Black Cherry Cache Traditional Geocache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This monstrous black cherry is located within the Deer Meadows Old
Growth Area. The best place to park is at the parking lot at the
intersection of Forest Drive (41 21.649N x 79 12.909W) and Forest
Road. Much of your search will be through old growth forest, so
please tread lightly.
The cache is in a green ammo can, and has lots of prizes including
a first finder's reward. The cache is located near the largest
single stem black cherry in Cook Forest State Park, and was the
largest in the PA State Park system. When alive, this forest grown
single stem black cherry had a circumference of 13.1ft a crown
spread of 61.5ft and a height of 121.7ft for a total of 294 big
tree points. This tree could very well have been over 250 years
old. After a number of high wind events over the last 2 years, the
tree was found totally dead on 7/10/06. Initial crown breakage
occurred late spring 2005, with the remaining side coming down
about a year later. The trunk still has a massive form at 13.1ft
circumference breast height by 86ft high. I've yet to see its equal
for a forest grown black cherry in Pennsylvania. Even in death,
this tree still supports life. As the trunk breaks down over the
next couple of centuries, it will slowly provide nutrients for
other plants, fungi, and homes for birds, wildlife, and hosts of
insects. It's all a part of the cycle of life. The Deer Meadow
Trail Old Growth Area is a very lightly traveled portion of Cook
Forest State Park located in the Upper Tom's Run Valley
encompassing 200-300 acres. This area was once selectively cut for
its large eastern white pine, but the ancient eastern hemlock,
white oak, N. red oak, American beech, red maple, and black cherry
have remained untouched. 
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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