MA - new letterbox in Berkshires: Eagle Ledge
MA - new letterbox in Berkshires: Eagle Ledge
Hello All,
We just returned from a great weekend of camping, hiking, and of course letterboxing! After finding a great hike yesterday we planted our first box this morning. The clues are below. Please let us know if you try it and have any feedback. We'd love to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Morgan's Family
Eagle Ledge Letterbox
Planted: July 22, 2002
Planted By: Morgans Family
Rated: Moderate
This box is on Eagle Ledge Trail in October Mountain State Forest, in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.
To get to the trail, youll need to get to the Lee campground within October Mountain State Forest: First, take the Mass Pike to the Lee exit (exit 2). Turn right onto Route 20 West to Center Street in Lee. From here follow the brown signs to the State Park. Right after going through the campground entrance there is a kiosk on the left that contains trail maps (we recommend picking one up, especially if youd like to hike beyond the box) and directs you to parking nearby the kiosk. Park either down here, or park closer to the trailhead. From here go up the hill to the upper campground area, you will pass the comfort station on your right. Keep going straight, you will pass a dumpster on your right. At the top of the paved road is the trailhead. There is a no camping allowed area up here with a picnic table that would be a nice place to have lunch; you could also park up here to get your start on the trail.
To the right side of the paved road is the trail entrance. It is not marked with a name, but it is very obvious and has a sign showing that motorized vehicles are prohibited (they are allowed on other trails within this Forest so please keep an eye out if you choose to explore more trails). Follow the blue blazed trail up a gentle hill. At the fork, go left to Tamarack Trail. Morgan likes to plunk, plunk across the streambed here. Continue on until you reach a T; go right at the T onto Eagle Ledge Trail. Your blazes will now be yellow. Morgan adds that if you have any members of your boxing party that are of the canine persuasion they will have a hard time concentrating on directions with all of the chipmunks to see and hear in this area! After a nice while of hiking through this beautiful terrain you will see a big rusty colored boulder to the right of the trail. About 30 paces from this big boulder you will see two downed trees staring at you. They and their friends are piled up like Lincoln Logs on the left side of the trail. Just beyond these trees is a stone wall. Proceed through the stone wall to the first big boulder on the left of the trail. Take a compass reading at this boulder: 243. Follow this reading to the place in the wall where the eagle hides. Stamp in and re-hide the box. You may return the way you came or continue on for a great hike. If you choose to continue on, you will be rewarded with some decent technical terrain including some vertical. If you dont have Morgan or another large canine with you to pull you up the hilly terrain, you will get a great workout! Again, we recommend a trail map if you choose to continue to explore, as this trail does not loop.
Re: [LbNA] MA - new letterbox in Berkshires: Eagle Ledge
----- Original Message -----From: morgan's familySent: Monday, July 22, 2002 7:49 PMSubject: [LbNA] MA - new letterbox in Berkshires: Eagle LedgeHello All,
We just returned from a great weekend of camping, hiking, and of course letterboxing! After finding a great hike yesterday we planted our first box this morning. The clues are below. Please let us know if you try it and have any feedback. We'd love to hear from you.
Best Regards,
Morgan's Family
Eagle Ledge Letterbox
Planted: July 22, 2002
Planted By: Morgans Family
Rated: Moderate
This box is on Eagle Ledge Trail in October Mountain State Forest, in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts.
To get to the trail, youll need to get to the Lee campground within October Mountain State Forest: First, take the Mass Pike to the Lee exit (exit 2). Turn right onto Route 20 West to Center Street in Lee. From here follow the brown signs to the State Park. Right after going through the campground entrance there is a kiosk on the left that contains trail maps (we recommend picking one up, especially if youd like to hike beyond the box) and directs you to parking nearby the kiosk. Park either down here, or park closer to the trailhead. From here go up the hill to the upper campground area, you will pass the comfort station on your right. Keep going straight, you will pass a dumpster on your right. At the top of the paved road is the trailhead. There is a no camping allowed area up here with a picnic table that would be a nice place to have lunch; you could also park up here to get your start on the trail.
To the right side of the paved road is the trail entrance. It is not marked with a name, but it is very obvious and has a sign showing that motorized vehicles are prohibited (they are allowed on other trails within this Forest so please keep an eye out if you choose to explore more trails). Follow the blue blazed trail up a gentle hill. At the fork, go left to Tamarack Trail. Morgan likes to plunk, plunk across the streambed here. Continue on until you reach a T; go right at the T onto Eagle Ledge Trail. Your blazes will now be yellow. Morgan adds that if you have any members of your boxing party that are of the canine persuasion they will have a hard time concentrating on directions with all of the chipmunks to see and hear in this area! After a nice while of hiking through this beautiful terrain you will see a big rusty colored boulder to the right of the trail. About 30 paces from this big boulder you will see two downed trees staring at you. They and their friends are piled up like Lincoln Logs on the left side of the trail. Just beyond these trees is a stone wall. Proceed through the stone wall to the first big boulder on the left of the trail. Take a compass reading at this boulder: 243. Follow this reading to the place in the wall where the eagle hides. Stamp in and re-hide the box. You may return the way you came or continue on for a great hike. If you choose to continue on, you will be rewarded with some decent technical terrain including some vertical. If you dont have Morgan or another large canine with you to pull you up the hilly terrain, you will get a great workout! Again, we recommend a trail map if you choose to continue to explore, as this trail does not loop.
Have a great time!
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