Boxing Report: Goddard SP

Seems my life is so busy with work and grandchildren these days that letterboxing rarely makes it to the top of my list when making weekend plans so it’s been a while since I’ve spent an entire day out in the woods looking for letterboxes. But I do like to try and fit in a little boxing while away from home, just for the exposure to boxes from people I am less familiar with, so seeing as I’m out here in Rhode Island for a week and the weather is still quite pleasant for November, I decided to spend the day on the trails at Goddard State Park in Warwick.

I carefully plotted and mapped the day’s itinerary, including 3 series of boxes at the park, a couple boxes on the way down and a couple on the route back up. First stop on the way down was the Sherwood Forest? box in West Warwick. A quick find and I was ready for more. My next planned stop didn’t pan out so well — it was a series of urban boxes, admittedly not really my thing in the first place. Upon arriving at the parking area for the first box only to find an employee taking his coffee break at the very point where I was supposed to stealthily duck behind a concrete wall, I asked myself why I was wasting my time trying to sneak around in parking lots and between store dumpsters when the trails at Goddard State Park were waiting. Scrap that entire series and head to the park…

I arrived at the park and headed to the starting point for the first 3-box series. It was a planter I was not familiar with, but I liked the theme. After a bit of walking I easily located the first box. Unfortunately, the box had gotten wet and there was a soupy mess of green ink inside the box, and the stamp was broken into several pieces, some of which appeared to be missing as there was no way to fit together the three pieces in the box to form an image that resembled anything. Judging from comments in the almost-full logbook, the ink had been leaking and the stamp had been broken for quite some time. I stamped the pieces, cleaned up the ink as best I could with limited supplies, returned the box to it’s hiding spot and headed toward box #2 only to arrive at the end of the clue to find I had no idea where I should be looking for the box. In a wooded area full of pine trees and trees matching the description of a “bumpy Y tree” using those things as landmarks is a bit ambiguous, especially when there is no mention as to where one should be looking once they found the “lone pine tree.” I checked a few places that looked like possible hiding spots and then decided it wasn’t worth tearing up the area any further than the 15 letterboxers who had been there before me had already done and proceeded on in search of box #3. Again I was disappointed as I easily came to the indicated spot, only to find the woods so full of overgrown tangles of waist-high brambles that one could not possibly proceed. One for three in this series, I retraced my steps back to the vehicle and set my sights on the next series of clues I had with me.

Easily I found the landmarks leading to box #1 and felt a twinge of hope upon spotting the familiar green of a rubbermaid lid peeking through the leaves at the indicated spot, only to be let down once I realized the lid was not attached to anything. I hunted around the area for the rest of the box, but didn’t find anything. I left the lid so the next finder would realize they had found the spot and not tear apart the area looking any further. Box #2 in this series was easily spotted from the trail sitting under the indicated fallen log with no covering whatsoever. Excitedly I opened the box to find an unwrapped stamp and a couple pieces of paper that another finder had torn out of their logbook and left in the box. Disappointing, but at least there was a box. I stamped in and returned the box to its hiding spot, adding some bark and leaves as covering. The clues provided a pretty specific location for box #3 and upon arriving there, by the well-worn pathway along the length of the moss-covered log, it appeared that many others before me had also easily found the spot, but there was no box. One for three in this series also, I headed across the parking lot to the starting point for the next series.

The first box was easily found, although I had to double back to it due to a curious dog-walker who seemed to be following my every turn. Again, no logbook, only pieces of paper left behind by an earlier finder. Although the stamp was wrapped in this box, everything was together in a single baggie in need of replacing. As I had no extra supplies with me, I returned it as it was and proceeded up the trail. Finding a few places along the trail that matched the criteria for box #2, I checked them all — one place matched better than the others and judging by the trampled vegetation and leaves cleared away along the edges of the log, it appeared to have been thoroughly searched previous to my visit, but no box was found. By this time I was extremely frustrated and my feet were getting tired, so I abandoned the search for box #2, skipped box #3 (the clues had indicated this box was unavailable) and headed on to box #4. After checking all 5 instances of the “single white birch tree” that I came across, I found the box in the indicated spot lying behind a tree covered loosely with a couple of small twigs. Again a bunch of loose paper in the box and a need for baggies. I stamped in, put it all back and found a larger branch to cover it with when I put it back behind the tree. A bit disappointed — 2 for 4 on this series, 4 for 9 at the park — I dragged my tired feet back to the vehicle, having walked the entire trail system twice not being familiar enough with the park to realize the overlap of series.

I left the park and as it was beginning to get dark, decided to attempt only one of the two boxes planned for the route home. Upon arriving at the location, where the clues indicated I should park along the road at the end of a dead-end street, I was met with liberal postings of “no parking either side of street” signs. Deciding it unwise to illegally park my daughter’s vehicle while I trapsed down the beach in search of a letterbox in the near-dark, I turned around and headed home, ending the day finding only 5 of the 10 boxes I actually searched for. Of the 5 boxes found, there was 1 store-bought stamp, 1 crumbled stamp and 3 basic hand-carved stamps; 3 of the 5 boxes had no logbooks, just random pieces of paper left behind by previous finders; 1 was a mess of green ink and 4 were in need of baggies; 2 of the 5 boxes were exposed in their less-than-secure hiding spots. On the other hand, the park was beautiful and despite the disappointing letterbox findings, it was an enjoyable day on the trail.