Spirit of the Lake

 
This letterbox was originally created for the 2004 Great Lakes Letterbox Gathering held at Morraine Hills State Park, McHenry, IL on June 12, 2004. The box was replanted in its permanent spot in Michigan, with the original stamp and logbook in July 2004.

Clues…

As Sherman and his dog, Nugent, walked toward the lake, they passed the entrance to Idlewild. Sherm fondly recalled summers he had spent with his grandparents in the neighboring beach community of Winnetaska. Mindlessly he began humming the song written so many years ago by Douglas Malloch, one of Winnetaska’s renowned residents.

As they crossed through the parking lot and headed down the boardwalk toward the beach, he listened to the whisper of the wind in the trees and the clapping of the waves hitting the shoreline, and thought how fitting the words of the song, “The whisper of the forest tree, The thunder of the inland sea…” They certainly captured the spirit of the lake that stretched endlessly before him. The poet could have been standing in this very place when he so eloquently penned his tribute.

He turned and started back up the boardwalk, the words of the song still running through his mind as he headed off to hide the letterbox.

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One Tin Soldier

(the return of Billy Jack Beale)

 
Now they stood before the treasure, on the mountain dark and red,
Turned the stone and looked beneath it, “Peace on Earth was all it said.”

Clues…

On a cold and rainy evening in November, the brave one-legged soldier returned home from Virginia, after many years of seeking his great-great-grandfather’s treasure.

Several years later, he sat beside a crackling fire at the Circle R Ranch and told of the lessons he had learned — about greed and the uselessness of violence, “Listen children to a story…”

When he finished, a little boy who had been listening intently to each word of the soldier’s tale, murmured — as much a question as a statement, “But you can justify it in the end?”

The old soldier looked away, far off toward the mountains as if remembering how it had been. Quietly he answered, “There are some who say you can; I don’t.”

51, 62, 157, 14, 118, 159, 98, 124, 181, 36, 170, 133, 150, 40, 61, 16, 98, 5, 13, 68, 108, 22, 136, 20, 180, 9, 1, 79, 182, 137, 100, 68, 3, 159, 88, 58, 176, 1, 181, 41, 117, 102, 87, 92, 130, 103, 100, 68, 171, 68, 29, 109, 66, 133, 181, 39, 49, 145, 159, 53, 50, 99, 2, 166, 61, 38, 178, 160, 98, 181, 65, 136, 125, 124, 92, 98, 105, 63, 68, 87, 176, 146, 29, 184, 171, 181, 54, 117, 178, 120, 136, 23, 22, 110, 12, 159, 57, 96, 108, 133, 47, 95, 162, 143, 13, 61, 128, 9, 176, 65, 136, 111, 100, 68, 54, 1, 181, 10, 159, 59, 50, 51, 102, 184, 160, 29, 31, 147, 16, 148, 176, 1, 181, 19, 68, 87, 108, 171, 181, 68, 136, 93, 159, 68, 181, 65, 136, 114, 61, 175, 133, 68, 55, 128, 109, 142, 26, 61, 143, 36, 125, 137, 100, 154, 23, 128, 93, 48, 68, 50, 120, 159, 6, 63, 181, 141, 86, 90, 22, 102, 105, 39, 184, 5, 176, 120, 61, 68, 1, 49, 153, 178, 160, 68, 17, 48, 181, 15, 78, 9, 68, 32, 162, 18, 87, 68, 181, 174, 161, 115, 61, 169, 89, 107, 61, 3, 66, 91, 164, 128, 68, 37, 162, 68, 35, 181, 50, 80, 143, 29, 181, 45, 87, 68, 181, 86, 20, 159, 120, 82, 69, 39, 65, 147, 126, 133, 68, 181, 102, 59, 136, 145, 101, 154, 60, 98, 16, 91, 71, 68, 100, 59, 160, 78, 42, 63, 181, 86, 23, 98, 130, 153, 1, 40, 181, 127, 38, 144, 68, 185, 173, 129, 136, 181.

Sandy Seasons: Autumn

Site Notes…

Lake Harbor Park is located south of Muskegon where the Mona Lake Channel flows into Lake Michigan. There is a network of hiking trails through several acres of wooded land and a boardwalk that runs along the dunes at Lake Michigan. During the summer, the beach is a favorite spot to enjoy Lake Michigan; in the winter, the large sand dunes provide excellent sledding hills.

Series Notes…

This box is the third in the 4-box Sandy Seasons series. The boxes in this series are linear (more or less), and are intended to be found in succession, as the clues are given from one box to the next. The entire loop is about 2.5 miles and makes for a wonderful afternoon hike. There is a large sand hill at the beginning and several moderate, steep hills en route. If you are coming during the summer, wear your swimsuit under your clothes and enjoy a swim in Lake Michigan when you are through with the boxes.

Other boxes in this series:

Sandy Seasons: Winter (1)
Sandy Seasons: Spring (2)
Sandy Seasons: Summer (3)

Clues…

From the “Summer” box: Head back through the area of fallen trees and back up the gully trail. Where trails meet at the top of the hill, follow the ridgeline path at 80 degrees. Where a centipede sleeps across your path, turn to see a stump riddled with holes, about 10 paces off the trail. From this trunk, proceed 25 paces at 240 degrees to the place where a wrinkled gent dances with a fair-skinned maiden. See that dead-beat trying to cut in? Follow him, I think he’s hiding something.

After stamping in at this last box, retrace your steps along the ridgeline trail back toward the lake. Stop and enjoy a swim in Lake Michigan before proceeding south along the beach. Where the Mona Lake channel empties into Lake Michigan, find the main park trail, which will bring you back to the parking lot.

Sandy Seasons: Summer

Site Notes…

Lake Harbor Park is located south of Muskegon where the Mona Lake Channel flows into Lake Michigan. There is a network of hiking trails through several acres of wooded land and a boardwalk that runs along the dunes at Lake Michigan. During the summer, the beach is a favorite spot to enjoy Lake Michigan; in the winter, the large sand dunes provide excellent sledding hills.

Series Notes…

This box is the third in the 4-box Sandy Seasons series. The boxes in this series are linear (more or less), and are intended to be found in succession, as the clues are given from one box to the next. The entire loop is about 2.5 miles and makes for a wonderful afternoon hike. There is a large sand hill at the beginning and several moderate, steep hills en route. If you are coming during the summer, wear your swimsuit under your clothes and enjoy a swim in Lake Michigan when you are through with the boxes.

Other boxes in this series:

Sandy Seasons: Winter (1)
Sandy Seasons: Spring (2)
Sandy Seasons: Autumn (4)

Clues…

From the “Spring” box: Continue along the ridge trail toward the lake. You will come to a place where many trails to and from the beach meet and intersect with each other. Locate the twisted oak at 325 degrees. 30 degrees from the oak, find a small trail and follow its root steps down to a place where a sandy trail crosses perpendicularly from the beach. Stay your course straight ahead into the trees and up a small incline.

At the top of the hill, again there is a meeting of trails. Proceed straight ahead, following the gully down to a place where a tree first lies overhead and then lies underfoot. Thirty paces further down the hill, a split-trunk beech on your left marks the entrance to a bowl-shaped area containing many fallen trees.

Walk through this area, following the base of the hill along your right. When you are near to reaching the open end of the bowl-shaped area, you will come to a 6 ft. trunk, hollowed by fire. Four paces from here, rests the root end of a massive tree. Walk along the tree to the place where it Y’s, and then to the place where the arms of the Y each Y. Nestled snuggly under one of these splits is the treasure you seek.