New Letterbox at Benham Falls near Bend, Oregon.

Benham Falls Interpretive Trail Letterbox, Deschutes River, Bend, OR

Placed 10/20/02 by The Nail Family

Level of Difficulty:
Clues- moderate, note taking and some calculations needed
Hike- easy, gravel path suitable to all ages with no obstructions.

Distance of hike: 1/4 mile.

Directions: From Bend, head South on Hwy 95 for appx 5 miles

Turn right at the Lava Lands Visitor Center but dont enter the Lava Lands Center parking lot (there is a letterbox at the Lava Lands Center as well, look for the clues on the Yahoo groups site to follow soon), instead head west down the road you turned onto. This road travels westward appx 4 miles to the Benham Falls Trailhead. Note: a Forestry Pass (visitors permit) is required to park at the trailhead, these can be purchased for $5 for the yearly pass at any Forestry Center.

The trail runs across a historic bridge and down a now defunct logging railway along the Deschutes River. This trail is very popular with mountain bikers as well as hikers and fishermen. The trail continues for appx 12 miles along the river and passes other falls as well.

The Letterbox is hidden along the 1/4 mile interpretive trail that runs upriver from the parking lot. This site, the parking lot and the interpretive trail area has been used by people for thousands of years. It was once used by a local logging company for company picnics. The area is also a well known takeout area for canoeists, kayakers, and rafters. Due to the danger of Benham falls, all watercraft are required to take out at this point when going down river. There is also the remains of a logging railroad dock where logs were removed from the river after being floated down from upstream and loaded onto rail cars to be transported to the mills in Bend. A historic remains of a mill is also on the trail where the logs were milled on site.

Clues:
Start at the parking lot and begin walking up the interpretive trail. Be sure to read all the interpretive signs to gather information to solve the clues.

The area above the falls has been used for______years.
In the year____, the Shevlin Hixson company began loggin operations here.
The logging company held company picnics at the site with as many as ____ people enjoying food, music, and dancing.
Shevlin Hixson sold their holdings to Brooks Scanlon in ____.
The first white man known to visit this site was Nathaniel J. Wyeth who reportedly came here in December of ____ while looking for one of his lost men.
The only feathered resident listed among the riparian inhabitants is the _____ ____ _____.
The old mill site measures ___ft by __ ft.


Now for the computations:
Take the number of years that Shevlin Hixson operated here and subtract that number from the year that Nathaniel J. Wyeth traveled thru the area.

Add the number of picnicers.

Subtract this number from the total number of years that people have been using this site.

Subtract the year that Brooks Scanlon bought out the other logging company.

Now add the smaller dimension of the old mill.

Subtract the larger dimension of the old mill.

Now divide this number by the number of letters in the name of the bird mentioned on the plaque (great blue ?).

Write down this number for future reference.

On to the box: