His Dark Materials LbNA #9440
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Add Location| Owner: | Adoptable |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 17, 2004 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Oswego |
| County: | Oswego |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 6 |
| Planted by: | Craftymouse  |
|---|---|
| Found by: | T-N-T (3) |
| Last found: | Sep 20, 2010 |
| Status: | FFFOFFFFFFFFFF |
| Last edited: | Jul 17, 2004 |
Ink is included in some of these boxes, but you must bring your own pen. NOTE: 3 boxes are confirmed missing as of 5/2010 - The Golden Compass, Iorek Byrnison and Pantalaimon. The remaining three are alive and well.
These letterboxes are based on the "His Dark Materials" trilogy written by Philip Pullman. These books follow the story of one girl and her incredible destiny. Written for the young adult market, these books are satisfying to the adult reader and young person alike. You need not have read the books to find these boxes, but they might make a little more sense if you did. (Read them anyway, cause they're just that good!)In these books, armored bears rule the North, a human's soul is represented in the physical form of an animal and is called a daemon, and witches exist. If you like LOTR or Harry Potter, you must read these books.
These boxes are located at Rice Creek Field Station, a unit of SUNY Oswego devoted to academic instruction, research and public service in all aspects of natural history, specifically the natural sciences and environmental education. The station formally opened in 1966. To learn more about Rice Creek, including directions to the field station and a trail map (which may be helpful) check out www.oswego.edu/other_campus/rcreek/location.html Trails are open from dawn to dusk everyday.
When you enter Rice Creek, the building hours will be posted on the gate. There is no fee to drive down the entrance road and park down by the building, but please know that this entrance gate WILL BE LOCKED if the building is closed. That means that if you drive into the field station and are still there after the folks in the building have gone home, your car will be locked in. My suggestion is this: You can park in the small gravel lot next to the gate to avoid any chance of your being locked in. It means a little extra walking, but you'll survive. If you walk in from this gravel lot, you can take your time without having to worry about how to get out later. Walkers can come and go from dawn to dusk. If you want to be daring and park down by the building, please note that it will probably take about 2 hours for hiking and stamping, so please plan accordingly.
CLUES:
"What did he call it?" she whispered.
"An althiometer."
There was no point in asking what that meant. It lay heavily in her hands, the crystal face gleaming, the golden body exquisitely machined. It was very like a clock, or a compass for there were hands pointing to places around the dial, but instead of the hours or the points of the compass there were several little pictures, each of them painted with extraordinary precision, as if on ivory with the finest and slenderest sable brush. She turned the dial around to look at them all. There was an anchor; an hourglass surmounted by a skull; a chameleon, a bull, a beehive... Thirty-six altogether, and she couldn't even guess what they meant.
"There's a wheel, look." said Pantalaimon. "See if you can wind it up."
There were three little knurled winding wheels, in fact, and each of them turned one of the three shorter hands, which moved around the dial in a series of smooth satisfying clicks. You could arrange them to point at any of the pictures, and once they had clicked into position, pointing exactly at the center of each one, they would not move.
The fourth hand was longer and more slender, and seemed to be made of a duller metal than the other three. Lyra couldn't control its movement at all; it swung where it wanted to, like a compass needle, except that it didn't settle.
"Meter means measure," said Pantalaimon. "Like thermometer. The Chaplain told us that."
"Yes, but that's the easy bit," she whispered back. "What d'you think it's for?"
Neither of them could guess. Lyra spent a long time turning the hands to point at one symbol or another (angel, helmet, dolphin; globe, lute, compass; candle, thunderbolt, horse) and watching the long needle swing on its never-ceasing errant way, and although she understood nothing, she was intrigued and delighted by the complexity and the detail.
***
If you're parked at the entrance gate, walk down the paved road to the parking lot. From the parking lot by the building, you'll see an herb garden. Behind this you'll find the entrance to the blue trail. This trail is marked with blue circles and the sign at the entrance reads "the willow grove trail". Take this trail.
Cross the clearing, noting the unusual shaped trees. You are headed straight for "the trail" marked by blue circles. After a short walk in the woods, the path crosses a large meadow with birdhouses. Watch out for snakes! The path then enters back into the woods. Another path will cut in front of you - this is the bicycle trail. Cross over the path to continue on the blue trail.
Soon the path takes a turn to the left. Be sure to follow the blue circles! A very large tree is through the woods on your left. Go to the large tree. Straight ahead you'll see the trail that you crossed over not too long ago (the bike trail). Stand so that you're facing the bike trail and the big tree is at your right shoulder. If you turn 90 degrees left so your back is to the big tree, you'll see through the underbrush, about 20 feet ahead is a large flat stone covered in moss and shaped like a parallelogram. Go and stand on this stone. Within another 5 feet or so, at the base of some smaller trees and covered with flat rocks you'll find Iorek Byrnison, King of the Bears. Please rehide him well since you are within sight of 2 different trails. Also be very careful of the thorny shrubs which help to guard Iorek's lair. ***confirmed missing 2010***
From where you found Iorek, merge onto the bicycle path. You'll quickly notice a stone wall on your right in the brush - you will be walking along this wall for a while, and you'll probably see it on and off throughout these searches.
When the path splits again, go straight onto the blue trail. You'll see a sign reading something to the effect of "no motor vehicles" to let you know you're on the right trail. The wall will still be on your right.
At the next intersection, go right. You'll soon discover the end of the stone wall. Go around to the other side of it. Under flat rocks, closest to the dead standing tree is the Golden Compass. ***confirmed missing in 2009***
***
...Will turned to the knife itself. He pulled it toward him. It was an ordinary-looking dagger, with a double-sided blade of dull metal about eight inches long, a short crosspiece of the same metal, and a handle of rosewood. As he looked at it more closely, he saw that the rosewood was inlaid with golden wires, forming a design he didn't recognize till he turned the knife around and saw an angel, with wings folded. On the other side was a different angel, with wings upraised. The wires stood out a little from the surface, giving a firm grip, and as he picked it up he felt that it was light in his hand and strong and beautifully balanced, and that the blade was not dull after all. In fact, a swirl of cloudy colors seemed to live just under the surface of the metal: bruise purples, sea blues, earth browns, cloud grays, the deep green under heavy-foliaged trees, the clustering shades at the mouth of a tomb as evening falls over a deserted graveyard...If there was such a thing as shadow-colored, it was the blade of the subtle knife.
***
After rehiding the compass, you'll need to retrace your steps all the way back to where you found Iorek. (This long straight path is the bike trail, as shown on your map.) You'll continue past Iorek, looking for a sign for the red trail with an arrow pointing right. Don't follow the arrow. Instead, turn left. This is also the red trail and is marked by red triangles. You'll quickly come to a small wooden bridge. About 15 feet past the bridge, stop. Look back over your left shoulder and you'll see a tall tree with a hollow base. Make your way to that tree, stepping carefully over the remains of a stone wall. In the hollow base you'll find Kaisa, the witch's daemon. Please rehide him well.
When you're ready, continue on the red path, crossing over two more wooden bridges, one big, one small. Shortly after crossing the last small bridge, you'll see that stone wall again. When you reach the opening to a small clearing, stop and go back four paces. If you look to your left, you'll see a "window" opening into a new area with a large tree and many rocks and boulders. Go to the tree and carefully climb onto the remains of the rock wall. Looking straight ahead you'll see a vast sea of poison ivy. Don't worry, you don't need to go for a swim in it! Step carefully over the rock wall and turn back to face the trail. Watch out for some very old wire that is close to the tree. Bend down and lift a couple of the flat rocks near the tree at the crest of the wall. Please recover this box well. It has a tendency to move around a little bit.
***
...now she had two sheets.
She put them together and looked through. The amber color was denser, and like a photographic filter it emphasized some colors and held back others, giving a slightly different cast to the landscape. The curious thing was that the doubleness had disappeared, and everything was single again; but there was no sign of Shadows.
She moved the two pieces apart, watching how the appearance of things changed as she did so. When they were about a hand span apart, a curious thing happened: the amber coloring disappeared, and everything seemed its normal color, but brighter and more vivid....
....And when she looked through, everything was changed. She could see Shadows....Everywhere she looked she could see gold, just as Aral had described it: sparkles of light, floating and drifting and sometimes moving in a current of purpose. Among it all was the world she could see with the naked eye, the grass, the river, the trees; but wherever she saw a conscious being, one of the mulefa, the light was thicker and more full of movement. It didn't obscure their shapes in any way; if anything it made them clearer.
***
Continue on the red trail, going left at the T, then right at the Y. There has recently been some significant mowing going on in this area. Please be sure to stay on the trail with the red triangles. You'll go across another meadow. You may hear some frogs soon. Check out the muddy little cut to the right to see the big frogs in the small pond. After you've made them all jump into the water, continue on the red path. You'll pass areas with many berries and cross under powerlines. This path ends by the storehouses at the parking lot.
Cross the parking lot and enter the green trail by the building. The entrance is marked by a rock dedicating this area to Carlita Snygg. The next few instructions go rather quickly, so keep your eyes open and follow the clues.
Go right to cross a small bridge, then a second bridge. Go right again to cross bridge number three. English Hawthorne is in the middle of the trail. Go left, then right, past the Canada Goldenrod. Straight ahead is a tree with the green diamond marking. The base of this tree is surrounded by large rocks, false solomon's-seal and sharp-lobe hepatica. ***NOTE***Some of the identifying markers for the trees and plants have been removed or switched around. I'm not sure if they'll be put back later on. Follow the clues to the best of your ability. Honestly, all of the green paths go to the same place.
Cross the wood bridge over the small stone ditch, but don't follow the green diamond. Go right instead. You'll soon cross a metal railed bridge by Commissioner of Highways. Continuing on, you'll see a large rotting log on the right, perpendicular to the path, with the far end pointing to a hill. Climb the hill and take ten paces on a bearing of 300 degrees.
To your right will be one of the most unbalanced trees you've ever seen. Stand in the small clearing before this tree. At a bearing of 150 degrees, you should see two smaller trees with the end of a fallen trunk between them. Follow the fallen trunk to its far end, where it meets a rock. Check under the bark and debris between the rock and trunk to find The Amber Spyglass.
Go back the way you came to the place where you didn't follow the green diamond. This time, follow it. It will quickly lead you to the woods on the right. You will soon see a stone marker telling you about the boardwalks. Cross the first set of boards. Reaching land quickly, you'll go up an incline. At the top of the incline are 2 smallish trees with green diamonds. One is tall and straight, the other is shaped like a lightning bolt. About 10 feet to the left of the lightning is a large tree with a small pile of forest debris behind it. Under the debris is part of a cinder block. Inside the cinder block you'll find Pantalaimon, Lyra's daemon, patiently waiting for her return. There is a 'bench' a few steps further on the path that you may use as you stamp in. Remember to be discreet. Please rehide this box very carefully so it's not apparent that there's something of interest behind the tree. ***confirmed missing 2010***
You can continue on the boardwalks and on the green trail if you'd like. Retrace back to the parking lot by the building if you're parked there, or go straight up the road to your car if you're parked up by the gate.
These are the first boxes placed by Craftymouse, Dandelion, and The Spirit of Mr. Pigeon. Hope you enjoy!
These letterboxes are based on the "His Dark Materials" trilogy written by Philip Pullman. These books follow the story of one girl and her incredible destiny. Written for the young adult market, these books are satisfying to the adult reader and young person alike. You need not have read the books to find these boxes, but they might make a little more sense if you did. (Read them anyway, cause they're just that good!)In these books, armored bears rule the North, a human's soul is represented in the physical form of an animal and is called a daemon, and witches exist. If you like LOTR or Harry Potter, you must read these books.
These boxes are located at Rice Creek Field Station, a unit of SUNY Oswego devoted to academic instruction, research and public service in all aspects of natural history, specifically the natural sciences and environmental education. The station formally opened in 1966. To learn more about Rice Creek, including directions to the field station and a trail map (which may be helpful) check out www.oswego.edu/other_campus/rcreek/location.html Trails are open from dawn to dusk everyday.
When you enter Rice Creek, the building hours will be posted on the gate. There is no fee to drive down the entrance road and park down by the building, but please know that this entrance gate WILL BE LOCKED if the building is closed. That means that if you drive into the field station and are still there after the folks in the building have gone home, your car will be locked in. My suggestion is this: You can park in the small gravel lot next to the gate to avoid any chance of your being locked in. It means a little extra walking, but you'll survive. If you walk in from this gravel lot, you can take your time without having to worry about how to get out later. Walkers can come and go from dawn to dusk. If you want to be daring and park down by the building, please note that it will probably take about 2 hours for hiking and stamping, so please plan accordingly.
CLUES:
"What did he call it?" she whispered.
"An althiometer."
There was no point in asking what that meant. It lay heavily in her hands, the crystal face gleaming, the golden body exquisitely machined. It was very like a clock, or a compass for there were hands pointing to places around the dial, but instead of the hours or the points of the compass there were several little pictures, each of them painted with extraordinary precision, as if on ivory with the finest and slenderest sable brush. She turned the dial around to look at them all. There was an anchor; an hourglass surmounted by a skull; a chameleon, a bull, a beehive... Thirty-six altogether, and she couldn't even guess what they meant.
"There's a wheel, look." said Pantalaimon. "See if you can wind it up."
There were three little knurled winding wheels, in fact, and each of them turned one of the three shorter hands, which moved around the dial in a series of smooth satisfying clicks. You could arrange them to point at any of the pictures, and once they had clicked into position, pointing exactly at the center of each one, they would not move.
The fourth hand was longer and more slender, and seemed to be made of a duller metal than the other three. Lyra couldn't control its movement at all; it swung where it wanted to, like a compass needle, except that it didn't settle.
"Meter means measure," said Pantalaimon. "Like thermometer. The Chaplain told us that."
"Yes, but that's the easy bit," she whispered back. "What d'you think it's for?"
Neither of them could guess. Lyra spent a long time turning the hands to point at one symbol or another (angel, helmet, dolphin; globe, lute, compass; candle, thunderbolt, horse) and watching the long needle swing on its never-ceasing errant way, and although she understood nothing, she was intrigued and delighted by the complexity and the detail.
***
If you're parked at the entrance gate, walk down the paved road to the parking lot. From the parking lot by the building, you'll see an herb garden. Behind this you'll find the entrance to the blue trail. This trail is marked with blue circles and the sign at the entrance reads "the willow grove trail". Take this trail.
Cross the clearing, noting the unusual shaped trees. You are headed straight for "the trail" marked by blue circles. After a short walk in the woods, the path crosses a large meadow with birdhouses. Watch out for snakes! The path then enters back into the woods. Another path will cut in front of you - this is the bicycle trail. Cross over the path to continue on the blue trail.
Soon the path takes a turn to the left. Be sure to follow the blue circles! A very large tree is through the woods on your left. Go to the large tree. Straight ahead you'll see the trail that you crossed over not too long ago (the bike trail). Stand so that you're facing the bike trail and the big tree is at your right shoulder. If you turn 90 degrees left so your back is to the big tree, you'll see through the underbrush, about 20 feet ahead is a large flat stone covered in moss and shaped like a parallelogram. Go and stand on this stone. Within another 5 feet or so, at the base of some smaller trees and covered with flat rocks you'll find Iorek Byrnison, King of the Bears. Please rehide him well since you are within sight of 2 different trails. Also be very careful of the thorny shrubs which help to guard Iorek's lair. ***confirmed missing 2010***
From where you found Iorek, merge onto the bicycle path. You'll quickly notice a stone wall on your right in the brush - you will be walking along this wall for a while, and you'll probably see it on and off throughout these searches.
When the path splits again, go straight onto the blue trail. You'll see a sign reading something to the effect of "no motor vehicles" to let you know you're on the right trail. The wall will still be on your right.
At the next intersection, go right. You'll soon discover the end of the stone wall. Go around to the other side of it. Under flat rocks, closest to the dead standing tree is the Golden Compass. ***confirmed missing in 2009***
***
...Will turned to the knife itself. He pulled it toward him. It was an ordinary-looking dagger, with a double-sided blade of dull metal about eight inches long, a short crosspiece of the same metal, and a handle of rosewood. As he looked at it more closely, he saw that the rosewood was inlaid with golden wires, forming a design he didn't recognize till he turned the knife around and saw an angel, with wings folded. On the other side was a different angel, with wings upraised. The wires stood out a little from the surface, giving a firm grip, and as he picked it up he felt that it was light in his hand and strong and beautifully balanced, and that the blade was not dull after all. In fact, a swirl of cloudy colors seemed to live just under the surface of the metal: bruise purples, sea blues, earth browns, cloud grays, the deep green under heavy-foliaged trees, the clustering shades at the mouth of a tomb as evening falls over a deserted graveyard...If there was such a thing as shadow-colored, it was the blade of the subtle knife.
***
After rehiding the compass, you'll need to retrace your steps all the way back to where you found Iorek. (This long straight path is the bike trail, as shown on your map.) You'll continue past Iorek, looking for a sign for the red trail with an arrow pointing right. Don't follow the arrow. Instead, turn left. This is also the red trail and is marked by red triangles. You'll quickly come to a small wooden bridge. About 15 feet past the bridge, stop. Look back over your left shoulder and you'll see a tall tree with a hollow base. Make your way to that tree, stepping carefully over the remains of a stone wall. In the hollow base you'll find Kaisa, the witch's daemon. Please rehide him well.
When you're ready, continue on the red path, crossing over two more wooden bridges, one big, one small. Shortly after crossing the last small bridge, you'll see that stone wall again. When you reach the opening to a small clearing, stop and go back four paces. If you look to your left, you'll see a "window" opening into a new area with a large tree and many rocks and boulders. Go to the tree and carefully climb onto the remains of the rock wall. Looking straight ahead you'll see a vast sea of poison ivy. Don't worry, you don't need to go for a swim in it! Step carefully over the rock wall and turn back to face the trail. Watch out for some very old wire that is close to the tree. Bend down and lift a couple of the flat rocks near the tree at the crest of the wall. Please recover this box well. It has a tendency to move around a little bit.
***
...now she had two sheets.
She put them together and looked through. The amber color was denser, and like a photographic filter it emphasized some colors and held back others, giving a slightly different cast to the landscape. The curious thing was that the doubleness had disappeared, and everything was single again; but there was no sign of Shadows.
She moved the two pieces apart, watching how the appearance of things changed as she did so. When they were about a hand span apart, a curious thing happened: the amber coloring disappeared, and everything seemed its normal color, but brighter and more vivid....
....And when she looked through, everything was changed. She could see Shadows....Everywhere she looked she could see gold, just as Aral had described it: sparkles of light, floating and drifting and sometimes moving in a current of purpose. Among it all was the world she could see with the naked eye, the grass, the river, the trees; but wherever she saw a conscious being, one of the mulefa, the light was thicker and more full of movement. It didn't obscure their shapes in any way; if anything it made them clearer.
***
Continue on the red trail, going left at the T, then right at the Y. There has recently been some significant mowing going on in this area. Please be sure to stay on the trail with the red triangles. You'll go across another meadow. You may hear some frogs soon. Check out the muddy little cut to the right to see the big frogs in the small pond. After you've made them all jump into the water, continue on the red path. You'll pass areas with many berries and cross under powerlines. This path ends by the storehouses at the parking lot.
Cross the parking lot and enter the green trail by the building. The entrance is marked by a rock dedicating this area to Carlita Snygg. The next few instructions go rather quickly, so keep your eyes open and follow the clues.
Go right to cross a small bridge, then a second bridge. Go right again to cross bridge number three. English Hawthorne is in the middle of the trail. Go left, then right, past the Canada Goldenrod. Straight ahead is a tree with the green diamond marking. The base of this tree is surrounded by large rocks, false solomon's-seal and sharp-lobe hepatica. ***NOTE***Some of the identifying markers for the trees and plants have been removed or switched around. I'm not sure if they'll be put back later on. Follow the clues to the best of your ability. Honestly, all of the green paths go to the same place.
Cross the wood bridge over the small stone ditch, but don't follow the green diamond. Go right instead. You'll soon cross a metal railed bridge by Commissioner of Highways. Continuing on, you'll see a large rotting log on the right, perpendicular to the path, with the far end pointing to a hill. Climb the hill and take ten paces on a bearing of 300 degrees.
To your right will be one of the most unbalanced trees you've ever seen. Stand in the small clearing before this tree. At a bearing of 150 degrees, you should see two smaller trees with the end of a fallen trunk between them. Follow the fallen trunk to its far end, where it meets a rock. Check under the bark and debris between the rock and trunk to find The Amber Spyglass.
Go back the way you came to the place where you didn't follow the green diamond. This time, follow it. It will quickly lead you to the woods on the right. You will soon see a stone marker telling you about the boardwalks. Cross the first set of boards. Reaching land quickly, you'll go up an incline. At the top of the incline are 2 smallish trees with green diamonds. One is tall and straight, the other is shaped like a lightning bolt. About 10 feet to the left of the lightning is a large tree with a small pile of forest debris behind it. Under the debris is part of a cinder block. Inside the cinder block you'll find Pantalaimon, Lyra's daemon, patiently waiting for her return. There is a 'bench' a few steps further on the path that you may use as you stamp in. Remember to be discreet. Please rehide this box very carefully so it's not apparent that there's something of interest behind the tree. ***confirmed missing 2010***
You can continue on the boardwalks and on the green trail if you'd like. Retrace back to the parking lot by the building if you're parked there, or go straight up the road to your car if you're parked up by the gate.
These are the first boxes placed by Craftymouse, Dandelion, and The Spirit of Mr. Pigeon. Hope you enjoy!