Walden LbNA #16648
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Add Location| Owner: | CPAScott  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 31, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Concord |
| County: | Middlesex |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Rock Island |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Nov 29, 2017 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFa |
| Last edited: | Jul 31, 2005 |
Stamp carved by Jacks
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
― from Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1854)
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau built a small cabin on woods owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson alongside Walden Pond. In July of that year he moved into his one-room home and remained there until September 1847. The journal he which kept formed the basis for his most well-known work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, published in 1854, in which he set forth his ideas on how one should live in harmony with nature and oneself.
Walden Pond State Reservation, a National Historic Landmark, is located in Concord, MA. For further information, visit the Department of Conservation and Recreation's website at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/wldn.htm.
From the parking lot ($5 day use fee applies), cross the road and follow the main path down to the pond. The beach area will be in front of you. To your right you'll notice a dirt trail. A sign saying "House Site" indicates that this is the way to go. Find your way to Thoreau's cabin.
From the cabin site, take the "Pond Path" headed south. When the path splits a few steps ahead, bear to the right heading southwest. The pond should be on your left.
Continue to follow the Pond Path as it travels along the pond. For much of the way a wire fence separates the path from the pond's shore and will guide your way. A number of trails veer off to the right. Ignore these and continue on the Pond Path. If, however, you find yourself on one of these other paths, don't fret! Simply continue to head in a southern direction and be sure you do not cross the railroad tracks. You will be rejoined with the Pond Path eventually.
As you walk along the Pond Path you'll notice at various places the wire fence opens up allowing access to the pond. You might see some people swimming or fishing at these spots. Feel free to take a dip -- many like these more remote swimming spots better than the public beach on the east end of the pond. At one point you'll come to a wide opening that looks almost like it could be a boat launch if there were road access to it. The beach house will be directly across the pond from you as you face east. As you continue on the Pond Path, you'll notice an embankment to the right of the path where a set of railroad tracks lay. These tracks existed during the time Thoreau was in the woods and were close enough to him that he could hear the trains as they passed by!
The path will parallel the tracks for a short distance before making a sharp left turn heading east to continue wrapping around the pond. At this point another path heads south, up a small hill, headed towards the railroad tracks. Take this second path.
At the top of this short hill, turn left and note the sign for the Esker Trail. A white reflector attached to a tree also marks this trail. Follow the Esker trail as it climbs another small hill. You'll notice the Pond Path on your left down the hill.
As you crest this second small hill, look for a double-trunked tree with a sapling growing in-between on the right side of the trail. If you stand facing the sapling (at 220°), directly behind it, about 16 steps off the trail will be an oak tree. This oak was also double trunked at one time, but it appears that the second trunk was growing almost horizontally and did not survive. It now lies dead on the ground.
In the hole where this second trunk once connected to the rest of the tree is where you'll find the letterbox, hidden behind a door of twigs and leaves.
PLEASE re-hide the box well!
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived."
― from Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau (1854)
In 1845 Henry David Thoreau built a small cabin on woods owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson alongside Walden Pond. In July of that year he moved into his one-room home and remained there until September 1847. The journal he which kept formed the basis for his most well-known work, Walden; or, Life in the Woods, published in 1854, in which he set forth his ideas on how one should live in harmony with nature and oneself.
Walden Pond State Reservation, a National Historic Landmark, is located in Concord, MA. For further information, visit the Department of Conservation and Recreation's website at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/wldn.htm.
From the parking lot ($5 day use fee applies), cross the road and follow the main path down to the pond. The beach area will be in front of you. To your right you'll notice a dirt trail. A sign saying "House Site" indicates that this is the way to go. Find your way to Thoreau's cabin.
From the cabin site, take the "Pond Path" headed south. When the path splits a few steps ahead, bear to the right heading southwest. The pond should be on your left.
Continue to follow the Pond Path as it travels along the pond. For much of the way a wire fence separates the path from the pond's shore and will guide your way. A number of trails veer off to the right. Ignore these and continue on the Pond Path. If, however, you find yourself on one of these other paths, don't fret! Simply continue to head in a southern direction and be sure you do not cross the railroad tracks. You will be rejoined with the Pond Path eventually.
As you walk along the Pond Path you'll notice at various places the wire fence opens up allowing access to the pond. You might see some people swimming or fishing at these spots. Feel free to take a dip -- many like these more remote swimming spots better than the public beach on the east end of the pond. At one point you'll come to a wide opening that looks almost like it could be a boat launch if there were road access to it. The beach house will be directly across the pond from you as you face east. As you continue on the Pond Path, you'll notice an embankment to the right of the path where a set of railroad tracks lay. These tracks existed during the time Thoreau was in the woods and were close enough to him that he could hear the trains as they passed by!
The path will parallel the tracks for a short distance before making a sharp left turn heading east to continue wrapping around the pond. At this point another path heads south, up a small hill, headed towards the railroad tracks. Take this second path.
At the top of this short hill, turn left and note the sign for the Esker Trail. A white reflector attached to a tree also marks this trail. Follow the Esker trail as it climbs another small hill. You'll notice the Pond Path on your left down the hill.
As you crest this second small hill, look for a double-trunked tree with a sapling growing in-between on the right side of the trail. If you stand facing the sapling (at 220°), directly behind it, about 16 steps off the trail will be an oak tree. This oak was also double trunked at one time, but it appears that the second trunk was growing almost horizontally and did not survive. It now lies dead on the ground.
In the hole where this second trunk once connected to the rest of the tree is where you'll find the letterbox, hidden behind a door of twigs and leaves.
PLEASE re-hide the box well!