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Revival of The Alchemy Series - Mercury LbNA #14397

Owner:Sojourner
Plant date:Jun 1, 2002
Location:
City:New Haven
County:New Haven
State:Connecticut
Boxes:1
Found by: MAhiker
Last found:May 13, 2007
Status:FFFFaUa
Last edited:Jun 1, 2002

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! :-)

This Letterbox's clues were brought out from the "basement of unclaimed Letterboxes" on April 11, 2005. The original placer was Cobalt Nine, and the new caretaker is Sojourner, who hopes that its renewal will bring much enjoyment to its finders.

~~~~~~~ 07/21/2005 awaiting more visits~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mercury, one of the most common alchemical substances, was chosen for the first in my series of Alchemy Letterboxes. Mercury can symbolise communication and inventiveness; as a result, we've communicated these directions as clearly as possible, and we chose the peak in New Haven's East Rock Park named for local inventor Eli Whitney. On this short (less than 1.5 hrs, estimated) trip we endeavoured not to be too mercurial in our choices and only changed trails once.

[Mapquest directions from I-95 South; find other directions, if you need them, by entering in the destination 'Livingston Ave and Cold Spring Street, New Haven, CT'

Merge onto I-95 S.
Take the I-91 N exit- exit number 48- towards HARTFORD.
(right-hand lane over the bridge)
Merge LEFT onto I-91 N.
Get into the LEFT lane, take exit #6 (it's a left-hand exit, tricky little thing) 'Willow Street'.
Turn RIGHT onto WILLOW ST.
Turn RIGHT onto LIVINGSTON ST.

The park will be ahead and to your right; Livingston here has some big turn-of-the-century New England houses.

Park along Livingston Street, between Cold Spring Street and East Rock Road. If you're unfamiliar with the area, there's a map posted in the park near the corner of Livingston Street and Cold Spring street, and maps are probably available at the ranger station, past the basketball courts and playground (near the corner of Cold Spring Street and Orange Street).

Walk north along the path through the grassy area until you reach East Rock Road. Turn right onto the sidewalk on East Rock Road, and cross the bridge over Mill River. At the intersection with Farnam Road, enter the trail system onto the white rectangle trail -- take a left at the intersection so that you're heading north along the white rectangle trail. Walk on the trail along the river. When the trail forks, take the upwards-sloping right fork. Keep following the white rectangle trail -- you'll cross a
paved street once. Just as the trail meets the paved street a second time, there should be an intersection with the blue rectangle trail. Take a left onto the blue rectangle trail.

The blue trail will continue up a rocky climb to the small
Whitney Peak. Near the summit, headed up the trail at a bearing of 330, with a rock wall to your right, there will come a place where the path heading 330 degrees makes a hairpin turn to about 85 degrees. To the north will be the end of the stone wall and ahead will be some very large boulders. At the point where the trail turns from 330 to 85, face straight ahead at a bearing of 310 degrees to see a healthy sloping tree. It slopes from its roots on your left(SW), to above the boulders up the slope (NE)
on your right. Stand under this tree, going just a few steps off the trail at 310. Go 2 or 3 steps further in this direction from under the tree. Turn right, at 70 degrees, and find the Mercury Letterbox wedged between two rocks.

After you've found the letterbox, you can keep heading up to Whitney Peak -- it's a 300' elevation just up the trail. At the intersection of the blue rectangle and blue circle/triangle trails, take a left turn to get to the peak. It's not very exciting -- just a few big rocks, really -- but it allows a nice view of the surrounding hillsides and of the main peak's 365' elevation.