Dan, Max and I headed north to New Hampshire this weekend with plans to hike
Mount Monadnock on our annual trip. Unfortunately we didn't realize that
dogs are not allowed on the mountain :( So after sneaking Max up the
Birchtoft Trail (great one, thanks Wanda & Pete) and passing dozens of
racers, then being yelled at that dogs weren't allowed, finally getting
almost to the Drew's Grand Monadnock #2 only to find the racers check in
station right by the box's intersection, we decided to turn back. We are
hoping to make a day trip of it within the next week. We decided instead to
go to Shieling Forest to find the Cinco DeEmma Maija box. Last year we
found the first box there and loved it. The forest is an easy, beautiful
walk, so we were anxious to return for another hike. Well, we had to go all
the way back to our campsite (I only brought the Monadnock clues) then head
back to Peterborough for the box. After about 5 minutes of walking we could
hear thunder rolling in quickly and decided to head back. Lucky we did
because a huge thunderstorm was just arriving with lots of lightening and
heavy rain. Since the storm moved in so fast, we decided to wait a while to
see if it would also pass quickly. Fortunately it did, and soon we were off
on our adventure. The clues were tough, but after maybe 10 minutes of
searching we had success!! Finally we had found a box!
Sunday on our way back to CT, we decided to take a short side trip to
Shirley Center and find the two boxes hidden there. We parked by the town
hall and spent a while exploring the beautiful and historic town green area.
After reading the two monuments we lined up our compass readings and found
the first box! It was in great shape with all its contents in tact and dry.
Next, we followed the clues for the Town Pound Box. This too, was nearby
and easy to find, but when I pulled the box out of its hiding spot, it was
empty!!! The only thing inside was a postcard with the stamp image on it.
The box was quite damp inside, so we are hoping the contents are at
someone's home drying out! We took the postcard to use the stamp image, and
wrote a note and stamped a seperate piece of paper which we left in the box.
Erik- Thank you for showing us this wonderful site! We drove by to see the
Bull Run Covered Bridge, but didn't get too close as there was a wedding in
progress.
Hope everyone had a great, dry, letterboxing weekend,
Melissa in a now cool, CT