Kentucky Mystery Letterbox
Location: Somewhere in KY
Planted by: The Stantons
Planted on: November 24, 2002
Difficulty: Easy Clues to figure out, Difficult to get to




In the county where the monument to the President of the Confederacy stands
and the birthplace of the first Poet Laureate of the United States has a
museum, is a town with a somewhat musical name. Despite its fast tempo,
this town only has two roads. When you arrive at this intersection there
will be: On the Northeast corner are some woods, on the southeast corner is
a cow pasture, on the northwest corner is a house next to a ceramics shop,
and on the southwest corner is a house next to Jordan's Crossroads Grocery.



Take the highway west between the two houses (the ceramics shop and the
grocery). Follow this long and winding road 4.3 miles and you will see a
wide spot in the road and a very tall rock shooting up into the sky. It is
best to pass the wide spot and go another 10th of a mile into the parking
lot and then walk back to the wide spot to climb the steps.



There are many ways up the rock and you can choose any, depending on how
adventurous you are. You just have to get to the top. The directions here
are to go up the stairs, some of which are smoothed out rock and others are
cement blocks placed there. These stairs, which are visible from the
highway, go up about 60 feet. At the top, turn left and keep going up. This
is where it gets hard. There are no steps here but there are some blocks of
wood placed into the slope for gripping. For those of you who bring small
children or dogs, there is a five foot ladder in this section, so they may
need a boost up. (Always a pleasure with our 90 pound Lab.) When you get
to the top, you can see off to the left the remains of a ranger tower. This
is the highest point in three counties and was used for decades as a fire
watch tower. I recommend walking around the entire rock and taking in the
view, but if you are intent on getting to the box read on.



At the top of the stairs/climb, turn right and head across the rock. A dirt
path develops very quickly. Follow it heading north and west. At one point
you will have to jump down abut a foot and a half to stay on the path. It
will begin to curve to the left and open up into a large flat area. At the
far end of the flat area is a tree with a big hole in it and a rock painted
like an alligator. The tree is perfect for tying off your ropes to rappel
back down. Well, I guess you could take the stairs.



So now you are at Alligator Rock. Reach in his mouth. On the right side
are two rocks with a gap between them. The letterbox is behind the forward
of the two rocks.



Warnings: There is a 90 foot drop about 15 feet from the alligator. Please
stay away from the edge. This area is also ripe for clean up. Bring an
extra garbage bag and help haul someone else's mess out. If you come in the
summer bring plenty of water. The humidity is very high here and you can
dehydrate quickly.



Happy Hunting - John, Helen, and Ian



PS - If you email me before you go, we will be happy to join you and teach
you how to rappel - celticrelics@commandnet.net