Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part V: The Devil Himself

Okay, this might be the last of my very spoilery posts for a while, but once again, danger - spoilers!

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part IV: The Court's Decree is Poetry

Warning! Danger, Will Robinson! Spoilers ahead...

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part III: Alien Rights

Warning! Spoilers ahead...

Desconstructing the Devil's Advocate, Part II: Jail Bird

Danger! This box is still alive, and able to be found and logged.  Nevertheless, the clues is mostly broken down below.  Spoilers ahead...

Deconstructing the Devil's Advocate

Okay, so it really shouldn't be news to anyone who boxes in Ontario that the Devil's Advocate is an alias account that I have and that the four boxes were actually mine.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, I had to pull the Devil's Advocate box which makes the whole series of the puzzle impossible to solve.  Nevertheless, I really enjoyed putting that puzzle together, it was great fun, but for anyone who didn't get the chance to hunt them (or for anyone looking for inspiration for future puzzle boxes) I've decided to deconstruct the making of this puzzle series as well as the solution to it all.

In case you do *not* want to be spoiled or still think you can solve these, I'll try to put the content after a jump break.  You have been warned.

I love creating puzzles.  It's incredibly fun and part of the massive allure of letterboxing for me.  I'm not so great at solving ciphers in particular and can get notoriously frustrated, but I love putting them together and watching others.  It's the same feeling I get when I get an awesome Christmas present for someone.

I've been making tricky boxes for a while, but I had been wondering about how to make a clue that was based on an actual stamp itself.   Leave bits of clues everywhere and let the fun begin!  This, to me, is like the ARGs that I love so much (again, I follow them on the sidelines because I get notoriously frustrated).


SPOILERS AHOY!

A tale of seven kitties...

Ernest Hemingway once said: one cat just leads to another.  

So seems to be the case with a box I planted for PAL 2013: Letterbox Cliché.  My little Hello Kitty stamp has spawned others, much to my delight.  Inadvertently, my lone box has become a multi-letterboxer series of stamps. 

I don’t want to spoil any of it but the boxes by Fiddleheads and Vivian the Viking are perfection and looking through my logbook makes me giggle.

Again, please never ever ever create clues like these appear to be – just take the boxes for their humourous value.  This little series gets two thumbs way up from this Bumble and they are worth the time it would take to solve… (Note: some of these have restrictions and you may not be able to access the clues...)

Letterbox Cliché

Poached Kitten

Rogue Kitty

Grumpy Cat

Contrite Cat

HELLLLOOOOOOOO Kitty!
One Pissed Puss

One of the great things about the series are the comments by Fish Below the Ice.  When I got the comment report for Letterbox Cliché and read his comments, I do believe I had coffee come out my nose I laughed so hard.

Happy trails!

Numbers Station Redux

Ever since I learned about them, I have been fascinated by numbers stations.  My first exposure to one was on my favourite show of all time, LOST, where a numbers station was programmed 16 years earlier to air with a french plea for help.

I mostly forgot about them until the first LOST alternative reality game where there was a kind of numbers station set up as the next clue to unlock the next part of the game.  Creepy as all get out.  To solve it, you actually had to figure out how to reverse the video/audio to hear ciphertext being read (see the reversed version here). But it was then that I really started looking at where this idea came from and whether numbers stations are still airing (they are).

I even went so far as to get a short wave radio in order to hear them.  Creeped me out so bad, I didn't sleep for two nights, haven't listened on my own again since.

Anyways, after letterboxing for a while, I thought that a numbers-station-esque clue might be kind of cool, so I set about trying to figure out how to make a fake recording of a numbers station.

GarageBand and my first Numbers Station clue.

In the end, I used Rock Band which is preinstalled in my Macbook to take a number of recordings of static, a copy of me playing Yankee Doodle, as well as me reading off a phonetic alphabet set of clues.  I decided to use a melody intro and conclusion to be more like the well-known Lincolnshire Poacher numbers station, but I didn't have access to a child to read off the cipher, so I just read it myself while putting on a voice.

Then, mixed the sound levels a bit, save and export, send to Jackbear, and voila my first audio clue.

...

But then comes the waiting.  The worst part of a new letterbox.  Will anyone ever find it? Is the clue too hard? Can people even hear the recording properly? Should I make it easier? Is the clue too creepy to listen to? Should I just leave it?

After two weeks, there was a first finder, eight months after that, another finder. None since.

Then it occurred to me that I could easily just make another one and put it somewhere else for an entirely different group of boxers to potentially find. There are plenty of different numbers stations, after all.  A series of boxes perhaps.  Really, who's stopping me? Only me.  And since I had a lovely vacation planned for the near future, I set the gears in motion.

Actually, the location was perfect - and I even named this second box after the actual nearby numbers station.  You can hear some of the real station in the video below.  Stamp was easy, very similar to the original Numbers Station stamp, but unique.  Also, location, check. Planted, check. Then came the clue.  Second time around, easy peasy.

Jackbear was kind enough to host the last Numbers Station clue on the Letterpod, and agreed to host again...

And so, for your listening enjoyment: Numbers Station: Atención. My original box: Numbers Station.

I enjoyed doing it again, so I'll probably do another if I end up with a good location for one...

Happy trails!

Mysterious Texts

(updated October 1, 2012)

These boxes were planted for Box ON! 2012 - Mystery Markham. 

Since ancient times, ciphers have been used to hide text and prevent information from being given to unintended recipients. However, the battle has been waged against those ciphers, revealing the text of all but the most cryptic of ciphers.  In this letterbox series, you must solve encrypted clues leading to boxes related to texts with mysterious scripts, two that have never been deciphered… and perhaps never will…    

The Rohonc Codex

One of the most baffling of the hidden texts is without doubt the Rohonc Codex. This most peculiar script is written from right to left, and seems to mix up runes, straight and rounded characters in the style of Old Hungarian – but it defies all attempts at translation. This bamboozling manuscript is believed to have been written in medieval times. Appearing to be hand-scripted, and illustrated with crude black and white sketches, the writing is simply not decipherable in any way The paper on which this maddening text was written carries a watermark from Venice of 1529-1540, though the writing itself is thought to be several centuries older than that. This utterly mysterious manuscript may never be translated. 

Clue:

The Voynich Manuscript

This is the Voynich, Manuscript, long dubbed the ‘Most mysterious Manuscript in the World’. Experts now feel that the style of calligraphy and drawing, as well as the parchment type and ink pigments, suggest strongly that this document was initially produced in the 13th century. The book is 235 pages long, full of colored images of strange astrological charts, prancing nude women, unknown plants, and even live cells that look as if they have observed through a microscopic lens. It is also written in an encoded script that nobody has ever managed to decipher. The alphabet used is thought to comprise either 19 or 28 letters, but has nothing whatever in common with any known language on Earth. With the strange zodiacal signs and the obvious recipes for herbal preparations, some think the Voynich could well be the definitive textbook of alchemy – but still, 800 years after it was written, not one person actually knows.

Clue (extra note: bookcase against the wall):

The Dresden Codex

One of the great mysteries of modern times is the Dresden Codex, one of the few surviving books from the ancient Mayan civilization that existed in Central and South America. Decoded by a German scholar in 1880, the book opened a door to discovery of the brilliant minds of the Mayans. The Codex is filled with numeric equations based upon the movement of the planets, the sun and the stars. Scholars are disturbed by the fact that the Mayan calendar stops at the conclusion of the thirteenth time period, which points to December 22, 2012.  Is the end of the world just around the corner?

Clue:

KX RXGM WIF LWVATL ZFWGFFM WIF BATLW VMR LFHXMR BPXXTL. XM WIF BATLW PVMRAMK HXQAMK RXGM, UXN GAPP BAMR WIF ZXO ZFWGFFM WIF KPVLL VMR WIF QFWVP VW LIXNPRFT IFAKIW XM WIF QFWVP ZTVHF CNLW NMRFT WIF ZTVHYFW IXPRAMK WIF KPVLL.

Double, double, toil and trouble

...eye of newt and and toe of frog...

Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 

Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whin'd.

Harpier cries:--"tis time, 'tis time. 

The weirdest thing happened while I was down in Stratford this weekend.  I was planning on planting a letterbox and thinking about my favourite Shakespearean play, Mac -- maybe I shouldn't say.  You know. That play.  The Scottish play. But when I said its name, suddenly, three witches appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the letterbox out of my hands, floated away, cackling.

Round about the caldron go;
In the poison'd entrails throw.--
Toad, that under cold stone,
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i' the charmed pot!

I was following them at a careful distance on John Street North when I saw that they darted through the gates of the Avondale Cemetery.  That couldn't be good.  I chased them straight up the hill and then went left at the yellow building on the left.

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

I continued following them on the asphalt until I saw Mackay, Lockheart and Mary Hislop Turnbull on the right - at that point we veered to the left again.

Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg, and howlet's wing,--
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.

When they came to the T in the road at the stone house, they continued straight and to the left.  And at the next T, I followed them to the right.

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

As I noticed Ferguson and Meharry on the right, they darted left off of the asphalt and down a gentle hill. As I followed them past the last stone of Mary Powell, I could see them heading down to the water where they pulled up short at a small river, not daring to cross moving water even with a bridge.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witch's mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangl'd babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,--
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our caldron.

Instead, at the giant two-pronged dead tree, they headed to the right.  I chased them taking 30 steps along the path which became cedar chipped until I saw them dart behind yet another giant to-pronged dead tree and dance on a dead log behind and touching it.  There, I saw them dance and chant.

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and caldron, bubble.

I was too frightened to do anything about my letterbox, so I turned tail and ran.  So, I'm not sure.  It might be there.  So might the witches.  If you do see the box, please come and leave a comment here to let me know how it is.  And if you see those witches... run.

Korean Souvenir

This very friendly Buddha sits in front of the Jogyesa shrine near Itaewan.

Look, two posts in one day - I'll catch up, I swear!

One of the things that has taken time away from me is the rather unexpected trip to Seoul (I know, poor me).  Seoul is a magical place and I am so happy to have gone; it certainly wasn’t on a list of places I ever thought I would travel.  However, my sister was there and just finishing up an English teaching position, so I made my way out and explored the beautiful City.

I’ve never been anywhere in Asia, so this was my first experience.  From a letterboxer’s perspective, I have to say that the potential for letterboxing is high even within the city.  That is because the city is based in and around a number of mountains and the Korean people are avid hikers - there are oodles of trails.  You are never more than a couple subway stops away from a number of trailheads leading up into the mountains.  The mountains are gorgeous and have beautiful hidden treasures like Buddhist temples, panoramic vistas, and waterfalls.

Unfortunately, at least in my search of AtlasQuest, there are very few letterboxes in Seoul, and only one of which my travels could bring me in reach of during my stay.  That was the Korean Surprise letterbox in Myeongdong.  My sister, friends and I made our way out and did some nice shopping in the area and found the spot the clues led to, and after a very thorough search of the spot, failed in our quest.  A tad disappointing not to have a find from Korea, but it was a great adventure nonetheless and led me to a delicious restaurant.

I did manage to plant a letterbox, Love in Suraksan, and truly hope that it will be found at least once before it disappears into the void.  I planted it near where my sister was living in Seoul near Mount Suraksan – Suraksan is Korean for “water trickling down the mountain”.  Residents of Seoul make their way to Suraksan  in the spring in order to sit in the creek where the water trickles down and let it wash over them… I was visiting too early in the year to enjoy such festivities and instead planted a letterbox nearby instead.  It’s not that far from the subway station and does not require anyone to do any climbing, as it is essentially at the base of this mountain.

But now that I am home and faced with all kinds of ephemera related to the trip, I decided to plant a sort of souvenir letterbox.  Now, for you letterboxers out there who know my style of boxes, this is not like any of them.  First off, it is a *gasp* store-bought stamp. *boo, hiss!*  Well, in my defence, I actually purchased this cute little stamp in a stationary store in Itaewan (a shopping district of Seoul).  It's really, really, cute.  It has Korean writing on it and I've left the translation in the box.  And the written statement... well... that is indeed how I lived while in Seoul.

Now, in order to overcome the store-purchased-ness of the stamp, I would like to tell you some other interesting things about this box.  The tin it is in is of a Korean boy-band - they are of a special type of music called K-Pop which *everyone* seems to listen to down there.  It was funny, and I will always remember sitting next to a rough looking guy on the subway who was blaring K-Pop music through his headphones...  The logbook itself was made from a postcard I purchased which shows hand-carved wooden Korean characters.  The logbook shows the image of the purchased stamp along with the translation, along with a stamp impression of a hand-carved stamp/seal that I purchased - the translation for which is "bumblebee" which I've used instead of my standard signature stamp.

If you're interested in finding this box, head over to the Markham Village Branch of the Markham Public Library.  There's another letterbox in here somewhere if you're interested.  Before I left for Seoul, I visited the travel section and took out some books about South Korea and Seoul.  When I went back to plant this box, I looked for the asian cuisine section to find some books on the delicious Korean food I was treated to while there.  Oddly, the travel section and the recipe section face each other - I could reminisce.  You'll find the letterbox attached to the bottom-most shelf at the back left of the bookcase where you'll find asian cookbooks.  (If you can't find any on Korean food, it's because I took them all out!).

How I made a magnetic logbook letterbox

So, with OPAL just around the corner, I've been carving away and taking on Fiddleheads' library challenge.  However, while I love the idea of having letterboxes in libraries and right on the bookshelf, I haven't been able to bring myself to actually ask a librarian for permission to do so for a number of reasons all stemming from the old addage it's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to get permission...

Since I've already planted quite a number of letterboxes in libraries, including within the library systems in which I intend to plant for OPAL, if I ask and am refused I am potentially jeopardizing the existing boxes.  After all, most of them would be very easily found once the library is aware of their presence and of the clue locations.

Here it is: the final self-contained magnetic library letterbox

My intention then is to plant my upcoming library OPAL boxes without permission and therefore they must be easily concealable.  In the past, this has meant either planting the stamps as magnets without logbooks - but I'm a huge fan of reading logs - or planting magnetic planter's pouches - which is less than desirable.

I've therefore had an idea percolating for some time for a self-contained logbook/stamp holder that would be magnetized... I've finally made one and am going to show you what I did.

First off, I had a number of things on hand: carved stamp for the letterbox, small pads of blank paper, needle and embroidery thread, cardstock, patterned cardstock, double-sided tape, felt/fleece, rare earth magnets, markers, ruler*, bone folder, scissors, gum (I can't think without gum).

Next, I cut down the cardstock to the right size and fold - there were four folds made as you can see in the image below (the signatures for the logbook and the stamp are above). 

Next, after I have the folds right, I covered the card stock in the decorative stuff.  You'll see that I used double-sided tape for pretty much everything in this project.  I also added two small bars of rare earth magnet - you can see them in the middle below.  I lined those up so that where they would be in the final product is at the back where it would serve to attach properly to a metal surface.

You can see the magnets a little better in the image below.  I covered them with double sided tape as well to make sure they wouldn't slip around between the card stocks.  I've used these little magnets very successfully in the past in letterboxing - they are very powerful, and because they are so small, they are easy to use to convert a stamp into a magnet or to made a pouch magnetized.

Once the card stocks were taped together, I then taped in a piece of felt which is where the stamp will go once the thing is complete (I really should come up with a name for this thing - any suggestions?).  I then sewed in signatures I had prepared out of pieces of paper I took from a small pad of paper. (I hate cutting paper for signatures, so why bother?)

Then it was pretty much done, just had to add the name and typical info I include in boxes (although minus my usual geocache warning). 

Below, you can see it folded with the stamp in place from the top to understand how it works.  I initially used the embroidery floss to tie it closed, but decided on a colour-coordinated rubber band instead.  In the future, I would incorporate an elastic right into the design (like moleskin books).

And that's it.  There will be more of these made and used for OPAL (and likely other places).  I'll probably get a better feel for proportions in the future boxes, but for now I'm really pleased.

*Yes, I use a ruler, but for its straight edge, not as a tool of measurement.  I eyeball everything and generally won't make something if it requires me to measure things too precisely. Also, this explains why I am a terrible cook, can't sew to save my life, and why my lab marks in undergrad where subpar.

The $1 Tour of Hamilton

Clue updated: October 21, 2011

The following few pages contain a driving tour of the City of Hamilton that will also lead to you six letterboxes in the Hamilton area. 

A few things before heading out:

• This is a driving tour, so please be careful – obey all rules of the road and don’t read while driving.  Recruit a navigator to read aloud while driving or pull over to stop.
• Print and take these directions and clues with you!
• The driving/clue directions are in bold, the rest is information to read once you have arrived at the location.
• The tour will take about two-three hours, or longer depending on whether you stop to explore.
• All stops to be made to hunt letterboxes have free parking except at Princess Point which is $1 per hour – you will only need an hour here.  And the money goes to the Royal Botanical Gardens.  Win, win.
• The stamps each represent the sight you’ve seen, but come together to form one large overall image.  You’ll need at least a half a standard size piece of paper to fit the stamps.  Look for guides on each of the stamps for indication of where the stamp goes and how to align it with other stamps.  Alternatively, you can stamp them all separately and then cut and paste them together at home.
• Boxes 1-5 are just stamps - magnetized.  Only the final box contains a log book.

Box 1 – the City of Waterfalls

Make your way to the intersection of Scenic Drive and Balflour Drive, Hamilton, and park on Balflour drive.  Walk back out to Scenic Drive on the wide paved walkway.  Follow to the old stone and concrete barrier and look over to see the falls.  You’ll find the magnetic stamp inside the guardrail on the left where it attaches to the concrete in the top bend of the guardrail at the top.

The Chedoke Falls from the base inside the Chedoke Golf Course

The falls you are seeing are the Chedoke Falls with a view from the top.  The picture to the right shows the falls if you were to hike in from the Chedoke park.  Hamilton is known as the City of Waterfalls – there are over 100 waterfalls in Hamilton due to the presence of the Niagara Escarpment.  Most are publicly accessible and I highly recommend taking some time in Hamilton to go waterfalling.  If you do, there’s a letterbox (or two) at my favourite waterfalls. During the  winter, there are groups that go waterfalling and practice ice climbing on the frozen falls!

Though you can’t see it from this vantage point, the Chedoke Falls themselves are considered to be a ribbon-type waterfall and is over 15 metres in height.  However, you can access these falls from below by crossing the Chedoke Municipal Golf course and traveling up river to view them. 

 

Box 2 – the Niagara Escarpment

From your car, go back onto Scenic Drive which is one way at this location and continue on Scenic, cross the intersection.  You are now on Fennell Avenue West. Keep your eyes peeled as you pass Mohawk College on the right.  Then on the far left side as you cross West 5^th Street, you will see Auchmar Estate through a chain link fence.  Continue on Fennel and turn left on Upper Wellington, about a kilometre down the road.  Follow Upper Wellington to Concession Street and turn right.  Park in the first parking lot on the left.  From the parking area, go to the right where you’ll see markings and signs for the Bruce Trail side trail.  Follow the side trail down and around to the left and to the stairs.  Continue on the stairs until you come to the sidewalk and stone barrier immediately adjacent to the road.  You’ll find the magnet again inside the guardrail at the top where it connects to the stone barrier.

Just some comments on Mohawk College and Auchmar Estate…

Mohawk College which you saw on your right is a large college with five campuses – you drove past the Fennel campus.  Mohawk College teaches an impressive 10,000 full time and 40,000 part time students each year (and they offer fantastic photography courses, if I don’t say so myself). 

Auchmar Estate prior to renovations starting

Auchmar Estate, though closed at the moment for renovations, is architecturally significant as one of Hamilton’s most impressive 19^th century estates and for its exemplification of Gothic Revival style architecture. The focal point of the property is the ‘Manor House’, a long, ‘H’ shaped villa completed in 1855. Like the home of a Scottish laird the house features a rough-cast stucco finish, clustered chimneys, and various Gothic details such as pointed arch windows and label moldings. The interior is similarly styled in the Gothic taste with the ballroom displaying a highly decorative, plaster, strap work ceiling and corridors featuring vaulted ceilings with plaster ribbing. Interior woodwork repeats the Gothic motif with slender shafts and foliated plaster capitals lining the corridor walls and the pointed arch incorporated into doorway frames and door panels. Auchmar is a designated historic site and is currently owned by the City of Hamilton.

You’ve now made it to the Niagara Escarpment as it crosses Hamilton.  You can’t really go anywhere in Hamilton without facing the effects of the Escarpment.  The City has grown up and around the Escarpment and has faced some interesting mobility challenges because of it.  In the past, there were actual railways that climbed the Escarpment, and even special short rail lines that went directly up the Escarpment! For example, the Eastend Incline Railway operated from 1895 until 1936, carrying passengers from Wentworth Street below the Escarpment to Upper Wentworth Street at the top of the Escarpment.  Today, the Wentworth Stairs exist in the spot where the Eastend Incline Railway operated and have 500 steps – the greatest number of any of Hamilton’s stairs.

Today, these different modes of traversing the Escarpment are all bisected by the Bruce Trail.  If you’re a southern Ontario letterboxer – or a hiker in general – you’ve likely already hiked sections of the Bruce.  The Bruce runs from  Tobermory in the north all the way down to Queenston. As it travels through Hamilton, it runs right through the City along the Escarpment and many people, including myself, use parts of it to get back and forth to work.

In Hamilton, the Niagara Escarpment is fondly known as the “Mountain” and there are a number of roads called “accesses” that can get you from the bottom to top or vice versa.  The roadway you are looking at now is called the Jolley Cut access.  There are also the Sherman Access, Kennelworth Access, Claremont Access, etc.  As mentioned, there are also a number of stairways for pedestrians and cyclists for access in addition to the roadways. You can get an amazing view of the City from any of these gorgeous heights!

As you’re traveling by car next down the Jolley Cut, you can get an amazing view of the geology of the escarpment and to the left you’ll see the different layers that you would see in the cross cut of the Jolley Cut. Have a look at this chart before you go.

Box 3 – McMaster University

Leaving the parking lot, turn right onto Concession and then go to the right onto the Jolley Cut. At the bottom of the Mountain, turn left onto Charlton Avenue East, then left onto Queen Street South, then turn right onto Aberdeen Avenue.  Follow Aberdeen for about a kilometre and turn right onto Locke Street South.  Continue a few streets down then find a nice parking spot to pull over to read the following.

You had traveled along Aberdeen Avenue and likely saw some amazing landmark homes.  Aberdeen Avenue ends at the Chedoke Golf Course that we had seen from above earlier.

You are now on Locke Street.  This historic area is home to many antique shops and has recently developed into a very artsy neighbourhood.  Feel free to take some time to explore…

Ahead, keep your eye out as you approach the highway for the Cathedral of Christ Our King. This beautiful building can be seen from both directions traveling across Highway 403 in Hamilton.  In the tower is a set of 23 bells, the largest of which is called the “Bourdon” and was donated by a past Prime Minister.

 

Box 3 – Continued

Continue up Locke Street and turn left at King Street West.  Keep your eyes peeled for the Cathedral as you cross the 403.  Continue following King Street through the Westdale neighbourhood all the way to the McMaster University Campus – be careful to stay on King as a number of lanes force you away if you’re not careful.  Once you’ve reached the campus, you’ll be forced to either turn left or right at Forsyth – go left. Follow this road down and around the medical school buildings.  Turn right at Main Street West, then immediately right again on Cootes Drive.  Merge right off of Cootes and turn left at the residence building. Follow this university road up to Bates Residence and stay to the left in this pay & display parking lot.  You’re not staying long, so ignore the fare. The lot is the shape of a donut with a spoke out the top with a drive that says “Private Road”.  Go to the parking spots closest to this private road.  On the side facing the residence, there is a lone light post in the centre – you’ll find this magnet under the skirt stuck underneath the metal platform the light stand is on.

McMaster is a huge university wedged between the Westdale neighbourhood and the Royal Botanical Gardens.  McMaster is well known for its academics and its medical school.

Westdale is one of Canada’s first planned communities.  If you look at satellite images for the area, you’ll see that it’s been designed in an oval and spoke pattern, with shops located in the centre.

Box 4 – the McQueston Bridge

From the parking lot, turn right onto Westaway Road, then left onto a round road to get you back onto Cootes Drive.  Turn left onto Main Street West then left again onto Longwood Road South.  Follow Longwood for a distance, past the residential area, until you see an entrance to the left for Princess Point.  Go in and park as close to the entrance as possible – remember to get a ticket.  Although this will be the longest walk for the day, you will still only need a dollar’s worth of parking.  Follow the path over the bridge with the wood boards.  After the bridge, follow to the left and stay on the asphalt trail – watch for speedy cyclists.  You will walk for a while until you get to the fishway. (If you’re here in spring, you’re in for a show!).  At the fishway, the path goes to the right and you will see multiple bridges overhead.  Keep following the path under the bridges and you will see a set of stairs on the right.  Go to the second landing (the first landing is a perfect square, the second is oddly shaped).  Face the wall.  You will find this magnet on the bottom at the left attached under the vertical metal piece perpendicular to the wall.

Okay, confession time.  When I first came to Hamilton, I couldn’t figure out what a coote was.  Cootes Paradise – the small lake/marsh area at the very west end of Lake Ontario – must be home to many of these… cootes.  Was it a type of bird?  Fish? Insect?  No, none of the above.  Cootes Paradise was named after Captain Cootes of the Kings Royal 8th Regiment of course.  Silly me.  (Don’t get me started about what I thought the ticats were.  Let’s just say I did NOT think they were a pro sports team).  Cootes Paradise is part of the extensive Royal Botanical Gardens property and home to a huge range of biodiversity. 

The bridge currently above you is the McQueston High Level Bridge over which York Street travels. (York Street – called that originally because it took you to York, now called Toronto.  Just as Dundas Street in Toronto takes you to the town of Dundas, and Kingston Road in Toronto takes you to the city of Kingston).  Although you can not see it from this vantage point (feel free to climb the stairs to the top where you will be at bridge level), this bridge has four massive columns with niches in the sides facing the road. These niches were meant to house statues of famous Hamiltonians… To this day they remain empty.  I’ll let you ponder the implications while you retrace your steps back to your car.

Box 5 – the Waterfront

Turn left out of the parking lot and follow this road (Macklin Street North) all the way to where it ends at Main Street and turn left.  Go back over Highway 403 (you’ll see the cathedral again!) and through the downtown area.  You’ll pass Hamilton’s newly renovated City Hall on the right.  Just after City Hall, you’ll make a left turn onto James Street South. After you pass King Street, look on the right for the Lister Block which is also being restored.  Continue along James, past LIUNA Station on the right and then turn left after that onto Strachan Street West.  At the intersection with the large mast, go straight through onto Harbourfront Drive.  Follow the drive as it curves to the left and then turn right into the second parking area and park.  If you go to the right, you can take an amazing stroll around Bayfront Park.  In the summer, you can swim or sail from here.  However, for the stamp, go to the left.  Stay to the path and go past the gazebo.  When you see the marking for 200 on the trail, stop.  Look to about 10 on the clock.  You will see a cedar and a lamppost, with a chainlink fence running behind it.  You will find the magnet on the bottom of the fencepost between the tree and the lightpost.

If you continue along this trail and look off to the left, you’ll see the McQueston bridge again from afar this time. Actually, the trail you are now standing on connects directly to the trail you took near Princess Point.  Hamilton is well known for its extensive trail system, particularly along the water.

From the other side of the park, you’ll see the Burlington Skyway bridge which travels over Burlington Bay connecting Burlington to Hamilton. The Hamilton Waterfront also harbours the HMCS Haida, a World War II destroyer ship, of which you can take tours.

Box 6 – Dundurn Castle

From your car, head back out the way you came, and turn right at the mast onto Bay Street North.  Follow Bay south to Cannon Street West where you’ll be forced to turn right.  Cannon soons turns into York Boulevard.  Follow York until you see Dundurn Castle on the right and park in its lot.  From the lot, walk to the right behind the estate and pass the kitchen garden.  Keep going and you will pass a closed up white building on the left.  A little further and you will reach an open oval-shaped area surrounded by trees.  Turn left into the oval and travel to very end.  Once there, you’ll see a small foot path – going a few steps into the tree line on that foot path, you’ll see a large fallen tree crossing the path. Look to the left up this tree; you’ll find the final box tucked into and under the vee of the tree covered in bark.  Please rehide well!

 

Dundurn Castle is not actually a castle, but is rather the impressive estate of Sir Allan McNab,

one of Canada’s first premiers.  During the War of 1812, the British established a post on the property.  Feel free to explore the grounds before setting off.  I highly recommend the tour of the interior of the property – the tour guides are in costume and the buildings are beautiful.  If not, at least go see the gift shop so that you can see some of the interior of the horse stables.

 

 

I hope you’ve enjoyed our trip through the City of Hamilton.  To get back on your way, turn right out of the parking lot and you will cross the McQueston bridge and find signs to get back on Highway 403 which will take you wherever you need to go. I hope you enjoyed the beautiful architecture, the sweeping vistas, and learned about some of the wonderful things that Hamilton has to offer. Hope to see you again soon!