Know Your Wetlands
During the winter is when we’ll try for those elusive wetland caches. You know the ones. They’re located in wet, mosquito-laden areas that you would never walk during the spring, much less summer. Winter is about the only time you can get to these places.
Wetlands are places that are inundated with water either continually or seasonally. Prairie potholes are an example of seasonal wetlands. You can find some very unique plants in wetlands like pitcher plant and some orchid species.
While I won’t think about crossing a wetland in the summer, they are valuable habitats. Wetlands absorb floodwaters and the excess water from those spring thaws. Many wildlife species depend upon wetlands for food or nesting habitat.
We can explore these areas when the wetlands are frozen. In fact, there have been several wetland caches that we’ve recorded a dreaded DNF only to claim them in the winter when the land is accessible.
It’s like those 5 terrain caches on islands. Winter has been a good time to get those, especially on the lake that we don’t boat.
As winter winds down to an end, there’s still some great winter geocaching to be had for those adventurous souls. Whether it is a wetland cache or an island cache, take advantage of the opportunities that winter gives you.
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March 6th, 2010 at 2:33 pm