Sorry to say, this box eluded us today. We'd love to give it another
try someday soon. If the owner of the box is still an active member
of this group, please contact me. I'd like to get some clarification
about some of the clues which, when hiking the area, caused us some
confusion. The hike in was difficult, steep, and rocky. Not sure of
the accuracy of our hunt, we ventured off trail each time we spied a
pile of stones, or a rotten stump, scrambled up many outcrops, and
peeked and poked into several large stone juts. If we'd have found
the box, it would have been luck and certainly not our expert
orienteering skills. Going off trail in these thick woods was a
little disconcerting, but thanks to Katybug's good sense of
direction, we didn't have to depend on our compass too much. Thanks
to Lauren, Information Asst. for the Appalachian Trail Conference for
the perfect directions to the Montebello Fish Hatchery. The drive in
along the Blue Ridge Parkway was awesome.

We cut our last half mile to see Spy Rock in half when we were
stopped dead in our tracks by the back half of a rattlesnake lying
across the trail. The rattle was large, as was the portion of the
snake not covered by brush. I snapped a photo (thank goodness for
zoom lenses), and next time in, we'll peek and poke into stones with
sticks! I hope the box is still in place and that we soon get
another chance at finding it.

Kathy