|
|
Congratulations to Cents, $Sign and Doughball8 who MEFF'd the Green Swamp East Challenge - 6/24/2006
Other cachers who found this cache in 2006 - Isonzo Karst, Postpile, and trkyhntr
Cachers who found this cache in 2007 - entomophile, Survivor Florida (Now known as "poosu"), belwig and billyred
Cachers who found this cache in 2008 - TheHobos, sneaky snakes, pafarmboy and imaboone
Cachers who found this cache in 2010 - Cacher Checks Only, M & M Melted, Turtletoes/Biggie and Chuck 4564
Cachers who found this cache in 2011 - happyhunter2 (Now known as "retiredpet"), WH Girl Scout, RCT, BabyRuthie, LaLoba'sWay, Aliciaonthebeach (Now known as "Siulai"), TeamSumter and Curious GEO
This cache was not found in 2012
Cachers who found this cache in 2013 - Bradley9320 and RunnerDude69 (Now known as isag247)
This cache was not found in 2014
This cache was not found in 2015
Cachers who found this cache in 2016 - efrodo, Z_Statman, TEAM US2, CelebrationKim, DirtyD13, ArtyLibrn and flossmoor
This cache was not found in 2017
This cache was not found in 2018
|
With so much discussion lately about pocket caches, micro caches, micro spew™ and the lack of “quality” caches, I decided to put together a series of caches that will give experienced geocachers a challenge to complete. If you only like searching for 1/1’s and park ‘n grab caches you should stop reading right now and move on to another cache page. The Green Swamp East Challenge is not for everybody.
Still with me? GOOD! You may be able to be complete this challenge in a day, but it will be one long day. You may want to throw a pack on your back and make a weekend of it. There are three campsites located along the way and a permit is required to camp. Information for obtaining a permit can be found below. Permits to camp are free. From the trail head at SR 471 to the locked gate at Rock Ridge Road you may hike/bike over 20 miles through many areas of the Green Swamp East Tract. Your search for the caches will take you through parts of Lake, Polk and Sumter counties in order to complete this challenge and the trails may very well be wet. There are also over 20 miles of unpaved, but well-maintained service roads that are marked for bicycling, however, bikes are not allowed on any part of the Florida Trail.
To locate the Bonus Cache you will have to find four other caches along the Florida Trail as it winds its way through the Green Swamp East Tract. The caches are located on or near portions of the white, blue or orange blazed Florida Trail. All of the caches are either small (decon containers/lock n locks) or regular size containers (ammo cans), there were no micros used in the planning or execution of this challenge.
Coordinates for completing the Challenge are included in the following caches:
Three Counties
Palm Oasis
Trail Blazing
2 Days In The Hole
The Green Swamp East Tract is part of the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve and spans nearly 67,000 acres in Lake, Polk, and Sumter counties. The Green Swamp is a critical recharge area for the Floridan aquifer as well as the source of the Hillsborough, Withlacoochee, Ocklawaha, and Peace rivers. The terrain varies from pine flatwoods to cypress domes to hardwoods swamps.
Wildlife you may see in the area includes alligators, white-tailed deer, bobwhite quail, armadillo, gray squirrels, feral hogs, snakes, raccoons and a variety of birds.
Parking: Available at the Rock Ridge Road gate and the Florida Trail trailhead on SR 471, 4.5 miles north of US 98. Park at your own risk.
Restrictions: Camping is permitted year round but only in designated sites and with a permit from SWFWMD. Permits may be obtained by contacting the SWFWMD Brooksville office at (352) 796-7211. Fires are permitted only in fire rings. Fires are not permitted during fire bans and during obviously dry conditions. Waypoints for the camping areas have been provided with the caches nearest the campsites.
Precautions: Hiking is allowed but not recommended during general gun hunting season (generally mid-November to mid-January). Caution is advised during archery, small game, and spring turkey seasons. Hikers should be aware of hunting dates.
Hunt dates can be found here.
Hikers should wear 500 square inches of orange clothing above the waist during hunting seasons.
There are always risks associated with visiting Wilderness Preserves. Please be safe, take plenty of water, insect repellent, take plenty of water, extra batteries, take plenty of water, a compass, take plenty of water and Cache in and Trash Out. Before you attempt this cache you should take the time to review topo and aerial photos of the area. Cell phone service in the area is unreliable, but you should carry one with you in case of emergency. If you think you may need a lifeline while attempting this Challenge send me an email and I will provide you with my cell phone number.
I have included a camera in the Bonus Cache so take a picture if you like (But please replace the camera in the cache). Take anything you want from the cache, no trading is required or expected.
The difficult/terrain rating on this cache is based on finding the other caches leading up to finding this bonus cache. I would rate finding this cache a 2/2.5 if it was a traditional cache. Please replace the cache as found.