Poet's Seat Tower letterboxes:
Greenfield, Massachusetts
Adam Orth
htro@valinet.com
first placed July 2002, but not posted until October 2002.

Hidden away in western Massachusetts is the sleepy town of
Greenfield. Once an industrial giant known as "Tap Town,"
Greenfield's current claim to fame is over-the-top property taxes and
its rejection of Wal-Mart. One of its most visible landmarks is Poet's
Seat Tower, which stands on cliffs overlooking the town. In times gone
by, residents used to hike up there to write poetry.

Now, you can too, thanks to the three boxes I've hidden along one of
the many trails near the tower. You can bring poems with you -- as I
did -- or trust to inspiration. Either way, please leave something for
others to read.

The tower is at the east end of town, accessible from Interstate 91 by
taking exit 26, entering the rotary and heading east on Route 2A. This
takes you though a traffic light, into lovely downtown Greenfield,
through a second traffic light, past the YMCA and the post office and
to the end of Main Street. Here the road splits, bear right. You will
drive a winding path but stay on the main road and then climb upward
to a stop sign and Mountain Road. Take a right and then prepare for an
almost immediate left into the bottom parking lot for Poet's Seat
Tower. There is a paved road that will take you right up to the tower,
but that's cheating. Park and get out. In winter and at night the gate
is locked.

Plan for 45 minutes to find all three boxes. If you keep a steady
pace, the whole trip takes about an hour. Bring bug dope. Unless
it's
winter, you'll need it.

Box number 1
Proceed through the gate on the paved road that goes up to the tower.
(Note: There might be maps on the sign near the gate. Snag one,
they're useful.) Just walk up the paved road a ways and look for a
wooden trail sign on your right, nailed to a tree. You should also see
a white diamond blazed on a tree marking the trail.

Head down the White Diamond Trail. It will descend a ways, and then
turn to the left. Keep your eye out for a large standing snag -- or
dead tree -- close to the trail. Which side, you may ask? Well,
there's only one right answer to that question.

(I'm 6 foot tall and counted 104 strides to the snag. My wife is
5-foot 2-inches tall and she counted 172 steps to the box)

Once you come abreast of the snag, you'll notice its top has broken
off and fallen to the ground nearby. I wonder what's hidden under it?

Box number 2
Having found the first box, head on down the trail. It will seem to go
on forever. It doesn't. You might notice passing a side trail headed
uphill. Ignore it and stay on the main trail. You'll likely hear the
river and get scolded by chipmunks along the way. Ignore them. They
have no idea where the boxes are. You're looking for a stone wall that
crosses the trail. The box is hidden in the wall, on the uphill side.
Which side you ask? Remember that right answer last time? Well, that
answer won't do this time.

Be careful. There's a section of old barb wire near the wall. Walk
uphill along the wall until you're halted by a clump of small trees.
You are hot, very hot.

Box number 3
Having found the second box, walk over the wall and head uphill along
it. You are now on a trail blazed with what I say is orange and my
wife says is yellow. Continue up this trail heading to your left and
crossing the wall again. After a while, you'll hit a trail that looks
like a highway in comparison. This is the Blue Trail. Take a left on
to it. Proceed up the trail until you come to a Y-intersection marked
by a low stump. Head to your right and you will encounter a rocky
surface and see open sky. Keep an eye out for another dead tree off to
your left as you walk up the rocks. It's in a small clearing
surrounded by trees, but you likely can't miss it. If you walk up the
rock far enough to see Greenfield spread out before you, you've gone
too far. In the fall, you'll see the tower at about the right moment
to look left and see the dead tree. Please return the bark I've used
to hide this box's hole at the base of the tree.

(A word of caution about this third box: There was a dragon nearby.
Well, OK, it was a garter snake. Either way, extract this box with
care, or make someone who loves you do it for you. Last time I
checked, the garter snake was gone. If a snake comes back, tell me and
I'll move the box so as not to deny it a home.)