“LURAY BELL TOWER”, HW3278.

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… HW3278, Page County, VA N 38° 39.805′ W 078° 28.728′

… Zhanna holds the letterbox. The plaque dedicating the tower to Belle Brown Northcott is behind her.

… A closer view of the letterbox.

“SKYLAND B”, AI5757.

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… Looking NE toward Stony Man Trailhead.

“119 MLS”, AI5758.

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… Eyelevel view of mark set in top of step.

“118 MLS”, AI5759.

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… Looking W down to Skyline Drive.

… On a beautiful blue-sky day, Rich looks out over the landscape from Crescent Rock.

… Zhanna relaxes at windy Crescent Rock.

… Zhanna sits on a cold stone wall along the trail, with Lewis Falls in the background.

… Looking at Lewis Falls from a small alcove.

… Almost lost among all the bright colors!

… Zhanna and Rich set out along one of Big Meadows’ grassy trails.

… Rich stands in this lavender-colored miniature grove.

… A big, sunny meadow with lots of places to play … few things are more thrilling!

… Hiking through tall grass …

… Rich loved the bright white of this birch tree against such a colorful background.

“789+00 TEI”.

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… Looking NW toward Skyline Drive and the Byrd Visitor Center.

“MP”.

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… A wider view showing more of the lovely, colorful scenery.

… On our last trip along Skyline Drive, Rich noticed this bear cub foraging in the weeds!

We began our day with a search for benchmark NA0423, right in the heart of Palenville. A search for two other marks along Route 23A (NA0426 and NA0427) was not so successful. We then continued up the highway, managed to find a parking spot and hiked through the cool woods toward the falls. Dodging tourists and teenagers hanging out at the base of the falls, we made our way to the boulder and found “S. Root” without any trouble. We followed the clues and within a minute Rich was pulling the letterbox out from its hiding spot. No one seemed to be paying much attention as we stamped in, even though there was a family posing for photographs a little too close for my comfort. The rest of our day was spent exploring the falls en route to the Kaaterskill Falls geocache; Rich’s log and my log detail the entire adventure thoroughly.

Another fiercely guarded mark! Well, we found the mark without being seen, but I’d advise against wandering on the grounds of the old library unless you want to be screamed at by a nasty teenage “princess”.

Here’s the first bit of information we need to find the letterbox. I’m standing near the carving referenced in the letterbox clue.

Found it. Good job, Rich! Now come the tricky logistics of stamping in without drawing undue attention.

When I come across a spot like this just a few minutes into a hike, I know it’s going to be a great day!

Can you find this carving? Hint: follow the high road under the falls, then take the trail down toward the water. It was the oldest dated carving I saw to this point.

Rich looks tiny standing before these great falls.

I found this ledge behind the falling water to be a very relaxing place. It might have been a nice spot for a picnic!

Rich prepares to take a flying leap over the falls!

I really don’t want to leave this place.

While we were hiking on the fire road past Helispot, the sky got very dark and rain felt imminent. There were some sprinkles while we walked on the Turquoise Trail, but then the sun came out again. By the time we reached Sunfish Pond, it was very warm. I was able to talk Dad and Aaron into taking the Dunnfield Creek Trail back to the parking lot; I was curious what it was like since I’d never hiked the entire trail before. Well, let’s just say it’ll be many years before I live this down. The trail is long, steep, extremely rocky, and involves several stream crossings (if you recall, Aaron despises those). [I thought it was great.] Anyway, we reached the first crossing and it didn’t pose much of a problem. There were some boulders to cross on and their top surfaces were all above the level of the water. But then we came to a sign that indicated there were two stream crossings ahead, and that there was a detour on a higher level to take when the creek is high. We didn’t know just what they meant by “high” so we tried the lower trail with the crossings. We ended up taking off our boots and wading through both times (along with a French-Canadian family who happened to be there at the same time). It felt great to me – my feet were hot anyway – but the guys didn’t love it so much. And while at the second crossing, it began to pour. We were soaked within about 15 seconds, and it really didn’t let up at all until we reached the AT near the parking lot. We had a few dry moments, and then not only did the pouring rain return, but thunder and lightning were right overhead, as well. We weren’t far from the car, though. Dad had been interested in seeing the cave, but not in the pouring rain. It’s too bad we didn’t go beforehand as I’d hoped to, but then we would’ve been out later on the trail and would’ve gotten even wetter.

For dinner, we went to the Barley Creek pub that Rich and I (and Dave, once) went to after our rides a few times. I didn’t realize how hungry I was till I started eating. I had Jalapeno Poppers, some Lava Fries (really too hot for me), the Fish and Chips, and, for dessert, the Key Lime Pie I’d been mooning over all summer but had never tried. And I had the barley wine that I really like. It rained most of the way home!

Dad and Aaron stand in the Dunnfield Creek parking area, ready for adventure!

Looking south along the Delaware, toward Arrow Island.

Zhanna and Aaron high above Interstate 80, and loving it.

Looking across the Gap at Mt. Minsi. (There’s a letterbox on that mountain, too.)

Aaron looks to greater heights while Dad appears to be in pain.

A simple letterbox, in excellent condition. There was a nicely carved DWGNRA stamp to add to my notebook.

Dad rests on the ledge near the summit, looking out over the river and the highways.

It’s been an extremely wet summer and fall, just perfect for mushrooms. We saw plenty on our hike.

From 1950 through the early 1960s, Assateague Island was not the quiet wilderness you see today, but rather an exciting prospect for developers and speculators. Attempting to capitalize on the trend toward owning seaside real estate, developers divided the land into thousands of lots, created a street grid and paved a 15-mile highway they called “Baltimore Boulevard”. Desiring a bridge that would link to the mainland and offer easier access to the new estates, one of the land interests sold several hundred acres of its property to the State of Maryland; Maryland thereby obtained the land they’d been seeking to build a State Park on the island, and the developers got their bridge in 1961. The future looked bright for the landowners, but disaster struck on March 6, 1962, when a coastal storm ravaged the barrier island. Of the few structures that had been built, most were destroyed. Baltimore Boulevard was torn up and washed out in some spots, buried deep beneath the shifting dunes in others. This did not deter everyone, but over the next several years most developers reluctantly abandoned their dreams for Assateague and moved on to other ventures. They realized that the changing nature of the barrier island was simply unsuitable for permanent development. Meanwhile, as it had been doing for decades, the federal government was pushing to take over land on Assateague to be named a National Seashore. Resentment and hostility grew between private and government interests but the Park Service eventually won out, and the Assateague Island National Seashore was created in 1965.

Read the full administrative history of Assateague Island (very detailed) …
See a map of Assateague Island (PDF, 479KB) …
Visit the Assateague Island National Seashore NPS site …

The Letterbox

The “Dunes Letterbox” is not located among the fragile dunes of Assateague Island, but is actually a short distance away along the Life of the Forest trail. The flies and mosquitoes on Assateague are legendary, and they were attacking with gusto the day we visited this letterbox, so much so that we didn’t even try to take any photos while searching for or logging the box. (We even had to postpone our search for the Seahorse Muscle Car letterbox, which is very close by.) We’d already wandered on the desert-like Life of the Dunes trail, so my photos come from that environment instead.

This short stretch is the only remnant of Baltimore Boulevard that still looks like a road, if viewed from the right location.

In most places there’s nothing left but these odd chunks of black tarry asphalt rising from the dunes.

I doubt it’s authentic, but this street sign indicates the former path of Baltimore Boulevard through the dunes.

“OCEAN CITY 66TH ST WATER TANK”, HU1254

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… Maryland Department of Transportation Landmark/Intersection Station OCEAN CITY 66TH ST WATER TANK

“Z 103″, HU0372

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… The 64th Street Shopping Center sign and guard posts, with the location of the mark indicated. The 64th Street Shopping Center sign and guard posts, with the location of the mark indicated.

“TEAL AZ MK 2″, HU1257

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… This vehicle was parked within inches of the mark.

“C 104 RESET 1976″, HU1172

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… The mark is hard to spot, but it’s right where the description specifies.

“OCEAN CITY 15TH ST WT TK”, HU1252

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… Maryland Department of Transportation Landmark/Intersection Station OCEAN CITY 15TH ST WT TK

“D 104″, HU0368

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… Looking east from Philadelphia Avenue.

“TIDAL 6 STA 1″, HU0267

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… The Atlantic Hotel and chimney, looking southeast from Somerset Street.

“SPEICHER”, HU0266

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… A little observation deck has been built adjacent to this part of the seawall.

“LINDENSTRUTH”, HU1521

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… Looking southeast at the end of the wall.

Zhanna and her bike, near the dock at Mulberry Landing.

We found some of these beautiful rose-mallow flowers down by the water near the duck blind.

Hey, it’s Aaron and the CRUISER! Somehow he got this thing up to 16mph.

Aaron rests with the letterbox at a picnic table at Mulberry Landing.

I loved riding on these sandy roads and trails through the tall pines and sweet gum trees.

“C 29 RESET 1977″, HU1222

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… NGS Bench Mark Disk C 29 RESET 1977 N 38° 32.690′ W075° 05.636′

“B 29″, HU0139

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… The disk is just to the left of the main doorway.

“E 30″, HU0140

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… Looking west along the bridge and Route 26. The mark appears on the far end.

“A 29″, HU0141

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… View looking west, showing brick house and utility pole BJ 10.

“GPS S 1″, HU2670

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… View to the west. A wooden stake wrapped in faded flagging tape lies near the mark.

“GPS S 1 A”, HU2671

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… Looking south on Hidden Acres Drive. The witness post is still in place next to the stop sign at the intersection of Hidden Acres Drive and Omar Road.

I was drawn to these salmon-colored trumpet flowers that lined the driveway through the park.

I knew we were looking for some red barns!

And this must be the little white building.

Poke around behind the building, and you might find a little box!

No ducks today, but we did encounter this tiny frog camouflaged in the dry grass.

There’s an observation tower that we encountered further down the road. If you climb it (it’s breezy up there) you’ll be treated to views of the ponds and saltmarshes of southern Delaware.

Near the parking area you’ll see this odd graveyard; the headstones rest on a concrete slab!

“C 28″, HU0100

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… The mark was easy to spot.

“BETHANY BEACH MUNICIPAL TANK”, HU1397

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… The water tower in the process of being taken down …

This is the view from the porch of the crumbling shack. It was a beautiful, sunny spring day.

This shack has seen better days, but it was still a really neat structure to explore.

We noticed this beautiful swan on Ghost Lake.

The furnaces were one of the neatest spots I visited this fall (not that I got to go very many places because of all the rain and snow). Aside from their historical interest, I loved the geometry of these structures and the way the light fell in and around them, especially as the hour grew later.

We took a “wrong” turn while looking for the Lock Ridge Park geocache and headed down along the creek for a bit. The bridge is much more interesting seen from this angle than from the top!

Inside we found the usual logbook and stamp, but this letterbox contained a few other interesting things as well. There were some little cards with letters on them that are to be logged at mapsurfer.com. I’d never seen these before. Also included was a hitchhiker stamp “commemorating” the confiscation of 5 California letterboxes.

We went to explore the furnaces further after locating the letterbox. The afternoon sun was sinking fast, and the wind was picking up at this point.

Time for a snack break. What in the world was going on at this McDonalds? We figured it’s meant to connect to a parking lot of an adjoining business (that doesn’t yet exist), but you have to admit it looks pretty bizarre heading into the field like that. Maybe it’s the “livestock” entrance.

Zhannich at the second overlook on Mount Minsi. That’s Mount Tammany in the background. There’s a letterbox and several geocaches over there; I’ve found the caches, but I haven’t looked for the letterbox yet.

Fall view from the powerline cut very near the letterbox. Too bad those powerlines are there!

The letterbox itself. It was pretty easy to locate, and is in great shape after almost four years! It will need a new logbook soon, though.

The view from a little further up the trail. No powerlines this time.