Sugar Hill Letterbox

1 messages in this thread | Started on 2001-05-06

Sugar Hill Letterbox

From: Robert LaBelle (rll1924@linkny.com) | Date: 2001-05-06 20:23:37 UTC-04:00

SUGAR HILL LETTERBOX, SCHUYLER COUNTY, NY

State Forests crown many of the glaciated hills in the southern Finger Lakes. Sugar Hill, located about seven miles west of Watkins Glen, and giving rise to the Glen Creek that carved the famous gorge there, is among the highest at 2,100 ft. The Sugar Hill Recreation Area includes a campground with primitive facilities, field archery courses, the extensive Six Nations horse-trails and four lean-tos located on or handy to the Finger Lakes Trail. Snow-mobiling and XC-skiing take advantage of the greater depth and longer duration of snow cover at high elevation.

The Recreation Area is maintained by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Region 7, Bath, NY) and administered and policed by a local forest ranger. Area rules are posted in a new kiosk, and the fire tower can be climbed to, but not into, the summit cabin for a fine view above the trees of the south-central Finger Lakes. The gate controlling access to the summit and campground is usually closed from November through April but it’s only a ¼-mile walk. Camping is on a no-fee basis, but there are limits to duration and group-size.

DIRECTIONS:

At the junction of NY 14 and NY 414 in the village of Watkins Glen, proceed west on NY 409, turning up the hill at Milliken’s Corners (of racing fame) for a half-mile before bearing off to the right on CR 28. A mile farther, take the left fork that becomes CR 23. Continuing over the tracks and uphill until 6.5 miles from the village intersection, you’ll find a sign for the Sugar Hill Recreation Area at CR 21. Turn left (south) for one mile on CR 21 and then west again at another sign on Tower Hill Road to the top of the hill.

For an approach from the west, though less direct, the same CR 23 intersects NY 226 four miles farther west at Tyrone and continues on over hill and dale and between two little lakes toward Hammondsport and Bath. This is the western continuation of the historic Catskill Turnpike that provided an alternative route to western New York south of the Finger Lakes, when the region was settled after the Revolutionary War.

THE SUGAR HILL LETTERBOX

[A century and more ago maple sugar vied with cane as the sweetener of choice, and many came in season to set up camp and tap the native sugar maples on hilltops that had largely remained wooded.]

Placed by: Robert L. LaBelle

Clues: Easy

Terrain: Moderate

Hidden: May 1, 2001

CLUES

Having gained the top of the hill near the fire-tower, go first to the recently-built kiosk to read the Recreation Area rules and take in the handsome map of the Six Nations Horse Trails. It also includes the route of the Finger Lakes Trail, traced in white on the map; in the woods it’s marked with white blazes. A spur trail (blue-blazed) leads to the firetower from the FLT just a quarter-mile down the hill to the southwest near the twin lean-tos.

Nearby is a sign suspended between two posts and emblazoned "State of New York Department of Environmental Conservation / Sugar Hill Recreation Area". This is your starting point.

With your back to the sign, align your compass to 104 degrees and find, just visible between two closely-spaced trees, a spot of orange paint in the distance (78 paces). Arriving at the hydrant, take care now that the steel pipe does not affect your compass reading for the next leg. (You should stand apart from it, on one side or the other, and compensate for any resulting errors of direction or distance.)

Now at 130 degrees walk to the lonely white pine 36 paces away.

The new bearing is now 20 degrees, and 38 paces will bring you between two piles of spoil at the edge of the forest.

Trying not to focus on imagined dangers of leaving the relative safety of the clearing (and possibly the company of campers therein), bravely set out into the forest on a bearing of 50 degrees for 65 paces, stepped off with some difficulty through the forest litter.

The remnants of an old stone wall is encountered at a group of three maples of moderate size (remember the sugar saga ?); the letterbox you seek is hidden nearby. Success is so sweet !

This is the first letterbox (#1) placed by Cock o’ the Trail.