Rockefeller State Park Cache

Another sunny but cold Sunday and we dragged some friends who had spent the night to a GeoCache in the Rockefeller State Park preserve near Tarrytown. This is a beautiful park with amazing carriage paths and many unique bridges. Their website describes the park as;

Approximately 30 miles from the hustle and bustle of New York City, the Preserve is an idyllic spot for strolling, jogging, horseback riding, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing. With 180 recorded species of birds and its IBA (Important Bird Area) designation by the National Audubon Society, the Preserve is a must visit area for birders.

We drove on beautiful wooded roads to get to the coordinates which brought us to a parking spot on the side of the road where a number of other cars had parked. It was a bit cold and my hands were having a hard time holding the GPS, a bag of snacks and SWAG (Stuff We All Get) replacements, and my sons hand.

My wife and friends had gone ahead on a beautiful winding path over a ridge and were out of range of our yells so we followed the arrow to where we thought it might be. The GPS was having a hard time locating and kept running us in smaller and smaller circles till we felt we were within a few hundred square of our target.

My wife and friends noticed we had stopped and gone off the path down toward a small river that was on a steep incline. They wandered over and I got that familiar feeling of fear of disappointing our new Caching partners. The GPS was giving mixed signals to say the least and the hint was really vague.

Additional Hints ( Encrypt )
Move some rocks around near the stream - about 13' away from the thickest tree.


There were thick trees everywhere and there was one that had been recently cut down that seemed like it may have been the thickest at an earlier time. What was the date of the hint? Of the last entry? When am I going to get an Iphone so I can look this stuff up on the fly?

The description was this:


This cache is an ammo can with the usual trinkets near a regularly used carriage trail. Depending on day and time you may encounter joggers, dog-walkers, horse-back riders, and hikers. Area around the cache is often wet and slippery, so be careful. After you find the cache you may want to walk under the nearby bridge for some lovely scenery. The carriage trails here are popular with the locals - walk around to see why.


All of the above was true but helped little in finding the treasure. Luckily our friends were not the type to give up easily and they made a valiant effort picking up rocks and walking in concentric circles from what they thought was the "thickest" tree.

The kids were cold and complaining. My hands were raw with the cold and from picking up wet river rocks. The Cache was listed as large so where could it be?

Then the sweet sound of "I found it!" travelled through the woods and I turned and there was my buddy lifting a huge rock off a pedestal of other rocks and the kids running toward the site and the sight of a large ammo container being lifted lengthwise into the air and the usual opening and the musty smell of aged paper and mossy plastic and the taking and leaving and signing of a great cache moment.