Sign Up  /  Login

Besser Elementary Nature Trail LbNA #15947

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jun 18, 2005
Location:
City:Alpena
County:Alpena
State:Michigan
Boxes:1
Planted by:YooperGoldFish
Found by: Razzbats
Last found:Aug 20, 2017
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Jun 18, 2005
The letterbox is located at the beautiful Besser School Nature Trail, Alpena County, MI. From U.S. 23, turn onto Johnson Street. (Johnson Street intersects U.S. 23 at the traffic light by Alpena Civic Center & Duck Park at the north end of Alpena. If you are traveling to Alpena from the north, it will be the first light you'll encounter in town.) Travel on Johnson Street about 50 yards, and make a left turn onto Wilson Street. Follow Wilson Street to Besser Elementary School (it will be on the left).

Special note about the location of the “Besser Elementary Nature Trail” Letterbox. It is located on an educational nature trail near a school. It has been placed with permission of the person in charge. So as not to arouse any suspicion, it is best to stay away when school is in session. This means look for it in the summer, on weekends, holidays or between 4 p.m. and dusk on weekdays.

Park at the south end of the school toward the back. Walk behind the school, past the basketball courts, and enter the trail between the cedar tree and pine tree by the concrete picnic table.

Follow the marked trail. At the first fork in the path, stay to the left. Marker #3 will be on your right and you will walk through a large growth of cedars. After a while the trail will bend to the right. Stay on the rock path. Listen to the many calls of nature around you, but if nature calls you, you will need to wait.

The trail bends to the left as you pass a patch of buttercups and daisies that will be in bloom in the spring and summer. Follow the trail until you see the observation platform near a small pond. In the springtime or after a good rainfall you may see a frog or a snake here.

Continue on the trail. You may stop and take a rest on the benches under the growth of large cedars. This is a relaxing place to stop and listen to the birds and look at the many interesting shapes of the cedars. You are about halfway there now.

Get back on the trail. You will come to a clearing past marker #7. Continue on the trail past the clearing. You will see a baseball field ahead of you. Follow the trail and duck back into the woods at the fork near the end of the clearing by the large evergreen. The trees may look a bit overgrown here, like a scene from the Wizard of Oz.

You will see a large rock at marker #9. You are getting closer now. Continue on the trail to the second bend to the left. Here, look to the right for the remains of 3 fallen trees about 6 – 8 paces off the trail. Here you will find the box. I hope you don’t get stumped by this clue.

It may be possible that some of our furry woodland friends have been nudging this box out of place. If you don't find it in the spot described, it may pay to look a few yards each way in the surrounding area (It is a clear container with a stamp & log book).

Continue on to enjoy the rest of the trail. Stay on the marked path and you will exit the trail where you entered it.

Terrain: Easy, but can be mucky in spots in the spring. Insect repellant is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for a comfortable walk.
Distance to box: Less than a mile.

CAUTION!: I've been told that there may be some POISON IVY in the area of this letterbox. Please exercise caution when exploring the area, especially if you are alergic to POISON IVY. A good description and pictures of POISON IVY can be found at the link below.

Read about POISON IVY here.