Bootleg at Pickle Point LbNA #37958
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Add Location| Owner: | The Olde Oak  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Feb 18, 2008 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Calpella |
| County: | Mendocino |
| State: | California |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | NancyAnne & Doug |
|---|---|
| Last found: | May 30, 2009 |
| Status: | Fa |
| Last edited: | Apr 7, 2021 |
### Down for maintenance ###
The Bootleg at Pickle Point Letterbox requires a walk of a mile one way to the letterbox and a bit less for the way back. There is poison oak here and there, but not right at the letterbox. The letterbox is located within the ruins of the old Garzini Winery which operated between 1910 and 1936. It was purportedly a bootleg operation most of that time since Prohibition was in effect from 1920 to 1933. The winery owner was a first generation Italian immigrant and I suspect during the years of its operation it was more or less “in the woods.” Today it is right above the lake, but until 1958 there was no Lake Mendocino, just Coyote Valley, a lovely agricultural area, until the Army Corps of Engineers filled the valley with water and built a dam.
To find your way to this letterbox from Hwy. 101 heading north after Ukiah look for the Calpella exit and take it. Head east on Moore Street from the exit toward Calpella. At the four-way stop keep on going straight past the Superette and across the train tracks. At the T follow the road to the right. Within a few hundred yards you’ll see a sign pointing left to Lake Mendocino. Follow that road, Marina Drive, as it winds up and over the hill. Turn into the first parking lot to your right, Parking Lot B, and park. Sometimes that lot is gated in which case keep driving a very short distance further and turn into Parking Lot A.
Anyway, from Parking Lot B look up and you will see an interesting round building, the Lake Mendocino Interpretive Cultural Center. As you face the building look to its left where you will see a sign for the Shakota Trail. Take that trail for about a mile and when you're almost there you will note you are approaching the point. You will be able to discern the lake through the trees to the right, to the left and in front of you. There will be a number of little paths, but whichever you take and in what order you take them you will get to the ruins if you keep going in the direction of the point and veer to your left. If you note that you are suddenly hiking in a new direction turn around and look again. When you get there look around and find the largest building.
Behind that large building find the huge old grapevine. At its base on the east side under a rock will be the Bootleg at Pickle Point Letterbox.
You may want to follow the little spit of land all the way out to a narrow and precarious looking point. That’s Pickle Point. Be careful if you walk out there, especially if you have children along, as the point seems to be crumbling away.
You may either return the way you came or you can drop down toward the lake and follow the service road back to your car. It’s a little shorter that way.
Thanks for coming!
The Bootleg at Pickle Point Letterbox requires a walk of a mile one way to the letterbox and a bit less for the way back. There is poison oak here and there, but not right at the letterbox. The letterbox is located within the ruins of the old Garzini Winery which operated between 1910 and 1936. It was purportedly a bootleg operation most of that time since Prohibition was in effect from 1920 to 1933. The winery owner was a first generation Italian immigrant and I suspect during the years of its operation it was more or less “in the woods.” Today it is right above the lake, but until 1958 there was no Lake Mendocino, just Coyote Valley, a lovely agricultural area, until the Army Corps of Engineers filled the valley with water and built a dam.
To find your way to this letterbox from Hwy. 101 heading north after Ukiah look for the Calpella exit and take it. Head east on Moore Street from the exit toward Calpella. At the four-way stop keep on going straight past the Superette and across the train tracks. At the T follow the road to the right. Within a few hundred yards you’ll see a sign pointing left to Lake Mendocino. Follow that road, Marina Drive, as it winds up and over the hill. Turn into the first parking lot to your right, Parking Lot B, and park. Sometimes that lot is gated in which case keep driving a very short distance further and turn into Parking Lot A.
Anyway, from Parking Lot B look up and you will see an interesting round building, the Lake Mendocino Interpretive Cultural Center. As you face the building look to its left where you will see a sign for the Shakota Trail. Take that trail for about a mile and when you're almost there you will note you are approaching the point. You will be able to discern the lake through the trees to the right, to the left and in front of you. There will be a number of little paths, but whichever you take and in what order you take them you will get to the ruins if you keep going in the direction of the point and veer to your left. If you note that you are suddenly hiking in a new direction turn around and look again. When you get there look around and find the largest building.
Behind that large building find the huge old grapevine. At its base on the east side under a rock will be the Bootleg at Pickle Point Letterbox.
You may want to follow the little spit of land all the way out to a narrow and precarious looking point. That’s Pickle Point. Be careful if you walk out there, especially if you have children along, as the point seems to be crumbling away.
You may either return the way you came or you can drop down toward the lake and follow the service road back to your car. It’s a little shorter that way.
Thanks for coming!