The Nara Letterbox

6/16/08 -- Just got a detailed message about this letterbox. It seems there's been some renovations along the bridge where I hid the box, and that it's now gone... It will probably be quite some time before I'm ever in that part of Japan again -- so this letterbox, unfortunately, is retired.

They call them the Messengers of the Gods, and they roam everywhere in Nara Park, in Nara, Japan.

Nara is about 30 miles south of Kyoto. Depending on which rail system you take, you can arrive into Nara at either the Kintetsu Nara Station or the JR Nara Station.

Either way, once off the train, grab a tourist map at the station and then head East.

Nara Park is big, with many attractions. Enjoy, take your time, and don't forget to feed the deer!They have little kiosks all over which sell deer crackers. I'm still not sure why all the deer just don't attack them and grab all the crackers. Everything is nice and calm until you actually buy the crackers, and then all hell breaks loose!

What you're looking for, eventually, is the Todaiji Temple where the Daibutsu (the Great Buddha) is.

There is a long building which preceeds the temple, where they sell the tickets to see the Daibutsu. The ticket booths are at the left side of this building.

To the left of the ticket booth area are some bathrooms and a small rest area.

Go down the path that's next to it.

There will be an intersection of paths, with a small bridge to your left.

Cross over the bridge. The box will be on your left-hand side, just after the bridge.

Just next to the second support-stake is a dark recess that goes under the path. The letterbox is hidden in there behind a rock.

Happy Trails!

Long Live Jerry HH

There's no clue, but whenever the logbook runs out, whoever has it last please contact me so that we can arrange for the hitcher's return. My treat on the postage, of course.

The Mall Tease Falcon #1 letterbox

5/1/08 Box was muggled some time ago, and so unavailable until further notice.

Location: The Village shopping mall in Corte Madera, Ca.

Directions: Take the Paradise Dr. exit off of Hwy 101 in Marin county.

The mall is on the east side of the highway.

Clue: The tower.

On the last landing, just before reaching the top level, you'll notice that you can reach up under the curved sheath that encircles one of the tower's support legs...

Facing the beam/leg, the ziploc bag will be slightly LEFT OF CENTER.

You can disregard the magnetic strips on the ziploc bag when placing it back; they don't work...

When placing back: Please make sure to roll up the bag and secure it again with the twist-tie. Then shove it back under LEFT OF CENTER until it rests on the inner lip and then SLIDE IT SIDEWAYS TO THE RIGHT -- UNTIL IT WEDGES FIRMLY INSIDE the curved sheath.

Happy Trails.

Up From the Ashes letterbox

This letterbox was originally to be planted at Phoenix Lake, but then I discovered that there was already a series of boxes there -- and this was after I had carved the stamp... So, we now have the "original" "View of Phoenix Lake from Bald Hill" letterbox.

:)

Bald Hill -- or as I and my friends called it when we were younger, "Mount Baldy" -- is in Ross, Ca. It's on the edge of the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed area.

There are various trail-heads that can get you to the top of Bald Hill. I usually go up in the following fashion:

• From HWY 101, going through Marin County, take the Sir Francis Drake Blvd exit and head west, going through Ross, and just as you enter San Anselmo, make a left turn onto Bolinas Ave. You'll pass Saint Anselm's church on your left, and then the Seminary (a castle-like building) and a park, both on your right...
• Take a left onto Glenwood Ave.
• Take a right onto Upper Rd.
• Take a left onto Upper Rd. West, and follow that all the way up until the trail-head, which will have a sign warning about mountain lions.

Parking here is a treasure hunt in and of itself. You'll have to back-track a bit.

For the hike -- pretty simple -- follow the dirt road all the way up. About 3/4 of a mile (?) up, almost at the top, you'll come to a T intersection with another dirt road. Hang a left, and keep going up. Shortly, you'll come up to a short dirt road on your left, which takes you to the summit of Bald Hill. Not much to the hill itself -- after all, it is bald. But -- enjoy the view!

After taking in the sights, turn around and go back down to the main road, and hang a left. As it starts to go down, you'll come upon a large sign on the right of the road stating "Mt. Tamalpais Watershed" along with a second, smaller sign.

On the other side of the road, as you look out towards the San Rafael/Richmond bridge, you'll see a lonely old fence post... The letterbox awaits at the base of this post, under a pile of rocks topped with another old fence post laid across it.SE of the post you'll see Phoenix Lake nestled in the hills down below.

Here is a link to a map of the Mt. Tamalpais Watershed area:http://www.marinwater.org/controller?action=menuclick&id=245

Turtle Rock letterbox

5/1/08 -- Box appears to have been muggled... Box is unavailable until further notice.

Going along HWY 101, through Corte Madera, Ca.

Take the Paradise Drive exit (if you're coming down from Sonoma County, you'll need to cross over the overpass; if you're coming up from San Francisco, just hang a right at the exit), and take the first right onto Paradise Drive. Follow this road until Taylor. Go up Taylor until the end, where there is a peacock-blue colored gate. Park, and then walk up the paved road to the right of the one with the blue gate.

You will come up to an iron gate, with the paved road continuing on up the hill. Keep following it up until almost at the crest. There will be a wide dirt road on your right. Follow that for just a bit. You will come upon Turtle Rock looming down below in a field to your left -- a great place for practicing your rockclimbing skills. As you approach it by the road, you'll see up ahead a smaller footpath intersecting the dirt road.

At this intersection is a green sign for the "loop trail," with the path leading up a small hill. Walk up this path, but don't blink. Just a few feet up the path is a small wooden trail marker on the right, marked "11." On the other side of the trail is a bay tree, and just beyond that are three or four rock-groupings in the grass. Triangulate to find the box. When you can take a bearing of 87 degrees back towards the "11" trail post and a 160 degree bearing towards the green trail-head post -- then X marks the spot.

For more info on this great area, check out: http://www.marin.cc.ca.us/~jim/ring/