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The Bodhisara Letterbox Trail LbNA #12119 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Nov 7, 2004
Location:
City:Reservation Rd, Sunderland
County:Franklin
State:Massachusetts
Boxes:3
Found by: Gizz (3)
Last found:Jul 25, 2010
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Nov 7, 2004
[First Aid: Last log book is wet. Box available for adoption.]

The Bodhisara Letterbox Trail: Symbols of Peace and Happiness

The boxes were planted by the Bodhisara Dharma Community. Families worked together to learn Buddhist symbols of peace and happiness, write a story using those symbols, carve stamps of the symbols, and plant the boxes. We hope you enjoy the story and learn something about peace and happiness! For more information about our group call Mark Hart at (413) 259-2145 or visit our web site at www.bodhisara.org.

Our trail begins at Cranberry Pond on the Mt Toby Reservation in Sunderland, Massachusetts. The Mt. Toby Reservation can be reached either on Reservation Road turning east off of Route 47 or turning west from Route 63. Coming east from Rt. 47, follow the road until the pavement ends and then continue another 1/10th of a mile down a hill to the pond. The road from Rt. 63 is unmarked but turns just after the sign “Entering Sunderland” coming north from Leverett or just before the sign “Entering Leverett” coming south from Montague through a little piece of Sunderland. Follow it west 1/10th of a mile to come to the pond.

The trail leaves from the southwest corner of the parking area by the pond. (Underlined words show how the landscape fits in with the story. We didn’t plan this! It just worked out!) Cross over a small wooden bridge and follow the blue blazes. There are lots of signs of beaver along this trail.

After a few minutes of walking (approx. 1/10th of a mile) look for a birch clump with 5 white trunks. At the base where the five trunks come together is a hole and the letterbox will be inside. From this spot you can look across the pond and see a beaver lodge.

Continue on the trail further. Eventually you will go down a hill into a little valley and cross a small wooden bridge. Turn right immediately after the bridge and go up the streambed about 40 adult steps. Look for the fire circle (rocks). In another 25 steps you will see a well-rotted fallen tree and the box will be hidden under the tree. This is on the west side of the stream bed. The fallen tree is next to a tall stump with woodpecker activity and near a tree with a white blaze on it. (This streambed might actually be another trail.)

Return to the blue blaze trail right by the bridge where you left it. At the right time of the year you can notice lily pads flowering in the pond (virtual lotuses). Stay on the trail as it follows along the pond and then turns slightly to the right away from the pond. You come to a place where another trail (or stream bed or old road—we weren’t sure) crosses the blue blaze Cranberry Pond Trail. Continue straight across this to stay on the blue blaze trail. Right there is a sign with red X’s on it (no motorized vehicles). Go 26 paces on the trail, then turn right and go northwest 40 paces up an incline. You will find a large gray birch that has a peculiar root that wraps around itself and forms a little shelf. The box is stuck into a hole at the base of the tree opposite the root. The angle of this hill makes it easy to sit as a Buddha in the lotus position. Try it!