Down Under Letterbox Series (5)
High Mountain Preserve Park
Placed by Wingfoot on 10/20/01
Wayne, Passaic County, New Jersey
Clues: Easy
Terrain: Moderate with one long climb
Time: 2 to 3 hours
HOW THIS SERIES CAME TO BE
I received a free stamp with an order of inkpads. The stamp was of a Koala
Bear. From that stamp came this series. There is one home made and four
manufactured stamps all with an Australian theme.
NOTES
Please be discreet, as some areas of this park are heavily traveled.
A map of the preserve can be printed from
http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/images/highmtnj.gif
There are literally dozens of unmarked trails here and the blazed trails have
many abrupt turns.
DIRECTIONS
The start point of this series is in Franklin Lakes New Jersey. From Route
208 take High Mountain Road to Reservoir Drive. On Reservoir Drive just
after the circle in the road on the left is a gated dirt road where this
series starts.
DOWN UNDER LETTERBOX
Start up the fire road. The white blazes start just up the trail. Start on
white blaze trail. Eventually you'll see a small tree on the left of the
trail with a blaze on it. You'll notice two big split trees behind the small
tree, the farthest tree has four trunks. From small tree go 3 paces at 90
degrees to big split tree. From that tree go 5 paces 140 degrees to a big
tree split into four trunks. In the cavity between the trees trunks under a
rock is what you're searching for.
KOALA LETTERBOX
Continue along white trail. You'll pass a tee box at the North Jersey
Country club. Stay on trail. After a sharp left in trail you'll come to a
sharp right in trail. Just beyond the right turn (straight up an unmarked
trail) you'll notice an uprooted tree. The trees roots jet nine feet in the
air. From the roots go 9 paces at 255 degrees to a dead tree with three
trunks. In a crevice at the base of the tree is what you're searching for.
Use a stick, juts in case.
EMU LETTERBOX
Go back and pick up white trail. Eventually you'll reach the red trail.
Take right on red trail. Take yellow trail on left of red trail. Eventually
you'll come to a tree on right of trail. Carved into tree below the blaze is
"Art is beautiful 4ever". The planter of this box did not make the carving.