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Harry and the Phoenix LbNA #7194

Owner:Scarab
Plant date:Feb 19, 2004
Location:
City:Reston
County:Fairfax
State:Virginia
Boxes:4
Found by: Qingwaa (4)
Last found:Dec 13, 2014
Status:FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
Last edited:Feb 19, 2004
Harry Potter and the Phoenix
Fred Crabtree Park
Stamps by Night Owl
Clues by Scarab. Edited Sept. 2004.

Directions: Take the Dulles toll road, route 267, from the Beltway to Reston Parkway south. (Don't take the access road and end up at the airport.) Turn left on Fox Mill Rd./Lawyers Rd. immediately bearing right on Fox Mill Rd. Fred Crabtree Park and a school is a short way on the left. Pass the first ballfield parking and the school on the left. Pass the playground on the left. Choose the left parking lot. Park in the east corner by the path entrance with two red posts and one green post.

Sorting:

Right. Now first you'll have to be sorted into a house. But to do that you must have the number. I know you're not supposed to go into the forest but that's where everything is you're looking for. Head down into the forest. First you'll pass the enclosure of the forgotten dead. Be very quiet or they will follow you and beg for remembrance. After that is the eenormous fallen tree on the left. You'll have to climb up it to get the number XX. It's written in small characters, above eye level, on the upright stump if you're standing on the fallen part. Yes, that's right. Up there. But look at it, you can walk on it, it's as wide as a sidewalk.

Continue down the path to the first fork, that is part of a triangle intersection near the creek. Turn left and walk XX steps down the path to a tree fallen across the path and sawn through. That's the tree whose stump you are looking for. Walk half that more steps down the trail and look back to see it. In the tall stump of the tree is who you need to consult. I'll wait here for you while you get sorted. (Very overgrown in summer. Did you really need those XX numbers?)

Post:

Well you'll want to tell all your friends how you did. Walk back along the path you came, to the "trident pitch" fork. Take the left fork and cross the creek, sorry we'll have to jump it, and walk a small path up hill. Turn left onto the bigger path. After a while it will cross a ditch and turn to the right and go up hill again. Pass by a path going off to the left. Near the top of the hill find a big two foot round hollow log that abuts the path. Take your letter to the other end and post it.

House Servant:

Now I'll show you around a bit. It is a long but magical walk. Continue, towards the rising sun, along the path which turns downhill. You may cross the creek, if wet, walking over the roots. Up the hill you will come to a T. Turn right and follow the path, passing some close dwellings. The path will turn you around and back towards the setting sun. The forest floor opens up here. Tall trees. Open viewss. May be some fairy rings. Never saw any though. When wet,isn't this an interesting double creek crossing? Look how the two small streams appear and disappear underground before joining off to the left. On the right is a kind of bowl one of the steams spills into and disappears.

Now we go up hill and down hill and up hill and down hill. Do not stray off on the two paths branching off to the right or the spiders might get you. After the second path to the right, the path turns left down hill then turns to the right to go up hill. Don't go up the hill. Look there on the left, behind a few large trees, is a bizarely toppled over and shattered pine tree. It has split and folded and fell over. The split is about nine feet high I think, or maybe twice our height. Now if you follow the trunk up until it crosses a log you'll meet the house servant. Try not to startle him. He is hiding from his mean master.

The Rescuer:

Let's continue up the hill and I'll show you where Harry slew the Basilisk. On the right I'm told we're passing a micro geocache hidden in the bottom hollow of a small tree. Whatever that is. At the fork take the left. Go down hill toward the sound of flowing water. Ahead are rock outcroppings and a bridge below. The path comes to the first big rock. From here you could go steeply down to the bridge but instead go to the right where you can walk between two big outcrops. A tree grows out of the upper one. The Basilisk rose out of the big creek and came after Harry on the bridge. Harry ran up here to the top of the outcrop. He held tight onto the tree so the Basilisk couldn't knock him off. Here he was high enough to stab it in its weak spot. Wicked! Afterwards he was hurt and stumbled up the hill from the rock tree. He must have gone at about 40 degrees for 30 steps and collapsed next to a two foot, grey, lichened covered rock. That's where his rescuer found him.

After you say hello return down the hill past the rocks toward the bridge. Don't cross it. Cross the stream to the right instead and head up the hill, up the path that goes at 310 degrees. Go up hill and down. Turn right towards the ball fields. Take the field or take the trail to the right alongside. Sun or shade whichever you like. At the end of the ballfield don't turn back into the forest but turn left back into the parking lots. You will come out facing a barn shaped shed. I won't tell you what Hagrid's got locked up in there. We started in the lot around the other side of the shed.

Now tell me, how were you sorted?

Note: We planted this series in the winter. Summer seekers report poison ivy and brambles. Wear long pants. We heard reports of some not finding the first box and others who finally did. When we finally got out there to check, we got lost, ourselves, looking for the second box. Then we were totally embarrased to run into two letterboxers, also lost. Actually it was great to meet boxers on the trail but we figured it was time to rewrite the clues a little. So we did.