Ghost Town Trail

On Sunday we went boxin. And by "we" I mean my gf Longstockings, my son The Pirate, and myself. The first two boxes were on this great trail called "Ghost Town Trail." It's a very well kept and scenic rails to trails area in Indiana, PA. It doesn't, however, live up to it's name. I was expecting burnt out and ramshackle buildings that reek of dispair and regret. Instead I got a nice walk in the woods.

"Kevin, if ya caught fish erry time ya went fishin, it'd be called catchin."

This is one of my mottos in life. I learned this from Stan. Stan was the Rancid Crabtree (for those of you that remember "Last Laugh" in Outdoor Life) in my life. This dude was absolutely insane, smelled of chewing tobacco and whiskey, and always good for some fun.

I need to learn to apply this motto to Letterboxing. I hate it when I can't find the box. It's not even so much that I can't find the box, it's that it may be RIGHT UNDER MY FEET and I'm looking in the wrong place. I get crazy. Usually when I calm down and think about it, I can puzzle out the clues and look through the planter's eye and glean where the box is. But these clues were STRAIGHTFORWARD and the box simply was not there. So you start to question yourself: "It's probably been muggled, but what if it's behind THAT crooked tree instead of this one." I usually stalk around the woods in this mode for about a half-hour, annoying my gf and boring my son. (who is five years old, and once he defeats all the ninjas in a particluar portion of the woods with his sword (a stick) needs to move on to find other, more worthy opponents...)

So, eventually I see a baggie sticking out from under some leaves, 4 feet away from where the box should have been. I do a little recon and find another baggie. Both ripped, no box, nothing else. Was I upset? NO! I was relieved that I found the spot and figured out the clues. This is a sick mindset. I was unhappy that the box was gone, but happy knowing I wasn't just MISSING it.

All in All, it was a great day. 3 of 4 boxes, First Finders on two of them, and hiking in two places I had never visited before. I just need to wake up and see the trees behind the box sometimes. A day spent outdoors with the family is better than any dumb box.

One little side note. Beside one of the boxes was this little guy:

A tiny little baby groundhog that was nice enough to pose and let us take pictures of him from inches away. This was advantageous as I was able to explain to my son that even though an animal will LET us get close and looks so cuddly, we must never touch it. I got to explain to him about the oils on our skin and possible maladies that can come from the animal.

He is a darling little thing though, huh?