Sign Up  /  Login

BURR OAK LONG TRAIL/SHORT TRAIL LbNA #29654

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Mar 31, 2007
Location:
City:Glouster
County:Morgan
State:Ohio
Boxes:8
Planted by:GSD 1
Found by: The Wentlands (4)
Last found:Mar 30, 2010
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Mar 31, 2007
Placed by: GSD 1
Placement Date: 3-31-2007
State: Ohio
County: Morgan
Nearest City: Glouster
Number of Boxes: 5

LONG TRAIL/SHORT TRAIL

Burr Oak State Park . Over 3000 acres of wooded hills and hollows, located in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeast Ohio. It is approx. 15 mi. SW of McConnelsville and 4 mi. NE of Glouster. There are several entrances to the Park. These boxes are located on the Lodge and Cabins side of the Park. Take SR 78 from either McConnelsville or Glouster till you come to the entrance to Burr Oak State Park Lodge and Cabins. Come down the road to the T-intersection and you will see a building and parking lot in front of you. Pull in to the parking lot and park. Two different, yet connectible, trails start from here.

The one is called THE LONG TRAIL. The other is THE SHORT TRAIL They are listed separately.

You will need to bring your stamp pad, pen, stamp and a compass, small flashlight. and maybe a rag to wipe your hands.

Difficulty: Hard. A long hike with a deep hollow to travel down into and out of, twice. But a very beautiful and peaceful walk
Terrain: Hilly, and steep in places. Some bushwhacking.
Distance: About a 3 mile, round trip hike, if you only do THE LONG TRAIL. 2 mile round trip for just THE SHORT TRAIL.
3-4 mile if you do both as a loop.



THE LONG TRAIL (5 Boxes)
At the Parking Lot get out, and go over and read the plaque. It tells a little natural history of the area. After reading, look on over to your left and you will see a big green box. About half way between where you are reading and the box, is a trail. You will be going down that trail to find the first box. This is a very open area, so be discreet when looking, and stamping, and re-hiding.

1). THE FOREST

CLUES:

Walk down the trail, until you come out into the movie amphitheater. You will see a table out in front of you in the middle of the benches. Go to the table. With your back to the trail, look ahead, and over in the woods, you will see a large grapevine coming up out of the ground and climbing up into the trees. Head over to that grapevine. In front of the vine you will see some clay tile pipe pieces. At the end of the light colored one, are some rocks. Remove the rocks, and down inside you will find a container. Inside you will find The Forest. Take it over to the table or benches to stamp and then carefully reseal everything and replace it back in the tile and cover with the rocks.
Now, go back to the parking lot and face the sign and look way over to your right, and across the road. You will find a sign that is marked Backpack Trail and one that is marked Bob and Mary Lou Paton Trail. This is the trail you are to take next.
This trail is a very popular trail, so all the boxes are hidden off the trail a little ways. Be cautious when you are searching and watch for muggles as you are stamping, and re-hiding the boxes.
You will be passing through a young oak/hickory, beech/maple forest. This is a very nice walk, and in Spring many migrant warblers could be observed here, plus you are heading out to a wonderful “cave” overhang, and a waterfall(If there is water coming down the stream). In the Spring there are many wildflowers along the trail and at the “cave”. In the Fall, when leaves are gone you will have a good view up the lake from this trail.


2). LITTLE TROUSERS

CLUES:

Cross the road and head out the trail. You will go down into a deep hollow and the trail is very uneven, so watch your footing. As you travel down this hillside, in Spring, you will see many beautiful wildflowers, including the letterbox’s namesake, along with Squirrel Corn, Toothworts, and Hepaticas, to name a few. At the bottom of the hill the trail will make a sharp turn to the left, and ahead you will see a footbridge. As you cross over this bridge look right and you will see an old tree trunk that has fallen down into the creek. The top comes up to the just below the bridge. When you get to the other side of the bridge go over to the base of this fallen tree. On the left side of the trunk, where it broke you will see a flat piece of this trunk. The Little Trousers can be found hiding under a piece of this flat trunk. Discreetly remove the box and stamp. Carefully seal and replace the it back where you found it and cover it back up.
Then continue on across the other bridge.
After crossing the second bridge, the trail forks. The left fork will be blazed with blue and yellow paint on trees, and the right fork has white blazes on trees. You will be taking the left fork for THE LONG TRAIL. The right fork takes you on THE SHORT TRAIL. It is possible to make a loop, but you need to be careful, as the crossover from blue/yellow to white can be tricky. Plus the directions, as given for both, are from this junction, out. I would suggest, that if you try to loop, go out blue/yellow(Long Trail) and come back white(Short Trail). If you are a good letterbox finder you will be able to “reverse” direction for the white with no problem and find all the boxes in one big loop. BUT, SEE CAUTION ABOUT THE SHORT TRAIL SAFETY CONCERNS!!!
Now on to the boxes.

3). WHO COOKS FOR YOUUUU..ALL

CLUES:

After crossing the second bridge take the left fork. This is a steep uneven walk so be careful. Once you get to the top, the trail is fairly level and easy walking. Continue out this trail for quite a while. Eventually you will see, on your left , an oak tree with a large growth on it, near its base. This tree did have two trunks but the one is dead. From this tree continue on out the path about 26 steps and on your right you will see another oak tree with a large faded yellow paint mark on it. Look up the hill and you will see another tree that has split into two trunks, then look on up and slightly to the right and you will see a tree with a heart shaped hole in the base. Who Cooks For You…All, is hiding in this hole. Remove it and take it someplace where you can do your stamping in private. Then discreetly replace it back in its hole.
Continue on down the trail to:

4). WOODY

CLUES:

After leaving Who Cooks For Youuu…All, very shortly the trail starts down a little grade and turns right. Look off to your left and you will see some rock outcrops, one of which has a "Devil’s Footstool" next to it. But you want to continue on the trail till it crosses a small creek.(It’s quite a ways on ahead) On the other side of the creek, as you come up the bank, look off to your right and you will see two large, old, rotting tree trunks lying on the ground(one fell one direction and one fell the opposite direction) with a pass between, at their root bases. Go up to the larger right hand base, and on the far side behind a rock you will find Woody. After carefully(watch for muggles) removing it, stamping, carefully replacing and covering it, continue on out the trail. Look at the beech trees around you and you will see many Woody holes in them and maybe you will spy the real Woody.

As you continue to hike on out watch carefully for a little side trail on your left, that has red paint patches on the trees. Take this red blazed trail to:

5). WHERE THE FERNS GO WALKING

CLUES:

This red trail takes you down into a “cave” area. It is a very beautiful spot and can have a nice waterfall when there is water coming down the stream and can have a very nice ice column in winter. As you come down into the “cave” the rock face on your left has many ferns growing on them, one of which is the unusual walking fern, for which this box gets its name. After viewing the “cave” and waterfall head back out on the trail you came in on, and as you come out,count five red blazes. At number 5, on your left, is the top of an old fallen beech tree. Follow this top back to the main trunk and onward till you see a large hole in it. Take your flashlight and look up into this hole and you will find Where The Ferns Go Walking.
After you record your success, head back to the main trail, and here you can make a decision. You can go back the way you came, or turn left and follow the trail(red, blue, yellow) till you see the red blazes going off to your right and up the hill, on what was once an old road. This will eventually bring you out into an old field and meet up with the white trail, where you can look for the boxes of THE SHORT TRAIL(but in reverse order).









Placed by: GSD 1
Placement Date: 3-31-2007
State: Ohio
County: Morgan
Nearest City: Glouster
Number of Boxes: 3

Difficulty: Hard. A long hike with a deep hollow to travel down into and out of, twice. Some bush whacking. But a very beautiful and peaceful walk
Terrain: Hilly, and steep in places.
Distance: About a 2 mile round trip for just THE SHORT TRAIL. 3 mile round trip hike for THE LONG TRAIL.
~3.5 mile if you do both as a loop.

THE SHORT TRAIL(3 BOXES)

Burr Oak State Park. Over 3000 acres of wooded hills and hollows, located in the beautiful foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in southeast Ohio. It is approx. 15 mi. SW of McConnelsville and 4 mi. NE of Glouster. There are several entrances to the Park. These boxes are located on the Lodge and Cabins side of the Park. Take SR 78 from either McConnelsville or Glouster till you come to the entrance to Burr Oak State Park Lodge and Cabins. Come down the road to the T-intersection and you will see a building and parking lot in front of you. Pull in to the parking lot and park.

Get out, and go over and read the plaque. It tells a little natural history of the area. Now look over to your right, and across the road you will find a sign that is marked Backpack Trail and one that is marked Bob and Mary Lou Paton Trail. This is the trail you are to take. There are two different, yet connectible, trails here.(SEE LONG TRAIL)
CAUTION!!!!!! The reason I separated these two trails, is that two of these boxes, 2 & 3, are located within the public hunting area of Burr Oak State Park. From just after Thanksgiving, to after the first of the New Year, is Ohio’s CRAZY MOON(DEER) SEASON. It would be advisable to avoid this area until this hunting season is over. If you choose to go, be sure to wear lots of orange and make a lot of noise and look all around you for hunters, their blinds and their tree stands.

You will need your stamp, ink pad, log book, flashlight, a compass, and rag to wipe your hands.


1). DON’T TREAD ON ME


CLUES:
Head out the trail and down into the hollow. You will pass THE LITTLE TROUSERS letterbox, and after crossing the second bridge take the right trail fork, with the white paint blazes. You will be going up a hill. Half way up this hill the trail makes a right turn and flattens out. You will have a level walk for a ways. Soon you will see a big rock on your left, next to the trail, with a small tree(elm) growing off it. From this rock go about 38 steps to a small dead tree(at step 20-21 you will pass by a large flat rock on the left, and at step 25-26 another big rock on your right). At the base of this tree are several rocks and on the tree is carved a big arrow pointing up(or straight ahead, however you want to interpet it). From this tree use your compass and take a heading of 144° and go till you come to a large rotting stump. On the backside of the stump is a large rock against the stump. Pull up the rock and Don’t Tread On Me is hiding there. Be careful in logging as you are easily seen from the trail. Replace everything and go back to the trail and continue on up the hill.
At the top of the hill, the trail goes out through an old farm field. Continue out through the field till you come to three Citrus × ​sinensis colored signs.


At these signs you will start out to search for:

2). The Olden Days

CLUES:

This is going to be a rather challenging box to find. There will be some bushwhacking and briars to contend with in your search. Now, standing with your back to the Citrus × ​sinensis colored sign that is farthest to your right, take out your compass and get a bearing of about 62*. Appox. 22 steps ahead you will be next to a little oak tree with green shotgun shells stuck in the branches. Now take a bearing of 65° and go about 57 steps(passing a larger oak tree) till you come to some sandstone blocks. From the sandstone block with the TRIMBLE brick behind it, take a reading of 116° and go about 26 steps to something that doesn’t belong in the middle of the woods. This object is the namesake for this box. From this object head at 154° for about 29 steps and you should be next to an old rotting tree trunk and stump. Look down inside the stump, and covered in leaves you will find The Olden Days. You are pretty safe, way back in here, unless some hunter is nearby, so you should be able to stamp in peace. After logging your find return to the sign and go off to find:





3). THE TIMBERDOODLE

CLUES:
Now go to the sign that says The Tanager Trail and head down
what was once the old farm road that came down into this old field. There are red paint marks on the trees to mark this trail. Go down this path a little ways and look on your right for a tree with the red paint on it and just on past it, a tree growing up through an old tire(about 15 steps).
Continue on down the trail pasing another small tree with red paint till you come to a tall tulip poplar tree on your left with red paint and two thumbtacks stuck in the red.(on up ahead you will see two small trees with red paint marks on each one). From the tall tulip poplar get your compass out and get a reading of about 15 degrees and in about 30-35 steps you should be real close to “1 that is 2”. From this point take a compass heading of about 45 degrees and you should see another “1 that is 2”, about 10 steps away. Go there and to the left of this “1(2)” you will see “1 that is 5”. Look behind this “1(5)” and you will find The Timberdoodle waiting to dance with you, under sticks and rock.
This old field is a favorite timberdoodle dance floor from mid Feb. till late Apr.
You are about equidistant from two trails here, so be very careful not to be seen from either. You can quickly do your stamping here, or go back out to the trail. Just be careful you are not spotted, this is a replacement box, as some muggles misused the first one.
When you are finished be sure to reseal, close and replace the box carefully back in its hiding place.
From here you can return the way you came or continue on the red trail to where it meets the yellow/blue trail and go looking for the Long Trail Boxes(but in reverse order).
We hope you have had a nice hike and didn’t find things to hard to negotiate. If you had any problem please let me know, or on weekends, tell the Lodge Naturalist about your (mis)adventures and box conditions.