MoNY #3 - Stone Giant LbNA #4951
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Add Location| Owner: | JeLyBean  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 26, 2003 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Branchport |
| County: | Yates |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Waneta Wench |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Aug 19, 2014 |
| Status: | FFOFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jul 26, 2003 |
(Verified in place 06/18/2010 by caretaker 'Cock o' the Trail'; 49 finders over nearly seven years!)
Monsters of NY Series 3 of 6 - Stone Giant
When Europeans arrived in New York, they found stone walls, roads, earthen fortifications and other evidence of previous civilizations. The natives had little knowledge of these works, and told stories of a race of stone giants that lived here long ago. Skeletons of these giants, seven to nine feet in length, have been unearthed in present day counties of Allegany, Cattaragus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Steuben and Yates. Some of these huge bones--including skulls with double rows of teeth that would fit over a human head--were even sent off to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, but none of these bones can be located today. The ruins of one of these giants' forts stood upon Bluff Point, at the top of Keuka Lake. Its stones were later carted off to form the foundation of buildings that can still be seen in the area. What happened to the giants? Perhaps they still lurk nearby.
Terrain: Easy to moderate, somewhat steep slopes, poorly marked trails, and some rock-hopping in a creek bed. Our five-year-old did it with minimal complaining.
Clues: Easy
Directions: Reach Keuka Lake State Park off 54A at the top of the western fork of Keuka Lake. From the entrance, take the road west toward the lake and park at the boat docks.
Clues:
From the boat dock parking lot, find the entrance to the Yellow Trail and head east uphill. Follow the faint yellow blazed trail, which is sporadically marked and sometimes blazed with other colors such as orange and pink. Take care to stay on the Yellow Trail which hugs the edge of the creek, and ignore places where other colored blazes take you off north into the woods. Just before you reach the camp site, you'll get to a place where good stone giant throwing stones lay dumped out in a pile along the creek. Avoid the temptation to scramble down this steep slope, but look closely to spy a large rock across the creek, propped up by smaller stones underneath. Continue past this place, and a few more steps up the trail, you'll find a spot that makes the creek-bed more accessible. Hop from rock to rock back down the creek to the rock you saw. Perhaps a stone giant left these here?
Notes:
- No ink pad in the box, make sure you bring your own.
- I forgot to bring an ink pad to stamp the box's own stamp into its log book and had to try to use the residual ink on the stamp. It came out a little faint. If the first finder would be so kind as to darken the stone giant stamp image in the log book with your own ink, I'd be grateful.
- Entrance/parking fee at NY state parks is about $7, and the ticket gets you admission to any other state park on the same day.
- Ask for a trail map at the gate house. Once you find the box, you can look at the map for alternate trails back to the lake and swimming area, or other ways to lengthen your hike.
- Keuka Lake State Park offers many activities including hiking, a swimming beach, boat launch, picnic facilities, camping, etc., come prepared to enjoy the day here.
- Please do not ask me for additional hints without offering a bribe of unpublished clues, hitchhikers, etc.
- Please email me with notes about the box: jelybean.books@comcast.net.
Monsters of NY Series 3 of 6 - Stone Giant
When Europeans arrived in New York, they found stone walls, roads, earthen fortifications and other evidence of previous civilizations. The natives had little knowledge of these works, and told stories of a race of stone giants that lived here long ago. Skeletons of these giants, seven to nine feet in length, have been unearthed in present day counties of Allegany, Cattaragus, Chautauqua, Chemung, Erie, Steuben and Yates. Some of these huge bones--including skulls with double rows of teeth that would fit over a human head--were even sent off to the American Investigating Museum in Philadelphia, but none of these bones can be located today. The ruins of one of these giants' forts stood upon Bluff Point, at the top of Keuka Lake. Its stones were later carted off to form the foundation of buildings that can still be seen in the area. What happened to the giants? Perhaps they still lurk nearby.
Terrain: Easy to moderate, somewhat steep slopes, poorly marked trails, and some rock-hopping in a creek bed. Our five-year-old did it with minimal complaining.
Clues: Easy
Directions: Reach Keuka Lake State Park off 54A at the top of the western fork of Keuka Lake. From the entrance, take the road west toward the lake and park at the boat docks.
Clues:
From the boat dock parking lot, find the entrance to the Yellow Trail and head east uphill. Follow the faint yellow blazed trail, which is sporadically marked and sometimes blazed with other colors such as orange and pink. Take care to stay on the Yellow Trail which hugs the edge of the creek, and ignore places where other colored blazes take you off north into the woods. Just before you reach the camp site, you'll get to a place where good stone giant throwing stones lay dumped out in a pile along the creek. Avoid the temptation to scramble down this steep slope, but look closely to spy a large rock across the creek, propped up by smaller stones underneath. Continue past this place, and a few more steps up the trail, you'll find a spot that makes the creek-bed more accessible. Hop from rock to rock back down the creek to the rock you saw. Perhaps a stone giant left these here?
Notes:
- No ink pad in the box, make sure you bring your own.
- I forgot to bring an ink pad to stamp the box's own stamp into its log book and had to try to use the residual ink on the stamp. It came out a little faint. If the first finder would be so kind as to darken the stone giant stamp image in the log book with your own ink, I'd be grateful.
- Entrance/parking fee at NY state parks is about $7, and the ticket gets you admission to any other state park on the same day.
- Ask for a trail map at the gate house. Once you find the box, you can look at the map for alternate trails back to the lake and swimming area, or other ways to lengthen your hike.
- Keuka Lake State Park offers many activities including hiking, a swimming beach, boat launch, picnic facilities, camping, etc., come prepared to enjoy the day here.
- Please do not ask me for additional hints without offering a bribe of unpublished clues, hitchhikers, etc.
- Please email me with notes about the box: jelybean.books@comcast.net.