Old Zoo Gathering Series LbNA #15571 (ARCHIVED)

These letterboxes were all placed for the Old Zoo Letterbox Gathering in Los Angeles’s Griffith Park. The clues below are numbered based on their proximity to the Old Zoo Picnic Area in the park, site of the first SoCal LB Gathering, so the first thing you’ll need to find is this picnic area (of course, the first thing you really have to find is Griffith Park, but since it's the largest urban park in the nation, that shouldn't be too difficult). There are a total of five letterboxes in the series. All are on short and easy hikes ('cept maybe the first one), with hiking times listed. The hiking time is round trip from the trailhead, and doesn’t count the time you may spend searching, stamping and re-hiding the box.

#1
Name: Amir’s Garden Series
Number of Boxes: 2
Round Trip Hike Length: 30 Minutes

Clues:
From the parking lot at the Old Zoo Picnic Area, drive north on Griffith Park Road for 1 mile until you reach the parking lot of the Mineral Wells Picnic Area (just past the end of the golf course). Park here and walk to the equestrian trail that begins on the south side of the road. The trailhead is marked with a yellow sign that says: “Caution, Wildlife Habitat, Dangerous Animals May Be Present Including Mountain Lions and Rattlesnakes.” Well, you’re not going to let that get in the way of two letterboxes, so proceed up the steep trail to the right of the sign. Don’t let the steepness of the trail here deter you; in about 5 minutes of steep hiking, the trail gets a lot easier. You’ll notice the going getting easier when you reach the sharp left turn in the trail, and see the water tower in front of you. Before you reach the tower, you’ll pass a green shed. The first letterbox is hidden behind the large cement structure to the right of the shed. Be careful of rattlesnakes as you reach into the tall grass.

After finding the first box, proceed up the trail for another 10 minutes until you reach Amir’s Garden. The garden is named in honor of Amir Dialameh, an Iranian immigrant who spent 30 years creating and tending this terraced garden. Take the trail to the left of the Amir’s Garden sign and continue straight at the first fork down to the first blue picnic table on the right. From the east end of the picnic table, take the middle path down a few steps to the dead tree that crosses the lower path. Beneath the spot where a branch of this dead tree pokes behind a steel post is the letterbox.

#2
Name: The Ivory-Billed Woodpecker
Number of Boxes: 1
Round Trip Hike Length: 15 Minutes

Clues:
The Ivory-billed Woodpecker is not a native of Griffith Park, but I just couldn’t help but place a letterbox celebrating the recent re-discovery of this bird, believed extinct since 1946, in the swamps of Arkansas.

From the parking lot at the Old Zoo Picnic Area, drive south on Griffith Park Road for 1/4 miles to Crystal Springs Drive. Turn right on Crystal Springs Drive and follow it for 1.5 miles to Los Feliz Drive (the road becomes one-way through part of this route). Turn right on Los Feliz Drive for 1 mile to Hillhurst Avenue. Turn right onto Hillhurst Avenue and drive 1.1 miles to the Bird Sanctuary. The Bird Sanctuary is located on the right side of the street, shortly after you pass the Greek Theater, and just before the road makes a sharp left turn up the hill. Park and walk to the Bird Sanctuary sign. Beyond the sign is a restroom. To the left of the restroom are three trails. Take the middle one; there will be a concrete and stone drainage ditch on your right. Walk up the trail and follow it around a U-turn in the path rimmed by a wooden fence. At the next fork in the trail, go left following the path bordered by a low stone & concrete wall. When the wall ends, look for the letterbox hidden behind the next tree on the right, underneath a dead branch.

#3
Name: Fern Dell Letterboxes
Number of Boxes: 2
Round Trip Hike Length: 15 Minutes

Clues:
After finding the Ivory–Billed Woodpecker stamp, travel back down the hill to Los Feliz Boulevard. Turn right on Los Feliz and drive 1 mile to Fern Dell. Turn right on Fern Dell and travel 3/10 mile to the stop sign at Red Oak Drive. Continue straight and park at the 1st parking lot on the right just past the intersection. Go to the southeast corner of the parking lot and find the bridge with the tree trunk railings. Don’t cross the bridge, take the path that runs down on the right. Follow the path and walk through the green chain link fence gate that leads down to the path next to the creek. Soon you’ll pass underneath two bridges that are next to each other, one is made of wood, and one of cement. After passing underneath these two bridges, you’ll find the first letterbox located five steps in front of the next bridge you come to, on the right side of the path, hidden under the plants located above the rock with the letters F.B.I.A.

To find the second letterbox, cross over this bridge and continue down the path that borders the creek. When you come to the next bridge, cross it and stand at the end of the bridge’s railing at the south end. From the bridge railing, walk 30 steps down the trail. Look to your right for a spot behind the rock wall which is darkly overgrown by foliage. The letterbox is hidden here behind the stone fence underneath a piece of cement.