Half-Past Fun in the Woods, Part Deux

After an ignominious defeat at "Fun in the Woods" (GC8PWW0) on yesterday, Robgso (a.k.a. Old Bloody Rob), Fishdownthestair (a.k.a. Natalie), and ye olde dude resolved to return to the scene of the horror this morning. After failures here by a substantial number of seasoned geocachers (other than us), the cache owner, Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom), and his dastardly partner in crime, Punkins19 (a.k.a. Linda), also decided to come out and check on the cache's coordinates and wellness. This bothered the rest of us not a whit, although Tom's tight-lipped demeanor while we hunted rivaled Natalie's at her worst (which is pretty beastly). Like yesterday, coordinates on all our devices proved bouncy as hell, yet when they deigned to stabilize for brief spells, they continued to point us to roughly the same localized area. At one point during our increasingly frantic search, Old Rob unwittingly jostled the cache, making it somewhat more visible, and a few minutes later, Natalie actually laid eyes on the thing. Lord have mercy, what a monster! (The cache, I mean, not Natalie — this time.)

I'd say the coordinates turned out reasonably good; it's just that they rarely keep still long enough to pinpoint a distinct GZ. To my mind, that's why this cache is so tough: you end up with a very big search area and, within it, a vast array of alluring hiding places.

So, at least for Natalie and me, that was around 3 hours on the hunt here. Finally, a hard-earned first-to-find for Old Rodan, Old Robgso, and Ol...er... Young Fishdownthestair at 10:00 a.m. Whew.

And there we have it: Half-Past Fun in the Woods, conquered!

Threnody

My newest geocache, placed in the Richardson Taylor Preserve near what I call The Bigfoot Trail (a.k.a. the Bill Craft Trail, for those who don't know better), is one that features a work of fiction on the cache's webpage. This one draws on lore I've included in several previous cache listings, incorporating elements from my own fiction; stories by Karl Edward Wagner, H.P. Lovecraft and others; movies such as Sinister and The Blair Witch Project; Twin Peaks, and more. The graphic above is one I put together to provide a bit of background to the cache story.

And here it is:

CASE #GC8P8P4
Recently, a digital dossier containing images and documents pertaining to certain occult phenomena in our local area came to the attention of the FBI. The dossier contained reproductions of materials dating back many decades, as well as a sound recording of an inexplicable event that reportedly occurred in the woods between Reedy Fork and Route 150 in the mid 1960s. This recording supposedly captured a supernatural "threnody," emitted from what appeared to be nothing more than an ancient, long-dead tree. Intensive research has determined that this tree was once used as part of an altar devised by an individual named Lillian Gadwick, a self-proclaimed witch (ref: The Curse of Lillian Gadwick & The Witch's Woods). Gadwick achieved notoriety in the late 18th century for abducting numerous individuals—children in particular—whom she offered as sacrifices in various black rituals.

The threnody in question is said to be a kind of code—a means of obtaining protection against the witch's restless spirit—actually produced by the spirits of the dead. Among the deities Gadwick worshipped was a Sumerian entity known as Bughuul (ref: SINISTER), sometimes called "The Eater of Souls." Some occult scholars are convinced that the threnody in question was produced by actual victims of Bughuul dating back many decades, if not centuries.

In order to protect themselves from Bughuul's hunger, ancient occultists signed their names on the Scroll of Moloch. The scroll itself was usually hidden near one of the Bughuul's "gateways" to this earth—in this case, a ancient tree possessed of preternatural power. The scroll could not be hidden at the gate, but had to be placed somewhere nearby. If you choose to investigate this case, be aware that danger is present. For your own welfare, you are encouraged to sign the scroll—if you can find it. Those who hid it took pains to keep it out of the reach of Bughuul and his minions.

#

To get the coordinates to the cache, one must listen to audio file that contains a "threnody" as well as a code provides the necessary information. The cache was published this morning and found not long afterward by friend Dave (a.k.a. Rhodorooter). Anyhoo, I do enjoy mixing geocaching and storytelling. My favorite things all in one basket.

And so. There it is.

Bigfeetz, Big Cachez, Big Bugz

Another day on the Bigfoot Trail, another geocache hidden by Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom) and Punkins19 (a.k.a. Linda). Sadly, this will probably be it for a while out there; Tom and Linda put out five, which have been released over the past few days, and now I've found them all. The day proved perfect for hiking — not as hot as all that, sunny, no rain, not a living soul on the trail. Unlike most of the others in this bunch, the cache itself was a big one, with plenty of room for swag. I knew there was some alternate parking for the trail, so today I opted for it, which cut off a little distance on the hike. On my outbound trip, however, I left the trail altogether and decided to bushwhack my way back to the Rodan Mobile.

It was cool. I found some very lovely scenery I'd not encountered out there, plus a great big wood beetle, who was wandering about on a fallen log — no doubt getting in some exercise of his own.

I've gotten so accustomed to visiting the Bigfoot Trail over the past week that I don't know what I'm going to do without new caches to hike after out yonder. Well, there is some available space out there in those woods. Perhaps I'll hide one of my own.

Maybe even two.

Found a buddy.

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