been burned or newly barren. They also attract pollinators and herbavorious mammals back to an otherwise dead or barren area. Parts of the plant are also edible and or used medicinally as well.
The common name for this flower is: _____________
check your answer using the puzzle checker below:
