A Diamond in the Rough #3 (Givans Creek Woods) Traditional Cache
A Diamond in the Rough #3 (Givans Creek Woods)
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(micro)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
It took a year and a half, but the "Diamond in the Rough" series of caches in urban "wilderness" where you'd least expect it has finally been expanded!
"Untouched" woods next to the towers of Co-Op City in the Bronx? Yes, it's true!
Givans Creek Woods is a little known nature preserve along Tillotson Avenue in the Bronx bordering Co-Op City's many towers. Surprisingly, there seems to be little "dumping" and the creek that gives these woods its name appears to be quite clean (not that I would drink from it.....).
For more information and a history of this area, go to: http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_your_park/historical_signs/hs_historical_sign.php?id=243
From the parking on Tillotson Ave. across the street, it just looks like undeveloped land whose flora has grown unchecked with a complete bushwack to the cache. However, there are some loosely cut trails, the best entrance is at N 40 52.898 W 073 49.763, look for a brief "break" in the brown guardrail and a faded, painted-over sign of the "leaf" symbol of the NYC Parks Dept. Nearby is a barely visible but working red Police/Fire callbox surrounded by tall brush, very strange indeed! The woods are subway accessible, take the 5 train to the Baychester Ave. stop, then walk down Tillotson Ave. until you cross the footbridge over I-95.
The Terrain Level mostly reflects that the "trail" is somewhat thorny and the final approach a small bushwack, as such we advise against small children looking for this cache (our kids were not with us when we hid it!). Also, we strongly advise you do not wear shorts to find this cache and stick with long pants.
We made the walk from the entrance to the cache pretty short. But to explore the rest of this preserve, navigate your GPS to N 40 52.857 W 073 49.768. This will eventually take you to a clearing of sorts where you can see Givans Creek itself.
There is a New York state quarter for the FTF. It is a small pill bottle with a log (sorry no pen bring your own). We hope you enjoy finding this as much as we did hiding it!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ebpx gung ubyr!