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A Jaunt in the Woods LbNA #32357

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 30, 2007
Location:
City:Hopkinton
County:Middlesex
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:1
Planted by:Phineas Spaulding
Found by: Honey Bear Clan
Last found:Oct 30, 2010
Status:FFFFFa
Last edited:Oct 5, 2015
Verified active as of 6/25/09.



A Jaunt in the Woods


· Time to complete: 1 – 1.5 hours.
· Target age group: 12 – 75.
· Degree of difficulty: 6 on a scale of 1 to 10.
· Operation of a compass is essential; also, rudimentary map-reading skills.
. Pick up a map at the Park entrance or the boat dock, but be warned that it does NOT show all trails or paths. There are also a few minor errors.
· A “pace” = one of my steps = 26 inches.
· All compass headings are magnetic unless otherwise noted.
· The magnetic variation (declination) for the Hopkinton area is 16º W.
· A pencil and paper will come in handy and, obviously, you’ll need a compass. A calculator might be helpful, also.
· To save time in the field you are strongly advised to read the whole hunt at home before you start – no sense lugging text books, computers, encyclopedias, sextants, GPS receivers, shovels, etc. through the woods.
· My e-mail address for complaints, suggestions and desperate pleas for assistance is: PhineasTS@comcast.net


The starting point is Parking Lot B in Hopkinton State Park, so gird up thy loins and look for the yellow stake with the black B. If you complete the walk correctly you’ll end up at the same lot, so you won’t have to search around for your car. However, if you can’t follow the directions, you may end up thousands of yards from Lot B with no idea of where to look for it. A few of my less diligent ‘boxers are still out there looking, so if you see some old geezers with long gray hair, looking lost and famished, give them directions or at least a sip of water.

Go to the NE corner and follow the trail in an easterly direction to a 3-way intersection. Go right if you see, to the south, a stake with the number “XXIV” and go left if the trail starts out on a heading of [(the no. of acres in a square mile) ÷ 2]º - 10º. If you see a short concrete marker in the middle of the trail near the Hopkinton/Ashland border, you’ll know you made the right choice, so do a little jig (we pirates like to do jigs in happy moments) before continuing to the next 3-way intersection.

Go left if it says “Swenson Trail,” right if it’s called “Caesar” or straight if you see another mid-trail marker. You’ll know you made another brilliant decision if you come upon another intersection with a trail bearing 325º to the left opposite another Hopkinton boundary marker on the right.

When you see a drinking fountain on the left, look for some numbers on a tree nearby and call the 3rd and 4th digits N. Take the trail that bears (N + 6)º and plug ahead until you arrive at yet another 3-way intersection. Gads, the Park is crawling with them!




If the one on the right is between CCXXº and CCXLº bear left 125º. Otherwise, go right. In either case, look for another intersection a short distance ahead and stand next to the tree in the middle. If the bearing of the trail on the right > [no. of pints in a gallon of tequila] x [XXIX - IV]º follow Julius’ favorite trail; otherwise, walk 60º to a hard flat surface. Turn left and walk next to the woods for 35 parallels until you see a stake with the 15th letter of Caesar’s alphabet plastered to its spindly frame.

Go there and follow the direction of the giant arrow for 42 paces, turn right and take up a heading of 120º to an abandoned water fountain. DO NOT try to drink from this fountain no matter how thirsty you may be. Instead, walk 140º to the start of a trail and follow that due east to another intersection. From the second tree in the middle go 180º if the Battle of Bunker Hill took place in July 1775. Otherwise, go east to a hard black surface and turn right.

Look for a Roman traffic sign intended to keep their wagons at a maximum speed of XXV m.p.h. to conserve oats. Discreetly check the top left corner of its backside and note a special Arabic code number which we’ll call A. Take up a heading of 150º to a white stake marking the start of a new trail and follow it until you reach another of those weird intersections.

Go left if the sun rises due east on the winter solstice; otherwise, go right 50 paces to an unnamed trail on the left. Go straight on a bearing of (A + 262)º if you see a large building painted in a non-primary color; otherwise, take your chances with a left. Whichever way you choose, follow the trail to another intersection.

Go left if its bearing > (the no. of sides of a gaff-rigged mainsail) x 18º; otherwise, go right. At the end of the trail go left if there are 1750 yards in a mile, straight if you're a Yankee fan, or right if the average temperature of the human body is 37 degrees Celcius, and proceed for several hundred yards until you see a large beige building. Go to the west side of that structure and read the digits next to NSTAR. Throw out all but the first two and call them Y. Continue in a westerly direction until you get to a Boat Rental sign and take a right.

At the first 90º bend look for a trail marker on a tree. If you see a number that’s equivalent to XCIX, call it R and save it for future use. Continue on the trail to a (gulp) 4-way intersection. Go right if the total number of degrees of the interior angles of a triangle = (Y + 99)º, north if there are 13 signs of the zodiac, and left if its bearing is close to (Y + 199)º. At the next intersection go straight if Rip Van Winkle slept 25 years; otherwise, go left. Pass several minor trails (not on the map) and continue to a major 4-way intersection.

Go left and walk P paces to a trail bearing (R + 111)º, where P = [(no. of beats to the bar in boogie-woogie music) x 2]. (Pirates often use this rhythm doing their jigs.) Take that trail for 75 paces and look for a large 3-pronged oak (used to be 5) about 15 paces off the trail on the right with a spindly birch growing out of its middle. Find your letterbox buried in the crotch.

Phineas T. Spaulding
Pirate First Class