Announcing the The Bassackwards Letterbox!

I tried posting this on the website, but it kept giving me errors and
wouldn't let me post it. This is our first box planted and we are so
excited! We really enjoyed this hike. This is our first time
writing clues, and we hope they make sense!
State: Maryland
County: Frederick
Nearest City: Thurmont
Placed by: The Basses on August 3, 2003

Difficulty: Moderate - Some steep sections of trail and some loose
rocks (wear good shoes), but basically if these two couch potatoes
can do it, you should be fine! I think there was a sign that
said, "No Pets," but I'm not definite.

Cunningham Falls is located in Thurmont, just off of Route 15. Go to
the William Houck Area of Cunningham Falls State Park, off of
Catoctin Hollow Road. After paying your $2, drive towards the lake,
passing the first parking area for the lake beaches on the right.
Soon after, you'll see a small parking area on the left with a sign
that says "Parking for Hiking Trails to Falls." There are two trails
here. You want the road less traveled on the left. Begin your
ascent. This trail is marked with yellow blazes. While hiking up,
herds of deer regarded us cautiously around nearly every turn!
After hiking up for a little while, you'll notice blazes and markers
for other trails. The path becomes marked with both yellow and blue
blazes. Just keep following those yellow blazes. Soon, you'll see
an orange blazed trail heading off to the left, and your yellow trail
makes a right turn and you start downhill. Shortly after you start
travelling downhill, the path makes a sharp left and goes right past
a large fractured outcrop of rock. From a distance it almost looks
like stone ruins. Up close, it looks like a giant 3-dimensional
jigsaw puzzle made of stone. There is a deep gap between the rock
and the trail, but it is accessible just to the right. Stand on the
highest point of this flat-topped jigsaw puzzle. Nice view! Off to
the right, we saw two little fawns nestled in the underbrush near the
edge of the "cliff."
(Standing here, if you turn around you'll see 3 trees with yellow
blazes behind you, and the opening in the rock should be between you
and the path you just came down.) Shoot a bearing of 310 degrees.
Across the path, going downhill below you, note a smaller rock
outcrop with a large maple tree (about 2 feet in diameter) directly
behind it. Walk down to that rock and stand on it, with the tree
right in front of you. A little to the left (about 280 degrees)
you'll see a large rock with an overhang. The box is wedged under
the overhang, hidden behind some smaller rocks. Be careful reaching
under, as there were several spiders hanging around (particularly a
large black and yellow one - eeek!) Use a stick or gloves to clear
the way. Please be discrete, as you are not far from the trail, and
please re-hide carefully, since the box is visible from both sides.
While hiding the box, a red fox climbed up the hill not 10 yards away
from us!
Now continue down the trail and admire the falls. If you hike down
the falls, you can take the Lower Trail back to the parking lot.
Unfortunately, the sun was setting, rain was falling, so we had to
beat feet back the way we came! Hope you enjoyed the hike as much as
we did!