Claire Birtz and Morse Letterbox LbNA #77357
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Add Location| Owner: | SallytheSalamander
 |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Apr 19, 2025 |
| Location: | Tipton Rock Rd, Southbridge, MA |
| City: | Southbridge |
| County: | Worcester |
| State: | Massachusetts |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Not yet found! |
|---|---|
| Last found: | N/A |
| Last edited: | May 5, 2025 |
Directions: Use GPS address 444 Tipton Rock Road. Please beware that sections of Tipton Rock Road are impassable! Do not approach from Blackmer Rd. or Lebanon Hill. Take Rt. 169!
From the parking area, go past the kiosk and follow the blue trail footpath to the woods road on your left. Turn left onto the woods road and walk down hill.
Continue straight over the stone culvert and wet areas. You will notice some hay bales in the woods road and that is ok! The neighbors are accessing their property through this woods road for timber harvest and have an easement to do so.
In this wet area, there are spice bush and witch hazel shrubs, skunk cabbage and false hellebore with their broad green leaves poking up, and even marsh marigold in the water that will bloom a bright yellow flower in the spring!
Before the woods road starts back uphill after the wet area, turn left onto the blue trail footpath into Claire Birtz. (Note: the woods road turns into the red trail and meets up with the trails on Claire Birtz in the back of the property, so a fun trail to explore another time or loop back on to return to the parking area!).
Continue along the Blue Trail for about ¼ mile. You will notice Yellow Birch trees with their peeling bark and some signs of beavers chewing trees. You will also pass through stone walls. The trail will turn right and start uphill through mountain laurel shrubs, a sign you are getting out of the wetter areas!
You will come to an intersection with the yellow trail at about 0.1 mile, turn left to stay on the blue trail! You will have the option to hike up the yellow trail on your way back.
Continue on the blue trail for another 0.1 mile, and turn left at the junction with the white trail, which will continue to follow along Morse Pond. In Morse Pond, you will likely see or hear Wood Ducks and Mallards!
The White trail will take you along Morse Pond and past 2 beaver lodges very near to each other. Continue on the white trail, up and down through some wet areas with rocks to hop across on. You will see an inlet from Morse Pond to your left that the trail passes. You may again see ducks in the water who will fly off to another section of Morse Pond.
Continue on the White trail, soon you will pass through a stone wall and the trail will turn right to follow along the stone wall. Continue walking until the trail dips down to a wet area – the Red Maple Swamp will be on your left. If you stand still for a few minutes, you may hear spring peepers and wood frogs calling in the swamp!
Cross over the wet area – the swamp drains into Morse Pond – and immediately look to your left. There will be a bolder with a tree snug against it. Explore around that boulder to find the letterbox hidden!
Carefully remove the letterbox, add the stamp from the letterbox to your logbook and re-hide the box, so that it isn’t visible unless you know where to look.
Now you have some fun options to loop back to the parking area!
You can turn around and walk the white trail you came along if you want to go back along Morse Pond again (~0.75 miles back to the parking area).
You can also take the blue trail, which will be your first right if you go a little further down the trail (~0.75 miles back to the parking area).
Continue past the blue trail to take the yellow trail back if you want some steep hiking and cardio! The yellow trail is your second right after the blue trail and starts to go up hill (~0.75 miles).
Finally, if you continue straight past both the blue and yellow trails, you will find yourself on the red trail – a longer trail that goes onto another conserved property owned by Opacum Land Trust. The red trail will be the longer route back, but very obvious trail as it turns into an old logging road (~1.25 miles back to the parking area).
From the parking area, go past the kiosk and follow the blue trail footpath to the woods road on your left. Turn left onto the woods road and walk down hill.
Continue straight over the stone culvert and wet areas. You will notice some hay bales in the woods road and that is ok! The neighbors are accessing their property through this woods road for timber harvest and have an easement to do so.
In this wet area, there are spice bush and witch hazel shrubs, skunk cabbage and false hellebore with their broad green leaves poking up, and even marsh marigold in the water that will bloom a bright yellow flower in the spring!
Before the woods road starts back uphill after the wet area, turn left onto the blue trail footpath into Claire Birtz. (Note: the woods road turns into the red trail and meets up with the trails on Claire Birtz in the back of the property, so a fun trail to explore another time or loop back on to return to the parking area!).
Continue along the Blue Trail for about ¼ mile. You will notice Yellow Birch trees with their peeling bark and some signs of beavers chewing trees. You will also pass through stone walls. The trail will turn right and start uphill through mountain laurel shrubs, a sign you are getting out of the wetter areas!
You will come to an intersection with the yellow trail at about 0.1 mile, turn left to stay on the blue trail! You will have the option to hike up the yellow trail on your way back.
Continue on the blue trail for another 0.1 mile, and turn left at the junction with the white trail, which will continue to follow along Morse Pond. In Morse Pond, you will likely see or hear Wood Ducks and Mallards!
The White trail will take you along Morse Pond and past 2 beaver lodges very near to each other. Continue on the white trail, up and down through some wet areas with rocks to hop across on. You will see an inlet from Morse Pond to your left that the trail passes. You may again see ducks in the water who will fly off to another section of Morse Pond.
Continue on the White trail, soon you will pass through a stone wall and the trail will turn right to follow along the stone wall. Continue walking until the trail dips down to a wet area – the Red Maple Swamp will be on your left. If you stand still for a few minutes, you may hear spring peepers and wood frogs calling in the swamp!
Cross over the wet area – the swamp drains into Morse Pond – and immediately look to your left. There will be a bolder with a tree snug against it. Explore around that boulder to find the letterbox hidden!
Carefully remove the letterbox, add the stamp from the letterbox to your logbook and re-hide the box, so that it isn’t visible unless you know where to look.
Now you have some fun options to loop back to the parking area!
You can turn around and walk the white trail you came along if you want to go back along Morse Pond again (~0.75 miles back to the parking area).
You can also take the blue trail, which will be your first right if you go a little further down the trail (~0.75 miles back to the parking area).
Continue past the blue trail to take the yellow trail back if you want some steep hiking and cardio! The yellow trail is your second right after the blue trail and starts to go up hill (~0.75 miles).
Finally, if you continue straight past both the blue and yellow trails, you will find yourself on the red trail – a longer trail that goes onto another conserved property owned by Opacum Land Trust. The red trail will be the longer route back, but very obvious trail as it turns into an old logging road (~1.25 miles back to the parking area).