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Hendy Hermit LbNA #43649

Owner:The Olde Oak
Plant date:Sep 28, 2008
Location:
City:Philo
County:Mendocino
State:California
Boxes:1
Found by: MO UR4Me
Last found:Apr 16, 2023
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Sep 28, 2008
Since hermits don’t usually give a lot of interviews not much is known about the Hendy Hermit who lived in Hendy Woods, a state park a few miles west of Boonville and the smaller Philo on Hwy. 128. I found this information in a 2001 article in the LA Times:


“During the 1960s and ’70s, the shady groves of Hendy Woods were home to Pitro Zalenko, known as the Hendy Hermit. Believed to be a Jewish survivor of World War II from the Ukraine, Pitro became self-sufficient by hunting small game and helping himself to blemished produce from nearby farms.

Several of his huts remain in Hendy Woods. One, a set of redwood planks over a hollow fallen tree, sits along the Hermit Hut Trail. A nearby display shows a picture of the hale, bearded Pitro in a flannel shirt and wool hat. Pitro died in 1981; his ashes were scattered in Hendy Woods.”


Anyhow, to find the Hendy Woods Letterbox drive to Hendy Woods following signs right off Hwy. 128. There will be a state park fee to pay. Keep driving until you reach the parking for both the day use picnic area and the beginning of the walk to Big Hendy Grove. Look for a way to the gentle giants and take off on foot. 1, 2, 3 and cross the bridge. Forget discovery and cross another bridge. Say, “Hey!” to Herb and make a left. Cross the fire road and stay on the trail to the Hermit Huts going up. Since you’re here explore the fallen tree hut for awhile. Now to find the letterbox itself stand right at the entrance to the hut and start back down the trail counting 34 steps. You will see a little path to the right. Take another 22 steps down this path and you should be standing next to a redwood tree to your right. The letterbox is hidden behind a flap at the base of the tree. Stand directly facing the trunk while on the path. On your left at the bottom of the trunk should be a smaller redwood, almost a sapling. Behind that smaller redwood, behind another small slab of redwood resting against the tree, behind the attached burnt bark should be the letterbox. Lift the flap carefully so it does not break away from the tree. Replace everything carefully when you are done so the letterbox is once again hidden away.

Thanks for coming. There is a small surprise for the first finder.