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Columbia Petroglyphs LbNA #15216

Owner:HLRG Wood Thrush
Plant date:May 22, 2005
Location:
City:Columbia
County:Howard
State:Maryland
Boxes:6
Found by: Scarabaeus (2)
Last found:Jul 7, 2018
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFOF
Last edited:Apr 23, 2018
Originally planted by WimpyGirls in May 2005 and adopted in March 2008 by Wood Thrush of the Historic Letterbox Restoration Group. The series was fully restored on May 11, 2008. In 2010, construction of a new sewer line between Columbia and Laurel along the Little Patuxent River put several boxes in jeopardy and the series was pulled for two years. It was restored in fall 2011.

Difficulty: Easy; mostly paved or gravel paths. Approximately 3.5 miles round trip.

Box 1-The Flute Player

Turn onto Stonebrook Lane off of Guilford Road. Park at end of cul-de-sac in unmarked spots. Trail begins on the left side of # 8916. Follow path over small wooden bridge & turn right. Turn right again & pass the playground on the left. Cross over PBTB012 and PBTBR11. At T in path, turn left towards "Bridge to S. Carlinda Ave." You'll be walking about 150 steps along this path. Along the way, note the low rock with the "status" graffitti. Soon the path winds up a hill. You'll hit about 150 steps shortly before the crest of the hill. To your right is a "V" tree. To your left is a stump and a fallen tree from long ago. It is about 40 feet long. You will want to walk to about the midpoint of this old timer, where a short remnant of a branch is still attached. On the downslope side of the fallen one lies the Flute Player, under bark and sticks. Note: if you are walking the main path and you come to either the crest of the hill or you see a small metal marker embedded on the left of the path, you have gone too far. If you are at the marker, turn around and walk about 12 steps back.

Box 2-The Warrior

One you have found the Flute Player, turn around and go back down the hill, passing the T intersection, and continuing along the main path. Cross the lovely, meandering PBTB005 bridge. Pass under Broken Land Parkway, and then in a bit, under Guilford Road. After the big power lines, notice the utility poles on the left of the path. Stop when you reach pole 273001. Look ahead to the right and take 25 more steps down the path. To your left is a dirt path up a small hill, leading to the back of an office complex. Take this path. At the top, use the red markings on the parking lot curb as your starting point, and walk to the right along the curb for a total of 78 steps. When the curb turns left, then right, just keep following it until you've gone 78 steps. You should see a fire hydrant at 65 degrees, and to your right, a small to medium sized oak tree. Behind this tree, and under a piece of concrete, lies the warrior.

Box 3-The Sandman

Return to the trail and walk ahead to a trail parking area. Turn right here and cross the Pratt Through-Truss Bridge (B-4) and the Little Patuxent River. Continue straight on the gravel path, following the sign that says 1.5 miles to Vollmerhausen Rd. and 2.2 miles to Savage Park. Stay on the main path, ignoring side trails, until you see ahead of you a clearing where the path makes a wide curve to the right. There is a square brick sewer structure down a grassy hill on the right. Before you enter this area, look for a paved side path heading uphill at 250 degrees.
Take 31 steps up this path. On the ground to your right should be some flat, embedded rocks. Up ahead on the left of the path is the back of a white house. To your right is the back of a brown house, its fenced-in yard, and a grassy common area. Walk 12 steps at 320 degrees to a mature tree in the grassy area. To your right the grassy area ends and a wooded area begins. Take 10 steps at 10 degrees to a large rock next to a small oak tree. There are two other rocks to the left. In front and under the overhang of the large rock, behind some smaller covering stones, is the Sandman.

Box 4-The Medicine Man

Return to the main path and continue on. Soon you will come to a concrete path on the right and a large black boulder on the left. Originally the Medicine Man slept behind this boulder; however we have moved him because his sleep was often disturbed by non-boxers. From this boulder take 95 steps down the path. At about step 73 you will pass the massive root end of a long fallen tree on a hill, and across the trail on the river side, what is left of the rest of the tree. At step 95, look in the woods to your right up a slight hill. At 18 steps into the woods, see a tree with a two-foot gash at the bottom of its trunk. Go to this tree (you may have to pick your way through some underbrush). At this tree, spot straight ahead at 15 steps, a tree with part of its side rotted away, and go to it. Six steps to the right of this tree is a large tree with a vine growing up the side and a circular hole in its trunk about thigh high. To the left of this tree is a pile of small mossy rocks next to a large mossy boulder. Medicine Man is under the small mossy rocks.

Box 5 - The Monster Slayer

Keep going on the gravel path until you pass a bench and and cross bridge B-3. Ahead and above you, you'll see the southbound lanes of Interstate 95. Note the helpful brown sign that says "Interstate 95." Cross under I-95 on bridge B-2. Walk through the "median" and pass under the northbound lanes of I-95. Ahead of you on the left, look for the back of an identical brown "Interstate 95" sign. When you reach this sign, stop and turn around. Take 36 steps back the way you came. See an old fallen tree trunk on the left, headed from the trail's edge on a diagonal up the hill at a 10 o'clock angle. Follow the log up the hill to its end behind a medium-sized tree. Monster Slayer is wedged between the tree and log end, under a thick stick.

Box 6 - The Shaman

Return to the path and head back the way you came. When you pass over the winding PBTB005 bridge again, stop at the end of the bridge, then take 48 steps. Look to your left for a large, old stump near the trail. Beyond it is an orange stake. Go to the stake and take five steps towards a fat, short old log with a thin, longer old log behind it. The Shaman rests behind the thinner log, lined up with the left end of the fat log.

Hike Length: 3.5 miles
Elevation Gain: 15 feet