Winter Blahs 2012 - Apocalypse Edition

Planted January 21, 2012

Peekskill, NY
Westchester County

These Boxes are planted with permission at Blue Mountain Reservation in Peekskill, New York.

This series was planted and designed for winter, searching for it at other times of the year will involve a fee to enter the park and some landmarks may be obscured.

When winter boxing, please consider wearing layers and good hiking shoes. Trails can be wet, muddy, frozen or all of the above. BE PREPARED!!!

OK READY? LETS GO!

At the Brown Entrance Booth of Blue Mountain Park – make a left at this "Y" and follow road past Trail Lodge to last parking Lot with Lake on Right. The starting point Trail head will be all the way at the end of this lot. Start at the "Dogs must be leashed" sign; this is the start of the Orange/Yellow trail.

Follow the trail until you come to the 4-brothers. Look left for the lightning split, go there to the lone cedar, look in lean-to cave in front of cedar for "Mayan Symbols #1" by SWGS.

Continue on this trail and look out on left for lightning destruction, go to it and about 5 steps from the stump within the charred remains find "Skull" by dmc.

Continue on this trail, the lake will be on your right, go over a culvert, pass a downed tree and look for a stone wall remnant on the right with big dirty tree roots behind it. In wall remnant on roots side halfway up find "Look Up" by MissMoon.

Continue on this trail. WATCH OUT! ICE!!! At the intersection of the Orange and Orange/Yellow trails, go right on Orange. Go over a bridge, when you come to boulders on both sides of the trail, stop. At approximately 220* you will see a tree, between its toes on the trailside will be "Goldfish Apocalypse" by RiverKat. You should not have to move the large wedge rock.

Continue on the Orange trail, it will bend to the right, over the top of the rise the trail bends to the right again, you will see a tuning fork over the trail, stop at the orange marker just before it. At approximately 45* go to a tree, on the opposite side from the 3 steps find "Mayan Symbols #2" by SWGS.

Continue on the Orange trail, carefully cross the stream, cross the pipeline and look for 2 rock walls on the left. To to the stacked rocks, go up the right side to a 2-sister silver birch, look to see where the "Forms of Gozer the Destructor: A Large and Moving Torb" by LightninBug lives.

Continue on the Orange trail, go through the stone wall, the trail winds, there will be water on the right, the trail turns sharply left and you will come into a low open area, as the trail bends to the right, there is a 2-sister tree, stop here. Look up to the left for Jimmy Durante's nose, look under the nose and find "Forms of Gozer the Destructor: Stay Puff Marshmallow Man" by LightninBug.

Continue on the Orange trail, go over the sad bridge, cross the rock wall and follow trail a little ways up the gas line, you can see Montrose Station Road here, go back into the woods on the right. On the right is a large tree, if you Geocache, there is a cache here at the base of this tree. Otherwise, ignore it and continue on. You will come to a "T", turn left on Orange, cross the gas line again, then climb over fallen tree and stop. Follow this tree to the end, look for stump of another fallen tree, between the stump and tree fall (about perpendicular to trail) is "Forms of Gozer the Destructor: That of A Giant Slor" by LightninBug.

Continue on the Orange trail, at the gas line, see rocks across the way on left, under the ledge in an obvious crack under a stone you will find "Mayan Symbols #3" by SWGS. BEWARE THE LARGE PRICKERS!!!

Continue on the Orange trail, cross a really sad bridge, you will come to a 2-sister tree with blazes on it, then a fallen tree with a cut out for the trail, then another 2-sister tree with blazes on it, stop here. Look left, almost in line from 2-sister to an 8' stump to a grotesque tree end, you will find "Celtic Swords" by bluebirdlover.

Continue on the Orange trail, when you come to the intersection marked #13, turn left onto the White trail, at the BIG BIG BOULDER on the right, under the corner facing the lake, you will find "Ancient Mask I" by dmc. PLEASE do not push box too far back.

(If you need to opt out at this point for any reason or want to leave the rest of the boxes for another day, you can get easily back to parking lot by continuing on the White trail.)

Go back to #13, continue straight on the White trail, the pond will be on your left, cross a downed tree, look up to the right for an ugly dead tree, look in the middle behind small sapling for "Globe Skull" by Kyra the Soccer Champ.

Continue on the White trail, it will become rocky going uphill, at the intersection marked #12, turn left onto the Purple trail, there will be a pond on the left, pass an ugly tree, cross a bridge, at an intersection, go straight onto an unmarked trail. Shortly on your left, look for a pointy rock, go to it, behind it in a log is "Mayan Symbols #4" by SWGS.

Continue on the unmarked trail, you will see a 2-sister warty tree on your right, go to it, walk along the mossy side of the rock outcrop until you spot a stump remnant, facing the remnant, to the right under the closest rock overhang is "Four Horsemen" by 3 Blind Mice, access the box under the tooth. NOTE: this is a 2 layer stamp, you want orange and black inks.

Continue on the unmarked trail, at the intersection with the Blue trail, look straight ahead to a stone wall, go to the large tree, behind tree there is a 6" tree, about 3' to the right, halfway up the wall is "The Stand" by MushrooM. "X" marks the spot...

Go back to the trail, facing the rock wall (with your back toward the trail you came from), turn right on Blue trail, when you get to #10 on a tree on the right, take the side trail to the left, go about 28 steps and stop. Look up at approximately 100* to a boulder with a tree growing on top. In the horizontal crack to the left find "The Seven Seals" by HikerGuyEd. The series logbook is in this box.

Go back to #10 and go the way you did not come, the trail will level out, when you come to a big fallen tree on the right, stop. Follow this tree to the tuning fork on the right, look under the fork for "Angel With Sword" by bluebirdlover.

Go back to the trail and go the way you came, at #10, go straight on the Blue trail. At the #6 pole, look approximately 338* to end of a dead tree, you will find "Ancient Mask II" by dmc.

Continue on the trail, pass rocks on the right, stop at tree marked with a red square and a green diamond. Go back about 10 steps, look left to a 5' stump, look in hole for "It Came from Texas - What if he Wins?" by LightninBug.

Continue on trail the way you did not come, at the "T" with the White trail (there is a tree here with a #5 on it somewhere) look right and spot a tree with a face on it, in a hole at the base find "Mayan Symbols #5" by SWGS.

To go back to the parking lot, from "T" turn right and follow trail all the way out.

Maybe you think your done... but it's a long walk from the trail to the far end of the parking lot... so look for a large jumble of glacial erratic rocks to your left. Walk behind them where there is a large moss covered boulder... look around here for a 2-trunk tree with one living and one dead... inside deadwood find R.E.M by Lulahe.

:)

Record your find at LbNA or AQ.

CYA ON THE TRAIL!!!!