Turkey Trot To the Overlook Redux LbNA #12524 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | mdr  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Nov 25, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Ridge |
| County: | Suffolk |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Party of 5 NY |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Aug 16, 2008 |
| Status: | OFFaFF |
| Last edited: | Nov 25, 2004 |
Turkey Trot Redux
Directions: (Please note- the stamp and location of the box is the same as the original, but this is a more enjoyable walk. Bring your own pen and stamp pad. Pleasant walk, mostly level terrain, a mile to the box and back.
Long Island Expressway (495) to William Floyd Parkway Exit 68.Travel north to Rte.25. Take Rte.25 east to Panamoka Trail (about 2 miles on the left). Take Panamoka Trail to the end, make a left onto Lakeside Trail. Follow the road approximately .3 mile. A parking area for access to Brookhaven State Park is on the left.
Background: Consider the wild turkey, a one time contender for our national symbol. Benjamin Franklin, in comparing the bald eagle to the turkey wrote: ”For the truth, the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a Red Coat on.” The famed artist and naturalist John James Audibon thought the wild turkey a very patriotic bird: “Male turkeys can turn their heads red, white and blue by controlling the flow of oxygen to their heads while strutting.”
Wild turkeys were here long before Europeans colonized America. Uncontrolled hunting and clearing of habitat resulted in the last recorded observation of the turkey in New York State in 1844. In 1957 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) began relocating the birds to areas capable of sustaining wild turkey populations. (Today all Long Island wild turkeys are protected by NYSDEC which has banned wild turkey hunting on Long Island in order to bring the birds back to the area.) The return of the wild turkey is a true wildlife conservation success story: New York populations have dramatically increased from an estimated 2000 in 1959 to over 250,000 in 2004.
I have seen flocks of turkey in this area and collected a few feathers. I hope you’re as lucky on your walk today.
Clues:
After parking, begin your walk on the trail for a short distance, then take the first left. The path heads uphill for a bit, then levels off and runs parallel to the boundary fence (to your left).
Take the first trail to the right, marked by a decaying pine stump (about 4’ off to the right). Ahead there is a small brush pile lying across the trail that you’ll need to go around.
The trail you are on will eventually meet up with another larger trail, forming a T. Go left, noting the V shaped oak tree on the side of the trail.
50 steps from the V shaped Oak Tree, there will be two lesser trails on your right. Take the first one downhill, until you reach two large power poles. (There have been numerous reports of Moka sightings in this area, and some boxers have noticed some unusual tracks near the seasonal pond that may be to your left.)
Go straight across the sandy area to the woods trail on the opposite side, marked with a three sister oak on the left. Six steps from that tree take the small trail to your right. Tree limbs and branches on the ground will show you the way.
You will soon see a pond off to your left. As you near the leading edge of the pond the trail curves off to the right. Very soon on your right you will notice a pine tree leaning at a 30* angle. Make a right. (There will be a three sister oak tree to your left.)
When you come to a 4 way intersection, go straight.
Soon you will notice a small yellow blazed trail that crosses the path you are on. 79 steps from that trail will bring you to a small path on the right which heads slightly uphill to the overlook. Take th path up the rise, and walk across and to the edge of the overlook. There you will see a dead, barkless pine tree that is leaning against a smaller pine. Two feet in front of the dead pine, buried under some bark is the Turkey Trot Letterbox.
Re-trace your steps to return to your car.
Directions: (Please note- the stamp and location of the box is the same as the original, but this is a more enjoyable walk. Bring your own pen and stamp pad. Pleasant walk, mostly level terrain, a mile to the box and back.
Long Island Expressway (495) to William Floyd Parkway Exit 68.Travel north to Rte.25. Take Rte.25 east to Panamoka Trail (about 2 miles on the left). Take Panamoka Trail to the end, make a left onto Lakeside Trail. Follow the road approximately .3 mile. A parking area for access to Brookhaven State Park is on the left.
Background: Consider the wild turkey, a one time contender for our national symbol. Benjamin Franklin, in comparing the bald eagle to the turkey wrote: ”For the truth, the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a Red Coat on.” The famed artist and naturalist John James Audibon thought the wild turkey a very patriotic bird: “Male turkeys can turn their heads red, white and blue by controlling the flow of oxygen to their heads while strutting.”
Wild turkeys were here long before Europeans colonized America. Uncontrolled hunting and clearing of habitat resulted in the last recorded observation of the turkey in New York State in 1844. In 1957 New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) began relocating the birds to areas capable of sustaining wild turkey populations. (Today all Long Island wild turkeys are protected by NYSDEC which has banned wild turkey hunting on Long Island in order to bring the birds back to the area.) The return of the wild turkey is a true wildlife conservation success story: New York populations have dramatically increased from an estimated 2000 in 1959 to over 250,000 in 2004.
I have seen flocks of turkey in this area and collected a few feathers. I hope you’re as lucky on your walk today.
Clues:
After parking, begin your walk on the trail for a short distance, then take the first left. The path heads uphill for a bit, then levels off and runs parallel to the boundary fence (to your left).
Take the first trail to the right, marked by a decaying pine stump (about 4’ off to the right). Ahead there is a small brush pile lying across the trail that you’ll need to go around.
The trail you are on will eventually meet up with another larger trail, forming a T. Go left, noting the V shaped oak tree on the side of the trail.
50 steps from the V shaped Oak Tree, there will be two lesser trails on your right. Take the first one downhill, until you reach two large power poles. (There have been numerous reports of Moka sightings in this area, and some boxers have noticed some unusual tracks near the seasonal pond that may be to your left.)
Go straight across the sandy area to the woods trail on the opposite side, marked with a three sister oak on the left. Six steps from that tree take the small trail to your right. Tree limbs and branches on the ground will show you the way.
You will soon see a pond off to your left. As you near the leading edge of the pond the trail curves off to the right. Very soon on your right you will notice a pine tree leaning at a 30* angle. Make a right. (There will be a three sister oak tree to your left.)
When you come to a 4 way intersection, go straight.
Soon you will notice a small yellow blazed trail that crosses the path you are on. 79 steps from that trail will bring you to a small path on the right which heads slightly uphill to the overlook. Take th path up the rise, and walk across and to the edge of the overlook. There you will see a dead, barkless pine tree that is leaning against a smaller pine. Two feet in front of the dead pine, buried under some bark is the Turkey Trot Letterbox.
Re-trace your steps to return to your car.