Bald Cypress Letterbox Hybrid
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Standard trail (unpaved) and basically flat, but it is a real trail (roots, minor debris, mosquitos, etc.). Difficulty is finding the cache, since there are no significant landmarks. Please do not take anything from the cache, as it is originally designed for letterboxing.
"Redwoods in Florida? You are going to see one, though it might not fit your conception of a redwood. There are 15 species of redwoods worldwide. There are only four native to North America. Two are in the western U.S. (the California Redwood and the Giant Sequoia) and two are in the eastern U.S., though one of the eastern trees is found primarily in two counties in southern Texas. The other of the eastern redwoods is prominent in swampy regions, like your destination. The Bald Cypress is a large tree, often surrounded by "cypress knees", which are little projections from the root system. Oddly, the Bald Cypress is a deciduous tree, unlike its redwood counterparts. Common mature Bald Cypress trees are large, growing to heights of 120 feet or more and with large diameters. The National Champion Bald Cypress is 83 feet tall and a whopping 54 feet in circumference (or 17 feet in diameter). It is found at Cat Island, Louisiana. The tree near your destination isn't THAT big, but it is a large beautiful Bald Cypress in a somewhat suburban setting, though off the beaten path. Follow your receiver to find this tree that began its life shortly before Ponce de Leon "discovered" Florida. There is a system of trails here. The walk is particularly pleasant from Fall to mid-Spring. You may want to bring some bug spray. You will walk through a mixed forest, gradually transitioning to pine flatwoods. When you see the isolated Sabal Palm Tree on your right, you are halfway there. The coordinates will lead you to a bench. Straight ahead of you, facing about 80 degrees (magnetic) is the Bald Cypress. Depending on when you visit, you may have to view it from a distance, since a small swampy creek normally separates you and the tree. When it is swampy in this area, you could easily lose a shoe (or a leg) trying to walk across the sucking mud. Accordingly, the cache is not located beneath the Bald Cypress (though there are some great hiding places). Instead, while facing the Bald Cypress and standing at the edge of the creek, turn approximately 100 degrees to your left. There are two trees near you on the same side of the creek as you. Explore their "legs". Please write in the log and place the contents back where you found them. This was originally designed as a letterbox, so please don't take anything home with you. (This letterbox is now maintained by RogueScout. If RogueScout is reading this, I'd like to retrieve my old homemade letterbox bald cypress stamp and the old log books.)
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
HAS Tbyqraebq