Honey hole: a secret spot that has yielded mushrooms. Their locations are carefully guarded by foragers. But as a cacher I'm breaking the rules!
The Cap
- A 2- to 3-mile round trip hike, half off-trail, moderate terrain
- Collect the clue in the final for the bonus cache
- Looking for mushrooms is optional
- Chicken of the Woods is often referred to as either the acronym COW or just "chicken"
The Pores
- Four micro stages leading to a regular final; info on stages is N/W +/- coordinate corrections from where you're standing
- Hints are somewhat specific
- There are areas of grassy underbrush; pants and bug spray suggested in the green seasons
- The cache is available year-round; the season for COW is late spring to early fall
The Mushroom
If morels are difficulty 5 mushrooms to find, chicken is D1. Bright orange and large, these are the traffic cones of the woods and can be seen from far away. They decompose downed trees. So expect an area with a lot of logs to step over!
Chicken of the Woods is decent eating. Some people have digestive distress with it, so if you decide to eat some, try a small portion at first. Due to its texture, it can be substituted for chicken in any recipe. A favorite among foragers is chicken nuggets...just batter and fry. If you don't plan on eating what you find (and you shouldn't eat anything unless certain of your identification of it), please leave them in situ. Photos encouraged! Good luck!
Links to caches in the series
Placed with the approval of:
Park is open dawn to dusk. No night caching.
