The Unknown Artist
(at River Vista)

Note: This letterbox has gone missing, and there are no plans to replace it. Sorry for the inconvenience.

   I found this hand-carved eraser when cleaning out the "junk drawer" in my kitchen.  I have no idea who carved it, or why.  I know that I did not carve it myself, but I am certain that it has been in the back of that drawer for many years -- long before the advent of Letterboxing in North America.
   Although the design is a simple geometric shape, it appears to have been carved with some care and skill, further deepening the mystery.
   If you would like to view this puzzling artifact by an unknown artist, you can do so by finding the following letterbox:

Location:   Hurd State Park, East Hampton, CT.
Terrain:   Moderate.
Clues:   Easy.
Time:   Add an additional 30 - 45 minutes to the time you have spent looking for other letterboxes in this park.

DIRECTIONS:   For directions to Hurd State Park, see the clues for the Blue Griffin letterbox.

CLUES:   Remember the point on the paved park road where the red trail comes out, at the end of the hike to find the Blue Griffin letterbox?  Just a few steps past it, there is a trailhead for a yellow trail.  A few feet from the trailheads, these two trails cross each other and continue on in their opposing directions.  Follow the yellow trail, climbing gently uphill.  Although it is blazed in yellow at the beginning, it is not well-marked further on.  Just stay on the main trail (there is only one major branching, which is on the right) until you come to the end, where you will see a brown wooden sign with arrows pointing you to "White Mtn", "River Vista", and "Split Rock".  Head towards Split Rock.  In just a few steps, you will come to a huge white boulder in the middle of the trail.  At first I thought this might be the rock known as "Split Rock", even though it certainly appears to be all in one piece!  But I later learned that the "real" Split Rock is further down.  Anyway, this huge rock is quite impressive.  With the huge white rock on your left, continue past it at 320° to walk out onto an outcropping of black rock.  Now step off the west side of this black rock and continue north around it, into a channel between it and some other rocks.  Look for a flat slab of rock pressed up against the larger hill of rock.  Reach under the slab-shaped rock from its north side to find the Unknown Artist letterbox.

The RETURN:  You will want to take some time to enjoy the River Vista, where many rocky ledges offer wonderful views of the Connecticut River.  Then you can return the way you came, or .... continue on to the White Elephant (at White Mountain) letterbox ....