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Under the Rainbow LbNA #17067 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Aug 1, 2005
Location:
City:Montreat
County:Buncombe
State:North Carolina
Boxes:1
Planted by:David from Atlanta
Found by: Mad Coconut Blazers
Last found:Dec 14, 2008
Status:FFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Aug 1, 2005
Note (07/22/09): THIS BOX NO LONGER EXISTS. PLEASE SEE OUR "OVER THE RAINBOW" BOX FOR A NEW LETTERBOX (WITH NEW STAMP) ON THE SAME TRAIL.

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Note (05/13/09): Over the past year or two, campers have increasingly disturbed the area where the letterbox was hidden. One family of letterboxers found the box out of its hiding place and without weatherproofing plastic. They were kind enough to retrieve and mail the box to us. We plan on finding a different hiding place in the same area (and modifying the clues accordingly) when we return to the Montreat area in August. This page will be updated then. But until then, there is NO box present. Happy letterboxing!

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Under the Rainbow
Time: 15 minutes walking

Take I-40 East out of Ashville. Take the Montreat exit, Exit 64 and take a left at the light onto Highway 9. Continue north on Highway 9 through Black Mountain. You'll know you've reached your destination when you come to the rock gate that marks the entrance to Montreat. Continue straight through the gate and Highway 9 will turn into Assembly Drive.

Stay on Assembly Drive, passing a baseball diamond, tennis courts, and numerous houses. But LOOKOUT, the road that you seek is on your right, just before the lake. Turn right and cross the bridge. On your left is a small green hut, the Montreat Nature Center, where you can get a map of the area's trails if you'd like to continue your hike after finding the letterbox.

After turning and crossing the bridge, continue on the road as it goes up and up and up. Stay on the lookout. Though you'll remain in North Carolina, you will pass Texas, Florida and Arkansas. The road becomes gravel, and soon after, you must take the first right you come to. The stone of John C. Updike signals that you have gone too far.

Park in the gravel parking lot. Do not go on just any trail! You may not be a leprechaun, but your treasure will be at the end of the RAINBOW. Diamonds of orange will send you in the right direction.

Pass by the gate onto the dirt trail littered with rock and surrounded by mountain laurel. Keep walking on the path over chunks of ridged red clay, and you will pass your first switchback in the trail, marked by the streambed that runs below. Continue around the next bend, and you'll find a moss-covered clearing on your right.

Give your weary feet a rest, and sit on the rock at the edge of the clearing. Face the woods, your back to the trail, and search for a rusted, reddish-brown engine. Descend to the engine, but do not stop. A mere five paces below the engine lies your find. Covered by a log in the hollow of a large tree lies the treasure under the rainbow.

Please make sure the box is completely hidden from view when you leave, since hikers often camp in the clearing.