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Thousand Steps LbNA #20855 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Mar 17, 2006
Location:
City:Spokane
County:Spokane
State:Washington
Boxes:1
Planted by:The Fat Lady
Found by: Chelle & Chickadee '11
Last found:Mar 13, 2011
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFm
Last edited:Mar 17, 2006
At the edge of Greenwood Cemetery in Spokane, a mossy and decrepit staircase scales a hillside toward a vacant crypt. Generations of local youth have called this spot “Thousand Steps,” making dares with one another, building legends around the structure that persist to this day. It is said the place was commissioned by a man who wanted a private family path to his tomb, but who hadn't paid for either one by the time he died; it is said that, since then, satanic rituals and dark, magical rites have been performed there; and it is said that no climber can make it to the top of the staircase before being overcome by dank fear.

Tales of hauntings abound, and various partying teenagers claim to have had a Thousand Steps ghostly experience. Large sections of the stairs appear to have been picked up and turned over, despite the fact that each piece must weigh hundreds of pounds. This is no place for kids, nor for the faint (or sane) of heart.

Your path to this letterbox will take you up Thousand Steps--if, that is, you dare make the attempt.

The first task is to find the steps, and the second is to get there. They are located along Riverside Drive at Greenwood Cemetery, but are most easily visible by looking across the road from the fenced edge of Riverside Cemetery, south of the white mausoleum. It's up to you where you park, and what route you traverse to reach the stairs. Once there, you'll need sturdy shoes and possibly gloves; it's quite a scramble. Plan to appease the local spirits by picking up trash on your climb. Perhaps then they will allow you safe passage.

Starting from the bottom and climbing upward, notice evidence that young people have paid visits here, but have clearly not paused long enough to write much graffiti; they seem to have been in a hurry to be elsewhere. As the crypt comes into view, comfort yourself with what you see there: the writing on the wall, a sign that some, at least, have survived this experience. When, and if, you reach the crypt, stand there for a moment and peruse the guest book; celebrate the love of Curt 'n Becky, and honor someone's feelings for Dez. When your heart settles down, follow the walkway around to your right. Pass a line of hills and then J. Whaley's alias, then turn left at the epaulets of a woodman of the world.

Continue on this road, bearing left after three white weepers. Beyond a brown patch and a bump, the trail skirts the land of Haver and then the White House. Slope down along an expanse of river rock and stop beside a corporal born 102 years before Dez's admirer walked the Thousand Steps. Due east from here, a mason is mourned, and, at 40 degrees from his memorial garland, birds are invited to refresh themselves. Their spa overlooks the site of a letterbox. Rather than clamber down, take the respectful route: return to the road and follow it left around a long downward curve until you reach the hidden glade's entrance.

Proceed inside, and stand beneath the skylit dome. From the center, spy a great tree at 158 degrees. Between its base and the top of the wall, beneath heavy stone, the Book of Shadows is waiting.