Appalachian Footpath Box

The Appalachian footpath box is thought to be somewhere along the Appalachian Trail.

Given the frequent references to "blue" in the chapter, it may be off of a side trail of the Appalachian Trail, as the side trails are marked with blue blazes.

A map is provided with the chapter. The map has a route represented by dashed lines, several icons, and a few phrases printed in the background.

Map route

The route provided on the map when rotated by 150 degrees closely matches the Little Rock Pond trail in Vermont.

Icons

There are several icons depicted on the map. It seems that some of the icons may represent well-known areas on the Appalachian Trail.

This picture seems to depict an English Springer Spaniel. The beginning of the Appalachian Trail is Springer Mountain.

A skier. Possible interpretations would be a ski area, an area of the country that has snow in the winter, or Snowbird Mountain in North Carolina.

A butterfly. A tempting interpretation would be that this represents an Arctic Katahdin Butterfly, as Mt. Katahdin is the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. However, it is not a visually similar species.

It is unclear what this icon represents. Some people think it looks like a fossil.

A cougar, possible on top of a rock or a corpse. Possible interpretations would be the Catskills or Wildcat Top in North Carolina.

A bear, seemingly with a goose neck attached to it, next to a pile of rocks. One possible interpretation would be Bear Rock Falls in MA.

What looks to be a scroll. A fallen birch tree perhaps? Might also represent the location of a sign on the trail (icon is in close proximity to a junction with another trail).

A bushel of apples. Possible interpretations would be Apple Orchard Mountain or the Apples For Wildlife sign on the way to Little Rock Pond.

Unclear what this icon represents.

Unclear what this icon represents. A wisp of smoke (Smokey Mountains)? Sheets of silk?

A silhouette of a bald man. Possible interpretations would be Homer Stone Mountain (VT), Brasstown Bold (GA), Clingman's Dome (TN/NC), Round Bald (TN).

What appears to be a tree in a magnifying glass. It could represent a specific tree or a place name, such as Spanish Oak Gap; or a recommendation to look around "branches" off the main trail.

A single (white) feather). Might represent Damascus Steel Feather (Damascus is a town in Virginia along the AT), the Lemon Fair Wildlife Management Area (north of Little Rock Pond).

Two footprints near the "CAR North" text. Potentially represents where one should start walking "north" to the trail (from a "CAR" parking area), or could represent tar heels (North Carolina).

Compass

There is a large compass displayed on the bottom right of the map. There appears to some a number on it, perhaps "100" or "00.1".

Text

There is scattered text in the background of the map. Inlcuding:
"Go fetch" or "Go forth"
"Look around"
"NE 1727" or "L2L1 3N" (if flipped)
"CAR North"
"AT" or "VT" (with an inverted "V")

Putting everything together

It is still a mystery how to put all of the clues together into a solution.