Sign Up  /  Login

Serpentine Barrens LbNA #26508

Owner:wood thrush
Plant date:Oct 14, 2006
Location:
City:Owings Mills
County:Baltimore
State:Maryland
Boxes:1
Found by: Chili Pepper
Last found:Jul 14, 2019
Status:FFFFFOFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Oct 18, 2015
Read these two important notes before you attempt this letterbox.

1. The Serpentine Barrens letterbox honors Soldier’s Delight Natural Environmental Area in Maryland. The box is NOT located within its borders, because Soldier’s Delight is a sensitive environment containing many rare grasses, wildflowers and birds. To find the box, you’ll take notes as you hike its 2.2-mile Serpentine Trail, then travel a few miles by car to a local park where the box has been placed.

2. Because of the nature of Soldier’s Delight and the Serpentine Trail, this letterbox should NOT be attempted by boxers with children younger than fourth grade. Families should note four things about the trail. First, everyone must stay on the trail to avoid trampling the rare plants. Second, wildflowers cannot be picked because many of them are endangered species. Third, for much of the hike, you will be walking directly on serpentine rock, which is known for its very sharp edges (should you fall). And fourth, the second half of the hike takes you steadily uphill through an area with no shade. Because the rock is at the surface, temperatures in Soldier’s Delight run about five degrees above temperatures in the surrounding area. It’s especially important to be aware of this during the summer months.

Driving directions. From the Baltimore Beltway (I-695), take exit 18, Liberty Road (Route 26) west. Travel five miles, and turn right on Deer Park Road. After about two miles, turn left into the driveway for the Soldier’s Delight Visitor’s Center. Park in the lot here, which is open from 8 a.m. to dusk. If the Visitor’s Center is open (hours are short and highly variable), be sure to check out the exhibits inside.

About Soldier’s Delight. Soldier’s Delight is one of the most unusual landscapes in Maryland and the largest serpentine barrens remaining in the eastern United States. It is called a “serpentine barrens” because of the underlying serpentine rock, which breaks down into a thin, poor “barren” soil in which only certain plants can grow. At least 39 kinds of endangered plants are found here. The Serpentine Trail, which begins at the Visitor’s Center, cuts through a fascinating and diverse landscape that looks much more like a prairie than a typical mid-Atlantic landscape.

Serpentine Trail. You can get a map of the Serpentine Trail at the information board to the left of the Visitor’s Center. Now look to the right, where you’ll see volunteer and staff parking. Just to the right of this is a sign that reads, “Please use Serpentine Trail.” This is the start of the trail. Turn left here.

Very soon on your left you will pass a structure called the (1) _ _ _ | _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _. A little further on you will pass under some high voltage power lines and then enter a long downhill stretch where various environmental management techniques (including girdling trunks and setting fires) are being tested to stem the spread of invasive Virginia pine trees. These non-native pines have been choking out the habitat for the rare grasses and wildflowers. As a result, this part of the trail is a mixed environment of woods and barrens.

After about .7 miles, the trail will turn sharply to the right. Be on the lookout now for Chimney Branch, a spring-fed stream, which you’ll cross on foot. There may be a few other trickles of water too on this stretch of the trail, but Chimney Branch is the largest and most reliably filled with water. As you cross it, look downstream for a strange sight---a (2) _ _ _.

The trail turns right again and begins to head uphill. Here you will leave the shade behind for a long stretch and enter a large section of the barrens. The serpentine rock here is right at the surface—notice the mottled green-gray look of the rocks. Also notice the beautiful grasses that grow in this area. At 1.5 miles, the trail again passes beneath the power lines. At the top of the hill you’ll enter a woodland area where the main species is not the invasive pines, but native (3) _ _ _ trees. Look behind you at this point for a fine view of the barrens.

Head through the woods until you come to an overlook at 1.9 miles. Stop here to catch your breath and read the historical marker, which will tell you about the mining history of Soldier’s Delight. (4) _ _ _ _ _ _ was first discovered here in the year (5) _ _ _ _. The mines here produced almost all the world’s supply of this substance in the 19th century.

[If you cross Deer Park Road here and take the red trail to the right, you will soon come to one of the abandoned mines. You can circle the fenced-in mine and get a good look at the scary-looking opening!]

Keep following the white blazes of the Serpentine Trail past the overlook for another .3 miles and you’ll be back at the Visitor’s Center.

To the letterbox. Return to your car and drive back Deer Park Road the way you came in. At 1.1 miles, on your left you will see Northwest Regional Park. Enter the park and park in the lot.

Fill in the answers of what you observed on the trail, and their corresponding numbers. The numbers are just a simple alphanumeric code where a=1, b=2, c=3, and so on.

#1 _ _ _ | _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ | _ _ _ | _ _ _ _ _ (corresponding numbers)

#2 _ _ _
_ _ _ (corresponding numbers)

#3 _ _ _
_ _ _ (corresponding numbers)

#4 _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ (corresponding numbers)

#5 _ _ _ _ (this is already a number!)

Stand in the center of the pavilion in the middle of the four ball fields, with the bat, ball and glove sculpture on the roof.

Take a compass bearing of [(the sum of answer #4, minus the second letter of answer #1) times the last letter of answer #1].

Heading initially in this direction, stay on this path as it enters the woods. When the path comes to a “T,” head compass bearing [(the sum of answer #3 times the fourth number in answer #5) minus the last letter of answer #4] down the path.

After a moderate distance you will see a well-splintered, waist-high stump to your right. Stop here.

Directly behind the stump you will see a tree with some major vines hanging from it. Walk approximately [sum of letters in answer #2 plus the fifth letter in answer #1] steps into the woods in the general direction of this tree.

Try not to disturb the nice colony of ferns on the way, and beware of thorns, poison ivy, etc. You should now be behind and to the left of the vine-covered tree. Look around you for a shin-high stump with a hollow center. The letterbox rests in the hollow beneath many sticks.

Congratulations! You have found the Serpentine Barrens letterbox.