BOX IS IN NEW LOCATION AS OF 17Feb05.
THE PHOTO AT RIGHT SHOWS THE OLD HIDING SPOT.
Complete Clues also on My Site
Peachtree City is a gorgeous, heavily-wooded residential community about 30 minutes south of Atlanta. The residents who live and work in there have the option of commuting via car or golf cart. Yes, by golf cart! Peachtree City is the second-largest “golf cart community” in the United States. Aside from the myriad parks and public access areas, Fayette County and the Southern Conservation Trust have afforded the area residents with a great gem: Line Creek Nature Center.
Line Creek, at our point of interest, forms the border between Fayette and Coweta Counties. The Nature Center features a stocked fish pond with a nearby gazebo and picnic tables, and several miles of creekside and ridgeline walking trails, most well-worn and easy to follow. Some lesser-traveled paths lead through dense woodlands where the good old white-tailed deer (and, in the future, letterboxers) roam.
NOTE: Line Creek is a very popular place, especially on weekends! However, even if the parking lot is empty, don’t expect to be alone—the trails are accessible from the subdivision further south. The Line Creek Letterbox is practically on the trail, so be careful but inconspicuous, especially when replacing the box! If you get caught by somebody nosy, just say you’re a herpetologist looking for snakes!
Difficulty: fairly easy; a longer hike than before, with more incline
Terrain: dirt, rooty trails, some rocks, and (slippery when wet) granite shoals
Gear: walking stick (to snap spider webs), camera
Precautions: avoid grasses during the summer and fall and you’ll avoid getting “ticked” off; the hiding place may make a great winter den for snakes, but that’s the risks (the location was uninhabited at the time the box was placed)!
Directions
The Line Creek Nature Area is located on GA Hwy 54 on the western edge of Peachtree City and Fayette County. Turn south at the light for MacDuff Parkway. You'll be turning into a driveway (there used to be a Days Inn). HOWEVER... it appears as though the entrance will soon be moved a couple hundred feet east of the intersection, which means you'll have to bang a Uie if you're heading west. Drive up the dirt road and park in the lot. Enter the Nature Area through the stacked-stone columns and follow the red rock path alongside the pond, past the gazebo and picnic tables.
From Atlanta, take I-85 south to Exit 61 (Hwy 74, Fairburn, Peachtree City). Turn left and follow Hwy 74 south to Peachtree City. Turn right on Hwy 54, heading west. It’s a big intersection, so you can’t miss it.
There are too many other points from which to come, so from anywhere else, go to
http://www.geocities.com/steves_1701/linecreek.html for a map.
Clue
From the parking lot, enter the Nature Center via the pebble path between the brick columns. Stop at the information board and get a map from the mailbox. Now, walk past the gazebo and picnic area to the signs reading Creek Trail, Ridge Trail, and Mule Trail. Follow the Creek Trail. Ahead the trail forks. There may be a sign on a large tree indicating a new trail. Follow the trail that heads due South.
This trail ends at a "T". Turn left and follow the trail to the creek. Standing on the shoals at the creek's edge, sight the trail at about 120. Follow this trail alongside the creek. Along the way, a young tree bows across the trail from the left. Don't bump your head!
The trail starts to head up an incline and away from the creek. You'll cross a shallow ditch made by water runoff. The runoff goes to your right, to shoals that do not extend across the creek. As you continue, you'll pass a long log on the right. The trail continues up and passes between two large rocks. Note that at this point, the creek flows rather smoothly. Further along, as you reach the trail's highest level, you'll be able to see houses on your left. There are also a lot of secondary trails here. Continue on the main trail to a fork. The right fork leads toward a large exposed rock that stands 8-10 feet above the creek.
Enjoy the view from the "knob!" Now, stand at the northernmost corner of the rock and sight due North. You're now looking right towards the letterbox. Immediately on your right is a path that meanders along the slope, parallel to the main trail. Follow this path to two stacked boulders on the right side of the path. If you rejoin the main trail, you've gone too far (but just a little).
Three rocks are wedged into the crevice between the two boulders. Remove the leftmost (northernmost) rock. It should be the only loose one. The Letterbox is behind two smaller rocks.
NOTE: This may be a busy area during nice weather. As I'm sure you usually are, please be inconspicuous. Also, the positioning of the two smaller rocks is crucial to concealing the Letterbox. Double-check your hiding before you head out by looking at the hiding place from closer to the main trail. Thanks!
Hike Length: 1.0 miles
