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Maggie's First Fish LbNA #19466 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Scout
Plant date:Nov 25, 2005
Location:
City:Buxton
County:Dare
State:North Carolina
Boxes:1
Found by: The Wolf Family
Last found:Nov 22, 2007
Status:FFFFFFF
Last edited:Nov 25, 2005
Directions:
This box is located in Buxton Woods. To get to the trail head take Route 12 in Buxton 0.8 miles south of the water tower and turn left on to Water Association Road. Go to the end of this road where it makes a 90 degree turn with Great Ridge Road. Park off the road here and find the trail head on the SW side of this turn, by the road sign.

Maggie, age 7, designed and carved this stamp. She also hid it. Nearby are "OBX-Buxton" and "Shell at Great Bridge" Letterboxes.

Information:
Buxton Woods is the largest remaining maritime forest in the southeast. It consists of pine and oak covered dune ridges interspersed with maritime swamp forest and unique marshy wetlands. It's a very rare ecosystem for a barrier island and consists of 968 acres used for research, education and recreation.

On a walk here you might see one of 360 bird species including bald eagles and peregrine falcons, plus gray fox, white tailed deer, mink, rover otter, box tutrles, salamanders and letterboxes!

Clues:
Just as you enter the trail you'll come to a "Y". You'll be taking the trail to the left. This is a 3 mile out and back trail to the ocean. We don't take you that far, but by all means enjoy the whole hike! This box took us twenty minutes to get to with "OBX-Buxton" letterbox about halfway there. It is a little tricky to give directions to the box since there are so few landmarks, so pay close attention to the clues and if you miss some, try to deduce it from other clues and landmarks.

Clues:

You can start from the trail head with these clues or jump ahead to where the clues note the "OBX-Buxton" box is and continue from there.

- Take a Left at this first "Y" and go up the dune.
- Then go down the dune and then follow the twists and turns in the trail.
- Go up another dune.
- Duck under.
- Follow a slight grade down-dune.
- See the 12 foot tree stump on the left side of the trail? Good, Keep going.
- Go down and up a dune.
- The trail curves left, then right, then down and then flat.
- You'll see a rootball and its tree on the right side of the trail.
- The trail will level for a bit.
- The trail will now dip and then have an uphill to the right.
- You'll be passing a triple tree on the right side of the trail in this area.
- The trail will take a 90 degree turn to the right at the top of a dune.
- Then it will take a 90 degree left with small lacey evergeens ahead. Stop here.
- Go back to the place where the trail was about to make the 90 degree turn to the left.
- Instead of making the left turn, go straight off the trail about 10 steps to a stand of small trees.
- At the back of the triple tree is the OBX - Buxton letterbox.


CONTINUING FROM OBX-BUXTON LETTERBOX

- Continue on the main trail taking the left turn on the trail and then a right turn with a duck under of a large tree.
- Go up another dune and then back down it.
- The trail will be sort of level for a while.
- You'll see two TALL pine sister trees next to the trail on the right side.
- The trail curves left, up and then has a duck under again.
- Then it curves right, up and then level.
- There will be two elbow high stumps on your right.
- Then there is a broken/bent tree on your right about head high.
- There will be another stump waist high on the right.
- The trail will curve left and down.
- You'll be in an area of downed trees and then the trail curves right and uphill.
- Near the top of the dune is a 10-12 foot high stump on your right and a large fallen tree on your left. The fallen tree has been trimmed by man. There are a few small evergreens around the middle of this fallen tree. Does this match what you are looking at? Good.
- Go about 10 steps past this spot and stop.
- Take 12 steps North to a 10 foot high stump.
- With your back to the north side of this stump, look down to your NE under the point where the fallen logs make an "X". Maggie's proud fish is swimming here.



RESEAL, REHIDE and REWEIGHT the letterbox so that it has a good chance of making it through all the hurricanes and strong winds this area experiences.

- At this point you can go ahead to the ocean on this trail or return to your car by turning around and retracing your steps.