Happiness at Hartman LbNA #9265
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Add Location| Owner: | DrewFamily    |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Sep 11, 2001 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Lyme |
| County: | New London |
| State: | Connecticut |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Nairon |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Sep 5, 2020 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFFFFFOFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Sep 11, 2001 |
Your search today begins at Hartman Park, on Gungy Rd in Lyme, CT. Trail maps are available on the trail and in the latest edition of "50 Hikes in Connecticut." This jewel of a park belongs to the town of Lyme and the trails were created by a lovely pair of women with an amazing eye for contour, MPf and Jeanne. Hartman Park is maintained by volunteers in the hiking, birding, and cycling communities. There is also a terrific children's letterbox hidden here. The trails are extremely well laid out and marked, providing some of the finest small-park hiking and mountain biking in the East. This search will take two to three hours covering 4 miles of hilly terrain: the box was placed by the Drew family, Ned, Ariel, Maya, Caitlin, Margaret, and Jay. Enjoy!
(Note: this is one of our earliest letterboxing attempts and by our standards today the clues are quite vague. We recommend you start early and be sure to get and follow the trail map as you go. Still, it's well hidden and we maintain it regularly, so it is likely to be there for you. And the stamp is one of our favorites.)
After parking and taking a look at the map located at the trailhead, begin your travels on the trail at 095°. At the fork, head north and cross the Park Road to regain the trail. Bear right to find The Schoolhouse. Collect a map and sign in to the visitor's log (be sure to mention letterboxing!).
Find a trail to the east of The Schoolhouse and hike to a fork, choosing the trail at 195°. Work uphill using the switchbacks and through a stone wall, continuing up and straight through an intersection until you discover an old farm site with walls and foundations. Branch south and climb again.
Turn onto a heading of 140° and enjoy a smooth section known for songbirds. Follow the fork at 120°, crossing a small bridge and then a Big Scramble. Catch a breath at the top, and then twist through a laurel tunnel to a beautifully gradual ridge traveling generally north.
Fork onto 055° and cross an open area with the chance of a buzz and a buzzard. A small rock on the right gives a wonderful view. At the farther edge, regain the forest on a trail heading north and follow it to a short steep descent. Take either of the more northerly trails to pass an almost-champion maple on your left.
Then go left, westerly, through beech and fern and glacial wash to skirt a ledge, staying at 030°, climbing and folding back and then choosing again the more northerly path. Step, trying not to stumble, along another ridge looking for the blood of happy mountain bikers and the wisdom of forgotten farmers with their inexplicable wall. Cover a gentler stretch to the opposite ridge, and without seeing a fork, find yourself curving southward.
At a T, turn to 300° and again move northwards, shouldering your ridge to the right, with roots, moss, fern, and laurel. Then cross to yet another ledge, and choose either course: they meet at the top to head at 300° and pass over (or around - your choice) a small escarpment.
Meander towards the west and emerge in a half-acre of Connecticut slickrock, smooth granite and schist, and find a natural seat to rest near a small cairn. You are so close!
At the cairn, with a baby one-ton erratic bearing 145°, follow the slickrock along a bearing of 055° through strangely stunted oak and past another baby erratic, bushwacking just a little and trending lightly to the right, where a stone wall waits in the forest.
Here you'll find a hidden secret in the woods, with stamps, and with delighted notes from friends who share a quiet satisfaction in accomplishing a small and unimportant feat. Join them, and stay a moment, and then regain your trail with its distinctive markers, following them closely over a pleasantly direct and surprisingly level twenty minutes to the place where your adventure begins again.
(Note: this is one of our earliest letterboxing attempts and by our standards today the clues are quite vague. We recommend you start early and be sure to get and follow the trail map as you go. Still, it's well hidden and we maintain it regularly, so it is likely to be there for you. And the stamp is one of our favorites.)
After parking and taking a look at the map located at the trailhead, begin your travels on the trail at 095°. At the fork, head north and cross the Park Road to regain the trail. Bear right to find The Schoolhouse. Collect a map and sign in to the visitor's log (be sure to mention letterboxing!).
Find a trail to the east of The Schoolhouse and hike to a fork, choosing the trail at 195°. Work uphill using the switchbacks and through a stone wall, continuing up and straight through an intersection until you discover an old farm site with walls and foundations. Branch south and climb again.
Turn onto a heading of 140° and enjoy a smooth section known for songbirds. Follow the fork at 120°, crossing a small bridge and then a Big Scramble. Catch a breath at the top, and then twist through a laurel tunnel to a beautifully gradual ridge traveling generally north.
Fork onto 055° and cross an open area with the chance of a buzz and a buzzard. A small rock on the right gives a wonderful view. At the farther edge, regain the forest on a trail heading north and follow it to a short steep descent. Take either of the more northerly trails to pass an almost-champion maple on your left.
Then go left, westerly, through beech and fern and glacial wash to skirt a ledge, staying at 030°, climbing and folding back and then choosing again the more northerly path. Step, trying not to stumble, along another ridge looking for the blood of happy mountain bikers and the wisdom of forgotten farmers with their inexplicable wall. Cover a gentler stretch to the opposite ridge, and without seeing a fork, find yourself curving southward.
At a T, turn to 300° and again move northwards, shouldering your ridge to the right, with roots, moss, fern, and laurel. Then cross to yet another ledge, and choose either course: they meet at the top to head at 300° and pass over (or around - your choice) a small escarpment.
Meander towards the west and emerge in a half-acre of Connecticut slickrock, smooth granite and schist, and find a natural seat to rest near a small cairn. You are so close!
At the cairn, with a baby one-ton erratic bearing 145°, follow the slickrock along a bearing of 055° through strangely stunted oak and past another baby erratic, bushwacking just a little and trending lightly to the right, where a stone wall waits in the forest.
Here you'll find a hidden secret in the woods, with stamps, and with delighted notes from friends who share a quiet satisfaction in accomplishing a small and unimportant feat. Join them, and stay a moment, and then regain your trail with its distinctive markers, following them closely over a pleasantly direct and surprisingly level twenty minutes to the place where your adventure begins again.