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Where In The World? LbNA #12634 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Sojourner
Plant date:Dec 4, 2004
Location:
City:Orange
County:New Haven
State:Connecticut
Boxes:0
Found by: Sassy Sydlan (6)
Last found:Jul 20, 2013
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFaar
Last edited:Dec 4, 2004
For some of you, this may be your first experience with Letterboxing, so before you begin your search today, I’d like to convey to you some aspects of Letterboxing that I personally feel are important.
#1 – STEALTH:
Be discreet while searching for a letterbox if other people are around. You may need to postpone retrieving a box if you can’t do it without being seen. Remember - not everyone is “letterbox-friendly” and you should not jeopardize someone else’s letterbox for the sake of getting a stamp! When you have successfully retrieved it, carry the box away from its hiding place to stamp-in so as not to reveal the hiding place to passers-by or to draw attention to what you are doing. Make sure you are discreet when unpacking the contents of the box and stamping-in. Discretion and stealth are also required when you return the letterbox to its hiding place.
#2 – LETTERBOXING WITH CHILDREN:
Children are often enthusiastic to “do it themselves”, but adults should always oversee their activities and that they close up the box properly and re-hide it well.
#3 – RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT:
Care must be taken in both finding and planting letterboxes. When looking for a letterbox, remember to leave the area just as, or better than you found it. If you look under a rock, replace the rock back where you found it. Don't pull out plants or rip up the ground looking for a letterbox. Avoid trampling vegetation while searching for the letterbox – if the box is off-trail, try not to create a “social trail” by following where previous boxers walked, it’s damaging plus it’s a dead giveaway to the location! Don’t tear apart that stone wall that has withstood hundreds of years of time to find the box.
#4 – RE-HIDE WELL:
After stamping-in and carefully closing up a letterbox, re-hide it as well or better than when you originally found it. Again, discretion at this time is very important. It is a good idea to cover the box with a handful of dead leaves, anchor the box with a flat rock so that an inquisitive animal can’t run off with it, and then sprinkle a few more leaves or twigs on top so it looks natural to passers-by. Look at it from different angles before you leave to make sure no plastic is showing. Never leave a letterbox out in plain sight! A well hidden letterbox helps ensure its longevity!
#5 – HAVE FUN!:
Letterboxing will take you to many new places – places that you may have never known about had it not been for letterboxing! It could be a short walk or a long, strenuous hike – there’s something for everyone’s preference and ability. Be sure to read the clues before you set off to ensure that it’s a suitable one for you.
Some clues are written simply and straightforward, some are more vague and require some thought and interpretation. Others are written in the form of puzzles and ciphers to challenge those who enjoy that sort of approach. Again, there’s something for everyone.
Whichever path letterboxing may take you, please respect it, enjoy it and have fun!
(taken from AQ and Letterboxing.info)

Thank you and now on with the clues! :-)




N.B. There is one logbook - it's in the final letterbox of the series.

Location: Wepawaug Conservation Area, Mapledale Road, Orange. The entrance is across from Cherry Hill Rd. If the gate is closed in winter, there's room for 2 cars to park in front of it.

Difficulty: Moderate - trail can be wet in places.

Length: about 3 miles - give or take.

Dogs: OK on leash.

Other: Thanks to Butterfly for helping me "fine-tune" the clues!


CLUES:
****05/06/2012 Clues have been updated************

From the parking lot, the trail begins as you enter through the metal gate and goes slightly downhill. As you begin to see BLUE blazes on the trees, continue walking to the new wooden bridge that crosses the Wepawaug River. Stop here, turn westwards and walk 35 steps to a short stone wall. On the west side, across from 2 spindly pines find STAMP #1 – CURRENCY in a cave whose door is a piece of white quartz. (Just the stamp in a micro-container the size of a pill-container!) The logbook is in the final box of the series!


Cross the new bridge and continue walking on the BLUE-blazed trail, passing an old stone chimney fallen by the wayside. Just before you reach the small broken bridge alongside the small stream, turn right onto the faintly blazed YELLOW-blazed trail. A short way further, the trail has been detoured to the right of a yellow-blazed, dead (?) pinetree and a short rocky outcrop due to fallen trees. The unblazed detour takes you atop the outcrop where you'll see a few scattered rocks low to the ground. Look for a stone trap-door closing a small upside-down "V" cave. Inside find STAMP #2 - CLIMATE. (Just the stamp in a micro-container)

Continue on a few steps to rejoin the original YELLOW trail. A few more steps brings you to a Y intersection. YELLOW goes right, but you take the unmarked trail going left. It parallels the stream and the Merritt Parkway. A few minutes' walk and the trail ends at the intersection of the ORANGE TRIANGLE/BLUE-blazed trail. Directly ahead of you lies a rotten fallen tree alongside the trail. Within lies STAMP #3 – AGRICULTURE. (Just the stamp in a micro-container)

Turn left (northwards), soon passing a large 4-sister tree on the left close to the trail and then a brown cabin on the right soon after. A little further, the trail turns to the right in front of houses that are outside the boundary of the conservation property. After two left turns, the trail heads downhill and over a small wooden bridge across a stream. Soon, at a T intersection, turn left staying on the ORANGE TRIANGLE trail. The river will soon be on your right and you'll continue walking along its bank. The orange blazes direct you to the top of the hill, close to a house, where you must look right to 2 boulders, one split vertically. STAMP #4 – TERRAIN is near the split at ground-level in a small container. (Please be aware that there may be people fishing in this vicinity.)

A few steps further on orange you'll look down at the falls, and the trail heads downhill past a large metal pipe on the right and then along the lovely rocky Ravine. At a large twin oak in front of you, take the "low trail" that is faintly blazed with ORANGE, as opposed to taking the "high trail". Just before the river makes a NW turn, look left to a tall tulip tree growing on the embankment whose roots are reaching downhill towards you and the river. Within the roots you will find STAMP #5 – MAP in a small container. (Please be aware again that there may be people fishing in this area.)


From these 5 stamps, are you able to figure out exactly “Where In The World?” this adventure has taken you???
The ANSWER? Only the map will tell you that!!!! ;-)

At this point you are close to Route 34 and can either continue to the end of the ORANGE TRIANGLE trail, cross the river by walking along Route 34 (please be cautious of the traffic as there is no sidewalk), and walk down Mapledale Road 0.7 mi. to the entrance of the Wepawaug Conservation Area, OR... you can retrace your steps the way you came. If you choose the latter, (probably because you noticed a good reason to go back that way....) you would return via the ORANGE TRIANGLE trail(watching carefully for the turns in the trail) to the new bridge, and back to your car.

As always, enjoy the walk, please stamp-in discreetly, and re-hide carefully. Please log your finds into LbNA and Atlasquest.com and let me know how the search went!