Sign Up  /  Login

CRIAtive LLetterbox LbNA #10515

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Aug 30, 2004
Location:
City:Lexington
County:Middlesex
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Planted by:Ace + Lox
Found by: JoLoMo
Last found:Aug 31, 2008
Status:FFFFFFFFaFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Nov 17, 2015
11/16/2008 -- NOTE: Because of an injury, we haven't been able to get out to our boxes this year. We hope to maintain them in the spring. Until then, our apologies if they're not findable, or in bad condition. -- Ace + Lox

LOCATION: Whipple Hill conservation land. For directions, go to your favorite mapping program (such as http://www.mapquest.com/directions), and where it asks for Address or Intersection, type Winchester Dr. and Russell Rd. There is a small parking pull-off with a Whipple Hill sign, just east of this intersection, along Winchester Dr. where it turns into Johnson Road.

WALK INFO: The walk will take approximately 1 1/2 – 2 hours to complete, depending on clue-solving. Some of the trails are loose, rocky inclines, where good walking shoes and surefootedness are needed.

STAMP: Hand drawn & carved

BRING: Pen for working out clues

INFORMATION: Whipple Hill is 120+ acres of varied terrains including forests, ledge outcroppings and a large pond. This walk will take you to three different towns: Winchester, Lexington and Arlington.

CLUES:
Enter the property, and go straight. The trail crosses two large rock outcroppings with blue markings. (The second is the highest point in Lexington.) From the second, take the trail on the left, going down off the outcropping until it ends at a teal-blazed rock (very faded). Take a left into the woods.

Follow this trail until you come to a goalpost-shaped tree, smack in the middle of the trail. Find the blaze nearest this tree. Record the top of the three colors (very faded) on the puzzle sheet, at (B).

Continue down the trail, taking a right at the pond/vernal pool (which may be dry). As you approach the next, larger, pond, take a left and note the number of individual, long planks between the fallen logs. Look for this number as you continue around the pond. When you find it, take note of its color. Walk a few more steps around the pond until you come to a 3-way intersection. Spot the ribbon that matches the color of the number. Walk past that tree and continue on uphill path, staying to the right and you will find the first stone marker.

Stand on the small flat rock in Lexington. Record the letter at your knees on the puzzle sheet, as the first letter of (F). Next, lean over the top into Winchester. FROM THIS ANGLE, record the other letter as the second letter of (F). (Note that (F) is a collection of letters, not a word.)

Get back on the trail, and continue until you come to a T at the bottom of the hill. Take a right. At the next T, take a left. After a boardwalk, continue straight. Follow the orange-blazed trail for a while. Along the way, it will curve right along a stone wall. Just after the dumptruck-sized rock on the right, take the fork to the left. Keep a keen eye open for stairs to the right of the trail. Just afterward, detour to the left to find your next clue.

At the top of the trail, you’ll see a metal post with an orange blaze. It sits at the intersection of two trails that form an X. One leg of the X is barely visible, but winds up the rockface. Follow this leg, keeping to the left until you find another stone marker. Be aware that there are houses just beyond the tree line, so please be discreet. Complete (F) on the puzzle sheet with the most prominent letter on each side of the post (in any order).

Return to the metal post, and go left back down the trail that got you here. At the bottom, go left.

Next, you’ll come to something abandoned. Years of exposure to rain and weather have made it very __ __ __ __ __. Record this word on the puzzle sheet, at (C).

Continue on the trail. You’ll come to a T. Go left. Cross over a bridge, recording the number of planks on the puzzle sheet at (G).

Up ahead, you’ll encounter some unexpected animals. (They may not be out, but it will be clear where they should be.) Cross out the letters of this animal’s name from your puzzle sheet answer (F). You should have one letter left.

Find the fraction on the sign, and record it on the puzzle sheet at (E).

According to the sign, this animal:
A. Is a healthy alternative to beef
B. Can be irritable and ornery
C. Is related to emus and guacamoles
D. Has babies called kits
E. None of the above

Record your answer at (D) on the puzzle sheet.

Retrace your steps back over the bridge. After the chain-link fence on the left, take an upward left. Follow this winding trail until you come to a T at a stone wall. Beyond it are the remnants of a __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. Record this word on the puzzle sheet at (A).

Now, take the letters in (C) and (D), and cross them out everywhere they occur in (A) and (B). You are left with a six-letter word.

Continue to the right. When you see a small trail on the left leading to a stone wall, take that trail. You’ll wind over several rocky outcroppings. Eventually, you’ll come to a very large outcropping distinguished by a pine on the near right and a faint white blaze on the path. Make sure not to take the path on the left, but to continue straight ahead over the crest of the rock.

When you come to the tree with the large __ __ __ __ __ __ (AB), take a right onto the boulder, where you’ll find a tree shaped like a __ __ (EF). Use the bottom-most finger of its bottom-most limb to point the way. Go __ __ (G) paces to find what you seek.

To get back, return to the trail and continue the way you were going. At the T, take a left over the blazed stone wall. Where the trail divides, turn left (on the orange trail). When it divides again (where boulders are scattered about), stay to the left until you come to a T, where you should turn left again (rejoining the orange trail).

Continue until you get back to the teal-blazed rock. Turn left and go either way up the rock. Take the right-hand trail to go back the way you came.


PUZZLE SHEET


______________________
(A)

__ __ __ __ __ __
(B)

______________________
(C)


___
(D)


___
(E)

__ __ __ __ __ __
(F)

___
(G)