I was sneaking around in the woods on top of Elk Mound (near Eau Claire, WI) on Sunday, looking for a
hiding place for this letterbox. I thought I'd found a nice spot, one of the few level places on top of
the steep hill, but then I walked a little farther. Not 10 feet away there was a suspicious-looking
plastic container. It was a geocache! Right near where I'd wanted to hide my letterbox! Well, my stamp
was already made and my box was ready, so I wasn't going to give up and go home, but now I had to
worry about hiding my box not only from casual hikers, drunken teenagers and wild animals, but also
eagle-eyed geocachers!

Setting off in another direction on the hilltop I encountered some mysterious flowerpots with plastic
bags over them - perhaps some kind of high-school biology experiment? Slug traps? Who knows? But
I'm sure someone would be back to inspect the pots periodically, so that area was off-limits, too. The
hilltop is not very large or flat on top, so I was worried it would be impossible to hide the letterbox
there.

Finally I found a decent hiding place. At least a letterbox doesn't have to be visible in the same way
that a geocache or a biology experiment does. If you follow the clues, you'll know exactly where to
look under the log, even if the box is completely hidden.

Has anyone else found themselves beaten to a good hiding place?

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Elk Mound Letterbox
Elk Mound, Wisconsin, Dunn County
placed May 27, 2002

Ascend the eponymous prominence. Stand for a moment of silence for the dead letter officers. Look to
your right around the corner for a place to sit. Continue slightly to the left - you're getting warmer -
but walk past this warm place a little farther to a fallen log. The letterbox is hidden at the end of
this log.

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Matt the Rat
Chicago