Haiku Cache No.3-The Tool Box Traditional Cache
New York Admin: Regrettably there has been no response from the cache owner placing me in a position where I must archive this cache. Caches archived by a reviewer or HQ staff for lack of maintenance or failure to respond can not be unarchived.
Haiku Cache No.3-The Tool Box
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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Take a beautiful hike up to Sam's Point and the Ice Caves in Ulster County, NY. It's well worth the $10 parking fee which is payable at the little shack by the gate or at the center. Watch out for poison ivy.
The third in my series of Haiku Caches, I hope you enjoy the natural beauty of the area which was once a tourist attraction. The path was once used by motorists to reach the gravelly car park, which is right at start of the Ice Caves. Being paved, it's an easy hike with the difficulty being in some steep rocky steps. Taking small children should not be a problem especially if you circumvent the ice cave loop and go straight to the cache.
Take the opportunity to explore the many paths including the lake, the waterfall and the shacks once occupied by the blueberry pickers in its heyday. The bushes still abound the region but if you're going to pick, know what you're doing! There are some blue colored berries that I don't believe are blueberries. Are they poison? You try and let me know...
At Sam's Point, soak in the the views of mountains in PA, High Point in NJ and the Catskills of NY. This point is supposedly named after a man who leapt off to escape Indians. He landed on a tree and survived. Behold one of the rare dwarf pine barrens in the country. Though they are just pitch pine, the conditions of the mountain have dwarfed them.
Bought by the state and now maintained by the Nature Conservancy, all the bright neon lights of its tourist days are over. However, the lights (solar powered) that exist have a motion sensor so don't worry. Bring a good flashlight anyway to peer into all the crevices everywhere. You can even hear gurgling water in the rocks, which you'll see at a later point. Close the creaky door (perfect setup for a scary movie or Indiana Jones) on your way in and look closely for the ice formations. Summer has less ice so go in spring for a more spectacular view.
At the cache site, soak in the wonderful views. Perhaps you'll see isolated pockets of rain like I did. As you watch, you'll see the pocket move across the valley. On a clear day, you should be able to see the West Point Notch and beyond.
The old cache was a 1 quart Green Tea Ice Cream container that was inside an ammo box which was kindly contributed by Redd Moose(thanks!).
The new cache is a small ammo box. Contents are an odd assortment of tools as it's getting harder to find decent replacements. However, I've added a First to Find prize which is NOT suitable for children!! Sharp and pointy! The new set of useful tools are:
Compressed towel
Set of AA batteries
Set of AAA batteries
Disposable hair trap for drains (it's a curious item)
Band-Aids
Tecnu poison ivy wash
Correction tape (white-out)
Scotch Magic Tape roll
Staples brand page flags
Waterproof matches
Lanyard
Superglue
Travel-sized dental floss (new and unused of course!)
tea candle
Sacagewea $1 coin
Wrench
Pair of zipper pulls
Hand warmer
Wet/Dry fire starting tinder
Figure 9 rope tightener
#2 (10lb) S-biner
And plenty of room for your tool-themed goodies! Please leave the pencil! It is to sign the log.
Please log your visit, read the haiku and leave a haiku of your own (perhaps inspired by caching). Leave a useful item (in the general meaning of "tool") along the lines of the tool box theme. As usual, rehide WELL especially since I've had to replace this cache twice now. I suspect someone has run off with the previous ones as beer bottles are strewn about in some of the crevices.
Try not to place the cache far back on the left side of the location as it could readily drop into oblivion hence I favored the right side. I also placed a stick in the back as a mediocre method to block its path to oblivion so please leave the stick there. Thanks!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Fgrc qbja vagb gur zvav-pnalba, jvgu lbhe onpx gb gur inyyrl naq n ynetr bireunatvat ebpx. Fgenvtug nurnq ner gjb fznyy gerrf. Gur evtug bar unf juvgr onex. Gur pnpur vf ng gur onfr bs gur ebpxf oruvaq gur yrsg gerr gung vf abg juvgr.