Photo link at end of message...

So, pretty much right on schedule, a small group of intrepid letterbox hunters set out from the picnic area and forged their way through herds of tourists to the Walk-Up Trail (WUT). The group—Firefly Chekov, Martini Man & Wisconsin Hiker, Llama Mama & Llama John, Kilroy, and Moonbunny & JoeyBear—started up the trail just after 1:00 pm.

The sun had only rays for us today; oh, sure, the heat was there, but the lack of humidity kept us dry. The first stop was a team effort retrieval of three boxes on or near the WUT. I sent volunteers after Old Man #1 and Real Easter #1, and snatched Old Man #2 myself (rather than zip back and forth across the WUT several times). Real Easter #1 proved to be as elusive as ever—even I had a hard time remembering where exactly it was.

With the first three Finds of the Tour in everybody's logs, I guided the Group toward the first-ever of the 99 Bottles boxes: Bass Ale. I enjoyed hearing how people had either solved the code only to be handed the decoded directions at the start of the Tour... or how they found the secret decryption (some before decoding, some after). An interesting human observation, that: which people really take the time to explore rather than get-it-and-go?

Another interesting observation of human behavior: impulsive action on misread or skipped directions. I'm guilty of it, and so is just about everyone else. It's neat to see how different people in a group either partly read directions or follow them "to the letter"... and where their "interpretation" of those directions takes them! The Kilroy duo, who had insisted that we go on ahead after wondering where Oldhounder and Siamese had gone to, caught up with us here—and it was there that they departed the Tour.

It's also interesting to note how people automatically perceive "down" to be correlated to "south" and "up" to be correlated to "north"—as observed on the path to 99 Bottles: Wild Hop Lager—at a point where I intentionally "labeled" a fork as having "north" and "south" instead of left and right paths.

We forged on, through the lush mosses and ferns of the transitional zone beyond Wild Hop, and into the viney, piney woodlands that are the lair of Pete's Wicked Ale. The view from the "Pavilion Overlook", just below the first crest, is the real first high-altitude glimpse of the surrounding landscape that several of the explorers have ever had. Moonbunny and JoeyBear had to answer the "Call of the Husband" and depart from the Group to make their way back down the slope.

The stamp of another box hidden close yet so far away graced their logbooks, and we ascended the first crest as it was meant to be ascended: from the side, between the big boulders covered with chewing gum dots. No handrails for this group!

It was at the "old ironwork just below the summit" that I spotted T-Rex's bright red shirt as he approached us from the south (which, contrary to popular correlation, was not from below); True to the Trail approached from the east. They had just re-planted the Stone Mountain Squeeeezebox. I lingered at the ironwork to chat as the Group (now down to six) made their way to the next landmark in the box's clue. We observed the all-too-common error that almost everyone who ever found the box has made, and decided that we should go give the Group a nudge in the right direction.

T-Rex noted the size and approximate age of a twisted old pine, perhaps the largest that far up the mountain, and expressed his affinity for interesting trees. It was also here, on the opposite side of the rock, with the sun beating down on us and the shade dwindling, that the breeze decided to quit. Suddenly the aroma of human exertion became readily apparent, and T-Rex and True to the Trail left us for the cooler climes of the shaded Woodland Trail.

The group plodded upwards to Eagle's Home. There, Llama Mama and Llama John, who had already found the this box and the next, continued ahead to grab Titan IPA and begin their descent. It's been a while since I've been on this section of the mountain: 2.5 years, roughly. I don't recall seeing the totally scorched tree stump just downslope from Eagle's Home, but that was... wicked!

With nine Summit stamps in their logbooks, the remaining four set off for the summit. We rested a bit in the shade of the canopy, refilled our water bottles, and continued on to Hawk's View. At the summit: breezy. At Hawk's View, where we briefly toyed with the idea of trading something (anything) for the little paratrooper toy we could have thrown off the summit: NOT!! But... on the way to Titan IPA, in the shade of the tower's big dish, the 20-knot gusts were welcoming enough to make us pause and not want to continue... well, for a minute or two, anyway!

Out from the protective cover of the trees shielding us from the prying eyes of so many tourists, we marched along the northern edge of the summit, enjoying the wind and the view of the park below us. Having had the sun bake our backsides for the last 40 minutes or so, we finally got our faces fried as we descended to Real Easter #4. A little shortcut to the WUT allowed me show the group where Real Easter #3 had been hidden, and we careened downward to Sam Adams Pale Ale...

... Where I spotted Llama Mama and Llama John just re-entering the path-more-travelled. Firefly and Chekov, having a little knee trouble, continued on with them, leaving Martini Man and Wisconsin Hiker with me to enjoy the view of Atlanta's smoky skyline. Downward again, the lack of breeze was no longer an issue as the only real exertion was stopping our skids in the fine gravel. One last detour off the trail, and Blue Moon was "in the bag", and Tour almost over, save for arriving at the bottom. Which we did, and there we bade thanks and welcomes and parted our ways—they to find more boxes, me to continue my adventures...

Photos:

http://www.atlasquest.com/gallery/viewalbum.html?gAlbumId=388&gSortBy=oldest

Thanks for the play-by-play of what I missed. :-( I knew you'd have a great time. I do hear that your later adventures were successful in more ways than you know. GREAT JOB StarSAELS! Ya done good!

Amyrica

Thanks StarSAELS for the tour! I'm just sorry we had to bail when we did. We probably had all the fun a 7-year-old could stand anyway!

hey, did anyone ever find my sunglasses?????

MB

A most excellent write up, SS. You write extremely well and I could picture it all so perfectly! Thanks!

LW PhD
"Nice Counts"

Dang! I could kick My Mojo for making me miss this! Sounds like so much fun...I'm green with envy!

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Dang! I could kick My Mojo for making me miss this! Sounds like so much fun...I'm green with envy!

*chuckle* I would have snuck out of the house real early in the morning and hightailed it to Stone Mountain. It's only an hour or so from Macon, about as far as I have to travel.

Oh, I would have left a note on the kitchen counter: Gone Letterboxing!! :-P

I wish I could have gotten away for a few hours but I think the baby would have missed me. What is the next event for GA? I'll try and make that. With any luck the nanny won't be on vacation at that time.

The next Event in GA (at this time) is the 3rd Annual Letterboxing Pow-Wow in Whitesburg, at the end of September. Note that this is a two-part event that traditionally involves brewskies and night boxing before everyone heads home.

Looks like I've got a lot of carving to do before then!

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Note that this is a two-part event that traditionally involves brewskies

I think everyone who drinks every one of the PTC beer boxes should get a bonus of some kind [I was nice and did not say ALL boxes, only the ones down there]!!! LOL

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I think everyone who drinks every one of the PTC beer boxes should get a bonus of some kind

If it's done in one session at the time of the Findings (a long 4-5 hour session) then absolutely. If anybody who hasn't had all those yet wants to take that challenge, then get your butts down to PTC one weekend and we'll make a day of it! Lunch at Taco Mac, where you could quaff two of the six, then the Findings (which are very close by, but nevertheless a DD will be provided for those who want to drink their lunch). One of them is available only at a particular grocery store, and seeing as it's a low-ABV brew, it would be good for a thirst-quencher during the hike at Line Creek. That leaves three (or two, if you were adventurous at lunch) to have as an aperitif and a dessert!

As for the bonus... hmm... I wonder what that might be...

Along those same lines, there will be four or six additional boxes I'll be "brewing" for the PowWow, so I'll have those brews (whatever they may be) available on ice for consumption during the first half or two-thirds of the Gathering. This won't be a competition—more like a sampling.

Wow... now if only there were more decent pubs on the southside of Atlanta...

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Oh, I would have left a note on the kitchen counter: Gone Letterboxing!! :-P

For real! Won't make the same mistake next time, that's for sure. I'll leave a sweet little note that I'm gone along with a P.S. so that he'll know I didn't take the baby with me. LOL

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I think everyone who drinks every one of the PTC beer boxes should get a bonus of some kind

I wonder if the HH puppies can be the designated drivers?

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I wonder if the HH puppies can be the designated drivers?

Ha! Kinda like Toonces the Driving Cat! Thankfully there are no 100-foot cliffs around here... just steep shoulders on the roads.