Enter the Loop Trail on the east side of Ruggles Pond (to your left when standing on the beach facing the pond).  Follow the blue plastic triangles. Throughout this hike, always keep the pond to your right. Cross two plank footbridges, step over a fallen log, and eventually see a tree marked "1257."  Keep going.  Pass through a large, very rocky area with many boulders.  Note the first blue triangle trail marker that you see immediately after this rocky area.  From this marker, begin counting paces: At approximately 55 paces, see a double-trunk birch tree a little ways off the trail to the left; one of its trunks is broken.  At 75 paces, see a birch with a strange large growth on its trunk, directly on the left side of the trail.  At 100 paces, see a large felled tree on your right with a big exposed root system.  At 130 paces (approximately), see two fallen trees on the right side of the trail that point toward the pond, just before a blue trail marker.  At the two fallen trees, stop, face left and walk 15 paces off the trail to the left (SE).  The Spring Peeper of Ruggles Pond is singing under a moss-covered boulder.  Push aside a few birch branches and a flat stone to hear his song even better.

Because this hiding place faces the trail, if other hikers are in the vicinity, please wait until they have passed to remove the box and stamp in.

At this point, if you are hiking with small children you may want to retrace your steps and return to the beach area.  Or, you can continue hiking on this trail and hunt for the "Oft She Visits" letterbox further on, going all the way around the pond and ending up back at the beach area.  The complete circular hike, depending on your pace and the time it takes you to locate the boxes and stamp in, should take 60-75 
minutes.

"Oft She Visits" Letterbox
ESTABLISHED: August 29, 2001
CLUE DIFFICULTY: Easy
TERRAIN: Easy/Moderate

This letterbox is dedicated to my friend Jay Bernfeld, viola da gambist and director of the CD Fantasy in Blue (music of Purcell and Gershwin), on which mezzo-soprano Rinat Shaham and the ensemble Fuoco e Cenere perform this Purcell aria, from Act II of the opera Dido and Aeneas.  Fantasy in Blue was released in 2001 on the ATMA label.  (For more information visit ATMA’s Web site at http://www.atmaclassique.com/anglais/fiche_disque.asp?ID=ACD22253.  You haven’t lived until you’ve heard Gershwin’s "Sweet and Lowdown" performed by four viols and a recorder!)

The aria, sung by Dido’s attendant, tells the story of Acteon, who was turned into a deer by the goddess Diana after he accidentally discovered her bathing in the woods.  Acteon, who had been a fearless hunter, fled in terror from his own hounds, who chased and killed him.

"Oft She Visits"
Music by Henry Purcell
Libretto by Nahum Tate

Oft she visits this lov’d mountain,
Oft she bathes her in this fountain,
Here Acteon met his fate;
Pursued by his own hounds,
and after mortal wounds
Discovered too late.
Here Acteon met his fate.

To find the "Oft She Visits" Letterbox, continue on the Loop Trail.  The next section of the trail is not as frequently marked and leads you through the wide spaces of a cool pine forest.  Keep going, with the pond still to your right.  Eventually you will exit the pine forest and enter a denser, mixed-growth woods closer to the pond.  Keep going until you come to two large boulders directly on the right side of the trail (west) that have trees with very striking exposed roots growing over them.  Stop.  Just beyond these boulders covered by tree roots, you’ll see a blue trail marker on a hemlock and an upcoming plank bridge.  Standing between the two large root-covered boulders, face left (SE).  Climb off trail approximately 40 paces and find two small overlapping boulders nestled under a group of hemlocks. The unlucky Acteon rests in a crevice on the SE side of these two low-lying stones.

To finish your hike, taking care not to disturb Diana at her bath, continue on the trail, crossing over the plank bridge.  The trail climbs uphill a bit and is now marked with white blazes (the pond is still on your right).  After 10-15 minutes of hiking on this white-blazed trail, you will enter a large grassy picnic area, from which you’ll see you’re nearly back where you began.

Congratulations!  I hope you enjoyed hiking around this lovely pond.  If you’d like to find three more letterboxes, hidden on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in Wendell State Forest, read on.  These M&M Trail boxes are the first letterboxes I planted and, to my knowledge, were the first letterboxes hidden in Massachusetts.  The first one, called El Corazon, is very easy to find and would be a good one to look for with small children.  A nice outing for children could include looking for the Spring Peeper box (30-40 min. round trip), followed by lunch or swimming/playing at the pond, then hunting for the El Corazon box (also about 30-40 min. round trip).

The other two M&M Trail boxes, Saint-Exupery and Letterbox Vincent, require more strenuous hiking on rocky trails, including a short but steep climb, and may not be suitable for small children who are inexperienced hikers.

El Corazon Letterbox
ESTABLISHED: August 22, 1998
CLUE DIFFICULTY: Easy
TERRAIN:  Easy

Begin at the main parking lot across from Ruggles Pond.  At the far end of
the lot you'll see white blazes on trees, which mark the Metacomet Monadnock trail.  Follow the white blazes, hiking downhill. Pass a hut on your right. Shortly after you cross a shallow rocky stream, you'll encounter a birch tree growing smack in the middle of the trail and just beyond that fallen trees blocking the path.  Climb over the trees, stop, turn to the right, and leave the trail.  About ten feet from the trail, look for bark under a barkless tree. 

Saint-Exupery Letterbox
ESTABLISHED: August, 1999
CLUE DIFFICULTY: Easy
CLUE REVISED: August, 2001
TERRAIN:  Moderate

Dedicated to French aviator and author Antoine de Saint-Exupery. The stamp may bring a smile to anyone who has read The Little Prince.  If the image puzzles you, read the book!

NOTE: The stamp in this box has been damaged.  I will replace it sometime in 2004. For the time being, I'd recommend skipping it.

CLUE: After you've found the El Corazon box, continue on the M&M Trail.  Follow the white blazes, hiking downhill.  Eventually you'll come to a fallen birch across the trail, followed shortly thereafter by another.  Now the trail runs quite close to a steep ravine, with a stream and waterfall on your left.  Soon you'll come to a spot where the stream on your left and a scenic waterfall on your right coverge.  You'll need to cross the stream; then the trail veers to the right, a short but steep climb. After the climb, continue on the trail, following the white blazes, on relatively level terrain with a brook always at your left.

As you walk, consider this: There are many signs and treasures on the M&M Trail, some natural and some manmade, some posted on poles, some sheltered under fallen trees, hidden from view. Find such a sign and stop.  Retrace your steps, seven paces.  Seek your treasure on the NW edge of the trail. 

Please rehide this particular box well and make sure it is not visible from either direction on the trail before you leave.

Letterbox Vincent
ESTABLISHED: August 22, 1998
CLUE DIFFICULTY: Easy
CLUE REVISED: August, 2001
TERRAIN:  Easy/Moderate

Isn't the Hidden Valley Memorial Forest lovely? Now continue onward for Letterbox Vincent. The M&M Trail will soon veer to the right, away from the brook that has been on your left for quite some time.  When it does, be alert.  You're almost there.  See a large birch on the right side of the trail.  Continue on the trail 25 paces beyond the birch and see a large fallen tree on the left, pointing north, away from the trail.  Turn left, leave the trail, and walk 10 paces along the west side of this log.  Letterbox Vincent resides just a couple feet away, under a small shelter made of a birch log and birch bark.

If you come to Jerusalem Road, where there's a wooden sign saying "M & M Trail," you've overshot Letterbox Vincent.  But turn back, you're actually very close to the box. 

If you like climbing and brought a trail map with you, from Jerusalem Road you can proceed to two scenic overlooks.  Or, you can retrace your steps on the M&M Trail, heading back the way you came and taking time to observe the mushrooms, wildflowers, and beautiful waterfalls that you passed on your way to the letterboxes.

Thank you for coming to Wendell State Forest.  I hope you had a pleasant visit!

Letterboxing, like any outdoor sport, carries the risk of unforeseen hazards. Letterboxing North America supports a policy of not knowingly placing letterboxes in areas that will create undue risk to the letterbox hunter.  However, as conditions may  vary, it is the responsibility of the letterbox searcher to become thoroughly familiar with the conditions in the area to be searched, to adequately prepare for those conditions, and to conduct oneself safely and responsibly with respect to those conditions and with respect to his or her personal abilities and limitations.  "Letterboxing North America" and the individual letterbox sponsors assume no liability for events which may occur related directly or indirectly to one's searching for a letterbox. 

Do not let children hunt for letterboxes unsupervised. 

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