Finger Lakes

A weekend hiking the area around Seneca and Cayuga Lakes offered up beautiful scenery, excellent hiking and some great letterboxing opportunities. This area is one of my all time favorites and RGBisMe and try to make it up at least once a year. It had been a few years since we did more that just hike the gorge trail at Watkins Glen, we were mostly focused on geocaching then but remember being disappointed that the letterbox hybrid in or near the park didn't really have a stamp that seemed to go with it. Sacajawea Stumper had an airplane stamp. We were confused and thought maybe we didn't understand the clues or area. As it turns out, what we didn't understand that many geocachers just didn't get letterboxing.


Janila and I were paired for the weekend and I have to thank her for driving my sorry butt every inch of the way. I did not offer to drive once and I am sure she was glad for that, HA! I did get way into her gps mapping program. When it has sat lock that little baby is one sweet piece of helpful navigational equipment. I felt weird without of of my paper maps so I was constantly tucking one off to the side, just in case we lost sat lock. Yeah, I bogarted all the park maps Jan, I promise to make you copies and send them your way.

The boxes we found in the Finger Lakes area were all really sweet but a real feather in my cap was the Finger Lakes Mystery box. I had intended on seeking it last year but either time or finances did not allow. To have all of the clues in order and find this box was so sweet. I think Jan laughed a few times at my broad grin over supper. Supper was another victory. We made it just in time for eating at Seneca Lodge and I had my favorite veggie Sunburger!!

The next morning offered up some more really great letterboxes. It was an honor to find a couple Cock o' the Trail letterboxes. I had been reading about them for years and to stamp into one that had been designed in 2001 was very special. Sugar Hill and Watkins Glen Centennial were both in places I was glad to have visited. I had been quite close to the latter seeking a geocache years ago but the Finger Lakes Trail hadn't taken me that far up the gorge. I was glad to have this letterbox take me to the area. It was a little dark so the photos will not do the area justice. Jan is all blurry because she was a speed demon and had her Coke already. I neglected getting my morning tea and my shutter finger was slow.


Meeting so many wonder people at the 2007 Finger Lakes Gathering was the best. I missed having RGBisMe along but these warm and witty people kept me smiling and enthralled. Janila and I boxed for hours in this lovely park with some new and old friends. Hiking along with Lock Wench, Party Pig, Phoenix, BibliochickMS and Tamsyn we overcame the challenges of graffitied snag ("DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!") and marvey marking after Pig's pigments. My favorite quote of the whole weekend came from Party Pig. After letterboxing as the above mentioned group for well over an hour and having made exchanges hours before that, he turns to Janila after she made a witty comment and says, "Who are you?!!"

Although we weren't able to get The Pirates Wife, I had the chance to eat at the most famous vegetarian Moosewood Restaurant. Poor Cyclonic and Pink Panther were shooed from joining the small table with Janila, Tamsyn and myself but I later found them at a very merry table ("I want to sit at the Kiddy Table") near the bar. The poor service far outweighed the good eats and I have no desire to return. Bummer.


Next day was a landmark for Janila. After a few false starts (my bad) Cyclonic and Pink Panther nudged us on in the right direction and then we got some momentum. Somewhere in Shindagin Hollow, amidst those 13 boxes and a brief rain shower, Janila stamped into her 1,000 letterbox. Cheers and a nice little rest for our team of 4 as Jan posed with her golden box of malted milk balls and drink of choice. That series of boxes had Jan grinning over her prime rib back at Seneca Lodge and I guess I had to chuckle at her a few times. Life was good.

I did plant a box while in the area. It was a Hazlitt Red Cat wine themed box and I cannot yet find the clues. I swear I was not drinking Red Cat, have never boxed while intoxicated. I am wondering if I should just say, "It's out there, somewhere." Cyclonic and Pink Panther will be first finders, for sure. ;)

Pennsylvania was calling so we enjoyed a wonderful new series of Williamsport area letterboxes on the way home. The 4Rhines have put out some really supurb fishing themed boxes, Stonefly's Fishing Adventures. You will enjoy the locations, clues and and marvel at the detail of the stamps. The long weekend was over all too soon. Thank you to everyone for making this trip possible.