Stray Cat Strut LbNA #49532

Follow a stray cat's path to a hidden bit of forest in a mostly urban area.

You'll begin your search on Route 63 in Naugatuck CT. The clue is designed for you to begin parked at the Irving Gas Station across the road from the Hopbrook Golf Course. It's a good spot to park, maybe grab a bottle of water.

Cross the street and begin your walk southwards on the left side of the road. There's a nice wide shoulder/bike lane here, but be careful, it can be busy. The brook and golf course will be on your left.

Amble along and you'll pass Naugatuck Pediatrics on the left.

Soon you'll see three 'curve' signs. Between the second and third there will be an old stone bridge that crosses over the brook.

Count 36 paces from the far end of the bridge and stop. (If you come to the metal guard rail, you've gone too far.) Take a reading of 60 degrees with your shoulder to the brook...or just look left. There's a pine needle strewn area, and a path 7 paces from the road heads down between the bushes towards the brook.

The little path curves right, and then splits. Take the left fork - the whole thing's actually a very small loop, but you'll want the left side. The trail opens to the stream. Take a moment to enjoy this hidden little area. Then put your back to the stream and the tree with the long lightning strike hollow up its center. A reading of 210 points to a boulder pile in the embankment between you and the road.

Your prize is behind a door, in a triangular hollow between three small boulders.

Please be discreet. There's woods cover, but the golf course is still across the brook. I recommend going in summer, when the leaf cover is thick, or in winter when the course is unused. Watch for poison oak/ivy, and as always be careful putting your hands into dark crevasses.

There is no inkpad in this box.

You CAN treat this as a driveby if you wish; the shoulder is wide enough at the point of the trailhead to park.

Have fun and enjoy!