Pete Slosberg began brewing as a hobby in 1979, choosing beer over wine because it didn’t take as long before he could enjoy the results of his endeavors. It wasn’t long before Pete was totally hooked on beer, and in 1986 he formed Pete’s Brewing Company, which has since become one of the leading craft brewers in the United States. His Wicked Ale is a mellow, malty, nut-brown beer with an aroma of roasted malt and floral hops, and a slightly sweet malt flavor leading the way on the palate, tempered by a gentle hoppy dryness. Overall, there is very little bitterness to this beer, with Brewers Gold hops used for their floral aroma. Pete’s also produces three other brews: Strawberry Blonde, Rally Cap and Wanderlust Cream Ale.

   Pete’s Wicked Ale is the first craft brew I ever had, back in the college days of bottomless pitchers of Budweiser and endless cases of other cheap swill. The bold, rich flavor of Pete’s (which is now, to me, quite mellow) had me hooked on microbrews.

Read the entire clue before proceeding. You may discover that there's more than one way to get to this box, which will be advantageous if you've already found the first two boxes in this series.

   Begin your quest at the Wild Hop Lager letterbox. Follow the path heading generally east, then south over a large, flat boulder, then southeast. Please, please, please… stay on the path!! The lower half of the path you will be following meanders through wickedly beautiful and ecologically sensitive areas. This path is well-worn and should be easy to follow. Just stay on the path!

   Presently you’ll reach a small clearing of exposed granite, somewhat triangular in shape. Downslope are trees, and upslope are numerous slabs of granite, most covered with moss and lichen. The path continues out of the clearing to the east. Soon you will enter another smallish clearing, this one marked by a large double-stack of granite on your right and another, smaller one on your left. (Aside: if you want a wicked view, find your way to the bald you’ll find about 100 feet away at 40 degrees. It’ll seem like you’re standing on the treetops!) Being very careful where you step, continue through this clearing, uphill, SSE.

   You’ll come to another clearing, one marked by a pine with the top wickedly nipped off and stripped of bark (on the left side of the path). Continue on the path, heading east.

   The environment changes from here on up, with much less undergrowth and fewer damp mossy areas. The trail also becomes steeper and a bit more challenging. Soon you’ll reach a point where the path turns sharply to the SSE and up a steep incline. On the left is a large boulder with a wicked “mail slot” on the trail-side. Continue up the slope.

   You’ll reach a point where a fork leads off to the right. This fork is marked by two twisty oaks, one on the left, and one on the right. Follow the left fork. Up ahead you should see the fence that is meant to keep you from falling to your wicked death. Continue up, alongside the fence (on the safe side), following the path as best you can. What’s that on your right? A gravel road? How wicked! Get up on it and walk up, keeping to the left, until you reach a drainage ditch made of concrete biscuits. Cross over that and head for the fenceline. You’ll see the trail heading due east, uphill, through a wooded area. You’ll come to a large boulder very close to the fence. There’s a warning sign right there—let’s call this Sign Number One. Squeeze between the fence and the boulder and walk up the mountain right next to the fence. Soon you’ll reach Sign Number Two, which has a large boulder nearby, sitting right out on the exposed granite. Continuing up, you’ll climb over a large flat slab of granite and you’ll soon reach Sign Number Three. Take a step or two away from the fence and sight 230 to a pine tree that’s growing at an angle. This pine is growing from underneath a small slab of granite, which it has cracked in two. There’s a wicked hiding place under the closest corner of the closest slab.

Colors: red and black… but since the margin for error on this stamp is very, very small (so small that unless you have a Cherry Red dual-tip LePlume II and a fine-tip black marker, you could do solid red or solid black.

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