Reported missing Jul 4, 2009, but - hey - it has a nice long run as the original box planted in this area which later spawned many others!!!

From Durango take Rt 550 north (Main St), turn west on 25th street which later becomes Junction St, Junction Creek Rd and finally FR 171. Follow this paved road 3.5 mi bearing left at 3 mi to pass the end of the Colorado trail, and then go just over 7 mi of good gravel road to the Animas Overlook parking area on your right. Taken the paved , wholly accessible 2/3 mi loop trail, starting to your left, for great views of the San Juans and the Animas River valley. About 1/3 of the way through the loop, turn your back to the Basketmakers of Falls Creek sign, and go a couple of paces to the end of the railroad tie past the bench. The micro box with stamp by RTRW is tucked under the tie behind the smaller of two reddish rocks. Please take care to close the lid tightly and enjoy this beautiful area.

For many years now, seeing the Continental Divide Trail become a reality has been one of my "pet projects". After 5 "thru-hikes" on the 2,150-mile Appalachian Trail, 3 "thru-hikes" on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail, and dozens of treks on many "shorter" long-distance trails, certainly hiking the CDT, the so-called "King of Trails", 3,150-miles from Mexico to Canada was by far my own most exciting and memorable backpacking adventure of all!

Of course, back when I backpacked the CDT, and even through to recent times, part of what made this Rocky Mountain trek from Mexico to Canada so much more arduous and challenging than the other trails was that so much of it had no trail! Long distances with no established pathway often required "creative route-finding" or dangerous bushwhacking, so it later became my dream to help join CDTA in making one long completely built and well-established trail for future hikers to more safely enjoy this fantastic journey!

Well, after many work trips in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana over the past dozen or so years, the job is still far from complete. In late summer 2009 we had hoped to continue work on a new connector to link up some sections in central Colorado that we had worked on previously. Back when I first hiked through here in 1989, I had taken a route over the rugged Ten-Mile and Gore Ranges, then cut over to Ptarmigan and Vasquez Peak, but now the CDT is being re-routed to stay closer to the actual divide, to go from Glacier Peak east of Breckenridge over to 14,000 foot Gray's Peak right on the divide, down to Herman Gulch and then back up to Vasquez Peak and Berthoud Pass more directly.

Anyway, on our way back to Denver at the end of that Glacier Peak work trip weekend, we had decided to check out the kiosk that we heard had been built at a major new trailhead between our last two Colorado work trips (Mt. Flora and Mt. Morgan). We had a letterbox with us containing a stamp by RTRW of CT that we had hoped to plant at Grand Lake, but we weren't going to have enough time left to get up that way this trip, so we thought we'd leave it near the new trailhead, and maybe get back next year to move it to a more appropriate spot.

Well, while I was searching around for a place to leave the letterbox, Pete seemed to be transfixed by the maps, photos and captions over by the kiosk. He was staring at the left side of the signboard, and finally yelled out, "Wanda, come over here! This actually looks like a picture from our Mt. Flora work trip a few years back, and this looks like -" he hesitated...

I dashed back to where he was standing and started jumping up and down shouting, "That's me, that's me, that's me!!!" Sure enough, a stranger would never have been able to recognize me, what with the big yellow hard hat covering my face, since I was slightly bent over digging my yellow-strapped pulaski into the ground to build the trail. However, the clothing was unmistakable! The same gray zip-turtleneck I wore for years on the CDT, the same gray socks, the same black pants, the same red bandana and the same red Hi-Tec boots, of which I wore out so many pairs during my long backpacking years, but had just dug one out of the garage recently to use as the place in which to put my stuffed rooster mascot for my "Miala Baba Koguta" stamp! Wow - now what kind of a coincidence is that!?!

Needless to say, I was tickled pink to find out that I was the new "CDT poster gal", especially since the caption above couldn't have been better suited to my love of the trail and volunteerism in general. It read, "Continue the vision. Become a part of the project." What a terrific feeling to know that I was indeed a small part of this grand CDT project, that I had given back at least a little to these wonderful trails that have meant so much to me, and might perhaps even encourage others to do so, too!

At any rate, we left the letterbox nearby as planned, but couldn't help thinking how much we wished it had a different stamp in it, like a quick-carved line drawing of me in my hard hat hacking away at the trail with my pulaski! If anyone out there might be willing to do such a carving, and possibly replant the RTRW stamp and logbook in a new home, please let us know! We'll gladly send out "drive-by" clues to find the box and the little "first finders prize". Otherwise, we'll just hope the box survives the winter and that we can get back out there to do a replacement ourselves maybe next summer, or the one after that, or the one after that...so many happy trails!

BEFORE YOU SET OUT, PLEASE READ THE WAIVER OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DISCLAIMER..

You can find information about this hobby at Letterboxing North America (LbNA)

News concerning this hobby is posted at LbNA Talk List