Nature Walk

Today was a great day for geocaching.  My friend Derek and I headed out to find a few that required a walk.  Since today was such a nice day, we were hoping to get out and enjoy the sun.  Today was the first day I've worn shorts this year! 

Derek and I both discovered a place we'd never been to before: Fields Pond Nature Center.  We loved hearing the sounds of the birds and frogs chirping from the woods.  We started down the appropriately named Frog Path but had to turn back quickly because of the mud and water that got onto our shoes.  Thankfully, when we backtracked and took the Ravine Trail, we came across a stream where we were able to wash away some of the mud. 

Continuing across the stream, we climbed a set of stones that acted as stairs leading to an elevated path through the trees.  Being the only ones on the path, we could clearly hear the echoes of the birds calling back and forth to each other.  We stopped to admire the stream rushing by below.  This path is on a bit of an incline so some travelers should plan for breaks or not to take this route. 

We quickly found the geocache just off the trail near a fallen tree.  One of the items in the cache was a washcloth, which we joked about taking so we could use it to clean off our shoes.  In the end we traded some sports cards for golf balls.  I'm not sure if it was the stopping or the moving of the tree bark, but as we were examining the contents of the cache, a swarm of mosquitoes started to cloud around us.  We made a rapid exchange and headed back toward the trail. 

I would highly recommend visiting this area on a dry, summer day.  Fields Pond has 192 beautiful acres and many groomed paths for walking.  You can take these trails yourself or participate in a guided tour.  Many of the paths are perfect for families who practice geocaching together.  One path even goes down to a small boat launch where another geocache can be found. 



"Along the Waters Edge"

In the two short hours that we spent geocaching, we made seven finds.  The ones at Fields Pond were definitely the favorites of the day.  With the awesome scenery and variety of trails, the Fields Pond trails are a nice addition to the systems in the area including the Bangor City Forest and Orono Trails.