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Japan's Four Main Islands Series LbNA #46713

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Apr 19, 2009
Location:
City:Heber City
County:Wasatch
State:Utah
Boxes:4
Planted by:Moo Poo
Found by: Adventurous Campers (3)
Last found:Aug 30, 2014
Status:FFFFF
Last edited:Apr 19, 2009
JAPAN’S FOUR MAIN ISLANDS SERIES Letterboxes

Created By: Moo Poo
Placed By: Moo Poo & The Real Truth
Difficulty: 1.5 mile round-trip hike on a rather steep and rocky trail.
Walk Time: 40 Minutes Round-trip
Stamp: Hand-carved
Dog Friendly: This is Forest Service land, so dogs are allowed. However, this trail is also used by horses, so if you don’t want pooch to get frightened (or to spook the horse), it may be best to leave him/her home. Also, there are many sharp rocks on the trail that may cut pooch’s paws.
Caution: This is Forest Service land and thus, there will be hunters out during various hunting periods. Wear bright colors!

Japan consists of four main islands: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Besides these four islands, Japan includes 2,000 additional smaller islands.

Originally, I intended to put these boxes in a Japanese Garden. However, after some research, I didn’t find many gardens capable of holding 4 boxes. I thought maybe I should pick a new trail in an area with few boxes. The beautiful Uinta National Forest fit that description!

I recommend bringing along 4 different colored ink pads…one for each island!

Directions to Center Canyon:
- Coming from Heber City, UT
Before you attempt these boxes, you should stop and check out my other box, Genie’s Lamp. It’s on the
way to Center Canyon off of US-40/ UT-40
1) Head East on US-40/ UT-40 towards Strawberry. You’ll pass a Uinta National Forest sign on your
right.
2) You will go by a brown sign reading “Station Hollow”
3) Then, you’ll pass Mile Maker 28. Pay close attention at this point, because you may pass your
destination.
4) On the left, not long after Mile Marker 28 is a brown sign reading “Center Canyon”. Turn into Center Canyon.
5) Park on the side of the road just before the corral.

- Coming from Fruitland, UT
1) Head West on US-40/ UT-40 towards Heber City.
2) You’ll pass a brown sign reading “Row Hollow”.
3) Then you’ll go by Mile Marker 29 (this sign is on the left side of the road).
4) The road will curve soon after Mile Marker 29. There will first be a cement barrier on your left.
5) Then, the road will curve just slightly to the left. This time, there will be a cement barrier on the right. Just as the cement barrier ends, you will turn Right into “Center Canyon.” (There’s a brown sign that states “Center Canyon”, but by the time you see it, it may be too late.)
6) Park on the side of the road just before the corral.
7) After you’ve finished with this hike, you should go down further on US-40/ UT-40 just a few more miles to the pull-out where my other box, Genie’s Lamp is hidden.

Clues:
I recommend getting all the boxes on the hike up the canyon, then stamping them all at once. Many of the hiding spots are close to the main trail, and stamping them as you find them, may expose them to other hikers. Also, you might find it easier to stamp them all together, if you decide to replicate my map.
Box 1 – Hokkaido:
1) From the parking area, begin walking uphill on the dirt road. You’ll pass the corral and a rusty gate on your left.
2) Observe the “tee-pee” shaped fence for the corral. Count 15 “tee-pee’s” up the hill. You’ll also pass two small trees on your left.
3) Stopped at the 15th “tee-pee”, look off the road, and down the slope on your right. There is a medium-sized cluster of trees just in front of a creek.
4) Head towards this cluster of trees, but keep them on your left (be careful as you step over a small wall of boulders).
5) When you’ve reached the clump of trees, you should observe a lichen-covered boulder in among the trees. It is facing towards the creek. Hokkaido is hidden between the trees and the boulder, under a pile of rocks. Watch out for thorny plants!
Box 2 – Honshu
6) Get back on the dirt road and keep following it up the hill until you reach a gate.
7) Go through the gate, but stop and look to your left. You should observe two trail sign posts. One of them reads “247”. Follow this trail.
8) You will come to an opening in a barbed wire fence. There is a post that reads “Closed Road to Motorized Vehicles.” Starting from this post, count 32 steps up the trail. This should take you to a cluster of about 3 or 4 large boulders that lie in the middle of the trail.
9) Look to your left and spot the cube-shaped boulder, right on the edge of the trail. Resting beside it is a rectangular-ish rock with a small tree leaning on it. Underneath this boulder, covered by some rocks, is Honshu.
Box 3 – Kyushu
10) Continue up the trail.
11) You’ll come to yet another barbed-wire fence. From this fence, count 175 steps up the trail and you should notice that the canyon widens considerably.
12) Go a little further up on this widened area and there should be a very small pine just off the trail on the right.
13) From this pine, count 55 steps up the trail and you should stop at a large boulder on the right of the trail.
14) Put your back to this boulder. On your right is a Kentucky-shaped boulder. This is not the boulder you want. Instead, look to your left, and there is another boulder. It is slightly covered by a red-stemmed thorny plant.
15) Go to the slope-facing side of the boulder and Kyushu is hiding under some smaller rocks. Watch out for thorny plants!
Box 4 – Shikoku
16) From the large boulder on the right side of the trail, count 50 steps on up the trail.
17) This is the narrowest part of the canyon. It is only about 3 feet wide, and there are rock outcroppings on either side of you. The rock on your right is similar to slick-rock.
18) From this point, count about 25 steps and stop. If you look up the slope on your right, you should notice a pine tree.
19) Head up this steep slope to the pine tree. Shikoku is under some rocks at the base of the tree.
20) You can head on up the trail and explore. This is a beautiful area.
21) Since I am unable to check on these boxes, please contact me with an update on how my letterboxes are doing! Blazehime7@aol.com
22) Please log your find in to either AtlasQuest.com or Letterboxing.org