Mount Hope Letterbox
Mount Hope Historic Park
Placed 07/04/01 by Wingfoot
Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey

Hunt this box at your own risk.

Clues: Easy
Terrain: Easy with several short climbs
Time: 1 hour

Directions

Route 80 exit 35. There are small road signs directing you to the park that
is on the north side of Route 80.

Mount Hope Historical Park was once booming iron mining and processing site.
Mining operations reportedly started in this area as early as 1710, and it
was mined up until 1958, almost 250 years. Three separate veins of ore were
mined on the property, known as the Brennan, Mount Pleasant, and Richard
veins. The veins run in a southwesterly to northeasterly direction. There
are dozens of mine subsidence pits here, as well as abandoned railroad tracks
used by mule drawn trams, ruins of several old buildings and long forgotten
electrical poles.

Important Note

Before setting out for this letterbox always keep in mind that you must
remain on the marked trails. It is very important to stick to the marked
trails, as there are mine shafts and subsidence pits here! Some of the
unmarked trails lead up to the Picatinny Arsenal, which is strictly off
limits. You will have no problem as long as you stick to the marked trails.

Obtain a trail map at parking lot if available.
Sign points to trails, follow trail for a bit then take the red trail.
When red trail splits, take right fork.
Eventually you'll come to the orange loop trail, take right fork.
Eventually orange trail will begin to descend, continue to follow trail.
Eventually you'll come to a small tree on the right of the trail with an
orange blaze on it, directly behind the small tree is a huge tree. The huge
tree has a blaze on it used if you were coming in the opposite direction.