Set the alarm and was out of the house at 5:30 am to snag as many
letterboxes as I could before noon. Six full hours of letterboxing -
in the sunshine, to boot! I am *such* a happy camper!

Remembering Solor's report earlier, I came packed with replacement
supplies.

Lime Kiln - It's a good thing that I am not Indiana Jones. The "hot
spot" was covered, and I do mean *covered* with garter snakes,
sunning themselves. I had to gracefully shoo along about a dozen to
get to the letterbox. I replaced the inkpad.

On the way to Bolton Quarry - I took one small wrong turn and
discovered an "undocumented feature". I scaled a sheer roots and
boulders cliff only to discover - no more trail. I did take
advantage of the opportunity to sit and gaze at an algae pond below.
I'm so glad I took that wrong turn!

Bolton Quarry - I stamped three impressions of this stamp into my
logbook to remind me of the poison ivy! I replaced the ink pad and
the pen.

Whitcomb Garrison - I was laughing hysterically when I realized that
I was pulling into the driveway of one of my best friend's house!
This letterbox is on her front lawn! Of course I took advantage of a
coffee break. I also replaced the ink pad in this box.

Time to Go Fishin' - My very first "first find"! There was no pen in
the box, so I put one there. This trail literally hugs the shore of
the reservoir, on a trail that is cut into the side of a steep steep
hill. The best part about searching for this letterbox was the one
small misstep that I took - which sent me sliding down about 10 feet
worth of mud and plop! right into the water! I laughed like a loon.
That was fun!

Happy Birthday - I would have to describe this one as "the good, the
bad, and the ugly. Followed the clues to the correct spot. The
clues lead you to believe that the letterbox was hidden in or around
an ancient stone wall next to a dead tree. I found the spot, and
stopped in sheer horror. An approximately five foot section of that
ancient rock wall was completely disassembled and strewn all about
the place. I no longer cared about finding the letterbox (which I
didn't). It's a good thing that I go to the gym, because it took me
about 45 minutes to try to reassemble the rock wall as best as I
could guess to its original appearance. Lichen side up, overlapping
rocks where there were clear overlap marks. Several bright orange
slugs watched me work which cheered me up. I finally finished, and
got down on my knees in front of the wall, silently apologizing to
it. Then, from behind me, about 10 feet behind me, I heard a very
loud, very deep "chuff". I froze, remembering all the dog stories.
My mace was in the front pocket of my bib overalls. I slipped it out
and unfastened the safety. I sloooowly turned around - and came eye
to eye with the most beautiful deer I have ever seen. Absolutely
gorgeous. We stared at each other for nearly five minutes (can you
believe it?) before the deer gave another "chuff" (? goodbye) and
bounded off deeper into the forest. Absolutely breathtaking.

So here I am, muddy, wet, bloody knuckles and elbows, three broken
fingernails, a bazillion mosquito bites, and a crop of poison ivy
soon to erupt (I just know it).

AND I AM ECSTATICALLY HAPPY! I love letterboxing.

Warrior Woman

p.s. I will contact the placer of Happy Birthday.