Claudius Smith Letterboxes LbNA #48963
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Nearby Boxes
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 17, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Sloatsburg |
| County: | Orange |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 2 |
| Planted by: | Sera&Doobie  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | Nairon (2) |
| Last found: | Dec 2, 2017 |
| Status: | FFF |
| Last edited: | Nov 1, 2015 |
*Stamps hand carved by, Sera and Doobie
*Hike:Moderate to Strenuous
*2 miles in, 2 miles out.
*Allow at least 3 hours for this trek that is studded with climbs,viewpoints and dramatic rock outcroppings.
*Not recommended for children.
*Dogs allowed on a leash.
Box #1: Wanted!
Claudius Smith, AKA “The Cowboy of the Ramapos" and his gang of outlaws are wanted for horse stealing and are suspected of murder.
Travelers, Beware! The Smith gang hideout, known as the Claudius Smith’s Dens
are believed to be located in Harriman State Park .Beware especially of the area
at the very end of Johnsontown Road off Seven Lakes Drive.
Smith and his gang have been seen at the cul-de-sac at the very end of the road.
His outlaw gang was seen riding back up from the cu-de-sac, crossing the stream and entering the woods on the BLUE DISC TRAIL.
This trail is well used by his gang as it has many steep rock outcroppings for ambushes and streams to provide water. Be on the look out for the markers of this trail as it is not well marked in some areas.
Smith has been known to use the viewpoint known as Almost Perpendicular
as a lookout point. Travelers continuing on the trail should keep a keen eye open for markers as they climb and descend Pound Mountain. (The trail descends at a gas pipeline.) The Smith gang would find that it is an Easy Route as the Blue Disc Trail passes to the right of a swamp. The trail begins to climb on rocks and intersects the red marked TUXEDO MOUNT IVY TRAIL. Perhaps Smith wrote the letters TMI in red, on a rock.
It is believed that if you make a left on the red trail you will walk through and around to the front of the infamous Claudius Smith’s Dens! Beware as you walk by them. Some say you will see bullet holes on the upper rock ledge. Passing by, with the dens to your right you should be careful as you walk past large boulders. Stop in the center of the flat slab of stone on the ground. You should see a boulder with a lightning bolt of a crack to your right and a tree with the double blazes of the red trail straight ahead. From where you stand take a compass reading of 220 degrees west. This should take you to your left.
(You should see mossy outcroppings of rocks)What you seek is under the ledge of one of the mossy outcroppings 50 feet from the stone slab.)
Box # 2: Hanged!
The 7 foot tall Claudius Smith met his end by hanging on January 22, 1779. Legend has it that his skull was filled with mortar and included in the walls of the Goshen Courthouse. But... Was it?
Retrace your steps to the Blue Disc Trail. Take the Blue Disc Trail up above the Dens to the gang’s lookout point known as Claudius Smith’s Rock. From the cliff, follow the Blue Disc Trail to a marker in the woods on a double tree. Standing with your back on the tree with no marker, face the trail. Take a reading of 80 degrees east. (Look for the tree with the rock leaning against it's base). What you seek is under the back of that rock.
You can retrace your steps (CAREFULLY) to the start or use a good Harriman State Park map to make a circuit.
Please be careful and enjoy!
~Sera & Doobie
*Hike:Moderate to Strenuous
*2 miles in, 2 miles out.
*Allow at least 3 hours for this trek that is studded with climbs,viewpoints and dramatic rock outcroppings.
*Not recommended for children.
*Dogs allowed on a leash.
Box #1: Wanted!
Claudius Smith, AKA “The Cowboy of the Ramapos" and his gang of outlaws are wanted for horse stealing and are suspected of murder.
Travelers, Beware! The Smith gang hideout, known as the Claudius Smith’s Dens
are believed to be located in Harriman State Park .Beware especially of the area
at the very end of Johnsontown Road off Seven Lakes Drive.
Smith and his gang have been seen at the cul-de-sac at the very end of the road.
His outlaw gang was seen riding back up from the cu-de-sac, crossing the stream and entering the woods on the BLUE DISC TRAIL.
This trail is well used by his gang as it has many steep rock outcroppings for ambushes and streams to provide water. Be on the look out for the markers of this trail as it is not well marked in some areas.
Smith has been known to use the viewpoint known as Almost Perpendicular
as a lookout point. Travelers continuing on the trail should keep a keen eye open for markers as they climb and descend Pound Mountain. (The trail descends at a gas pipeline.) The Smith gang would find that it is an Easy Route as the Blue Disc Trail passes to the right of a swamp. The trail begins to climb on rocks and intersects the red marked TUXEDO MOUNT IVY TRAIL. Perhaps Smith wrote the letters TMI in red, on a rock.
It is believed that if you make a left on the red trail you will walk through and around to the front of the infamous Claudius Smith’s Dens! Beware as you walk by them. Some say you will see bullet holes on the upper rock ledge. Passing by, with the dens to your right you should be careful as you walk past large boulders. Stop in the center of the flat slab of stone on the ground. You should see a boulder with a lightning bolt of a crack to your right and a tree with the double blazes of the red trail straight ahead. From where you stand take a compass reading of 220 degrees west. This should take you to your left.
(You should see mossy outcroppings of rocks)What you seek is under the ledge of one of the mossy outcroppings 50 feet from the stone slab.)
Box # 2: Hanged!
The 7 foot tall Claudius Smith met his end by hanging on January 22, 1779. Legend has it that his skull was filled with mortar and included in the walls of the Goshen Courthouse. But... Was it?
Retrace your steps to the Blue Disc Trail. Take the Blue Disc Trail up above the Dens to the gang’s lookout point known as Claudius Smith’s Rock. From the cliff, follow the Blue Disc Trail to a marker in the woods on a double tree. Standing with your back on the tree with no marker, face the trail. Take a reading of 80 degrees east. (Look for the tree with the rock leaning against it's base). What you seek is under the back of that rock.
You can retrace your steps (CAREFULLY) to the start or use a good Harriman State Park map to make a circuit.
Please be careful and enjoy!
~Sera & Doobie