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Woods and Water LbNA #16396

Owner:Funhog
Plant date:Jun 22, 2005
Location:
City:Silverton
County:Marion
State:Oregon
Boxes:1
Found by: MamaWonder
Last found:Aug 29, 2009
Status:FFFFFF
Last edited:Mar 15, 2016


Are you ready for Silver Falls State Park without the summer crowds? You have to be willing to drive a bumpy, gravel road for 7 miles but the reward is a loop hike with three waterfalls and three letterboxes in under three miles! Please tread lightly when retrieving these boxes. I would hate for user paths to develop, especially to the first box.

To the trailhead: From Silverton, continue past the South Falls parking area at Silver Falls State Park 1.5 miles to an Equestrian Area sign. Turn left on this gravel road. In 3 miles you will take the fork to the right for .3 miles. Here you turn right through an orange gate and travel another 3 miles to the Shellburg Falls trailhead/ camping area. Start at this upper trailhead.
Winter access, requiring a 2.1 mile easy walk to the upper trailhead (compliments of Jitterbug): Off Hwy. 22 in Mehema, go north on Fern Ridge Road and go past Gene's Meat Market (great place to grab a snack). Go to the yellow gate and trailhead sign on the right. There's parking along the road. This access is open all year, unlike the Silver Falls access road that is closed November to April.

To the letterboxes:
#1 Harbinger of Hope: This letterbox is a tribute to one of the most exciting nature stories to hit the news in years. The Ivory-billed woodpecker had been thought to be extinct in the US for decades. Then, in January 2004, a lone kayaker spotted one, alive and well in a remote swamp in Arkansas! The sighting was soon verified by ornithologists and hit the media in the Spring of 2005. In the Pacific Northwest, we have the spectacular Pileated woodpecker and this stamp recalls his even larger Arkansan relative, a voice from the past.

For me this, bird represents two bridges one from the past and another to the future. Crossing into the future, it is my hope that efforts are made to preserve the large hemlocks, like the one 28 steps ahead on the right that are the natural home to these special creatures. Walk gently to its base and look beneath a rock and moss.

#2 Woodland Romance: Continue on the trail, passing through Robert and Katie’s’ misty Tunnel of Love. Up ahead, on the left, you will meet an elderly couple, joined at the hip. Look on their eastern side, beneath a blanket of moss.

#3 Wild Ginger: Continue on to Lower Shellburg Falls and turn left on the gravel road. About .3 miles after passing the golden gate, you will see a path to the right blocked by a pile of boulders. Follow this abandoned road, passing beneath fallen grandeur. Watch to the right for a small trail, heading for the sound of falling waters, Stassel Falls. Take this trail to the technicolor tree. Fifteen more steps will take you to an elderly nursemaid whose charges have grown large. Look underneath, about halfway down her length beneath loose moss.

Beyond this point is private property. To return to your car, go back to the gravel road. You may continue uphill .7 miles to the parking area or return the way you came, a bit longer but much more scenic.