Cache Across Maryland 2016
The Maryland Geocaching Society and the National Park Service welcome you to the 2016 edition of Cache Across Maryland! In commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of the National Park Service, the MGS and the NPS have joined together in presenting CAM 2016 in ten National Park locations throughout the state of Maryland. From the mountains of Western Maryland to the Atlantic Ocean, Cache Across Maryland 2016 will demonstrate that Maryland truly is “America in Miniature”.
This is one of ten geocaches placed in National Parks for Cache Across Maryland 2016. Each geocache contains a code which you will use to determine the location of the CAM 2016 Picnic to be held on May 14th. The code can be found under the lid of the cache container and on the inside front cover of the logbook. Don't forget to record this code! Any geocacher who has completed all ten CAM geocaches and attends the CAM Picnic on May 14th will receive a Certificate of Completion and a Cache Across Maryland 2016 Geocoin. We hope you enjoy a very special CAM 2016!
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge:
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad
The Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, preserves over 26,000 acres as a wintering area for vast numbers of migratory birds. Blackwater also serves as a haven for several threatened or endangered species, including one of the largest concentrations of nesting bald eagles along the Atlantic Coast.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has protected this landscape such that today, it evokes Harriet Tubman's time. Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous people involved in the Underground Railroad, a secret network of people, places, and routes that assisted escaping slaves reach freedom.
Tubman was born near here in 1822, escaped slavery in 1849, and returned to these landscapes 13 times to free approximately 70 enslaved family members and other acquaintances. Areas of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge – the wetlands, waterways, swamps, and upland forests – would look familiar to Harriet Tubman today. Her success on the Underground Railroad stemmed from her intimate knowledge of the area's woodlands and swamps.
The adjacent Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument opened in March 2017. This visitor center serves as a central hub for understanding Tubman's life, legacy, and experience on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The visitors center is open daily from 9AM - 5PM. Click HERE for more info. Waypoint to the visitors center can be found below. NOTE: The geocache is located at the Wildlife Refuge visitors center, not the Harriet Tubman visitors center.
The Geocache
This geocache is not located at the listed coordinates. The hide is an offset hide. At the listed coordinates, you will find a sculpture in a lovely butterfly garden. This garden is accessible from dawn to dusk, even when the visitor center is not open. To determine the coordinates for the geocache, seekers will have to use the plaque on the sculpture.
- A = the number of letters in the next to the last word on the plaque
- B = the number of letters in the last word on the second line
- C = the first number you see when you read the plaque
- D = the second number you see when you read the plaque
- E = the number of letters in the name of the sculpture
The geocache is located at N38° 26.ABA, W076° 07.CDE
The checksum of ABCDE is 29.
The geocache is a clear lock-n-lock container.
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge grounds are open from dawn to dusk. The Visitor Center is open from 8am–4pm Monday through Friday and 9am–5pm on Saturday and Sunday. There is no fee where the CAM geocache is placed. It is $3 to take the wildlife refuge tour. Please do not collect anything – especially eagles' feathers – while on the grounds. Please keep pets inside the vehicles.
The Maryland Geocaching Society extends its thanks to the National Park Service for participating in Cache Across Maryland 2016 and for allowing us to partake in its centennial celebrations. Geocaches may only be placed on National Park Property at the direction of National Park Service staff.
