Half-Past Fun in the Woods

Hmm, yes that does look a little bit like an old fart in a tree. I reckon he is — old, I mean. Yesterday was another flippin' birthday, and I swear I just had one of those a couple of weeks back. It was kind of an odd one; a little weird, I guess, what with it falling in the middle of a pandemic. Still, in all, it turned out to be very pleasant, mostly relaxing. On Friday, Ms. B. and I journeyed to Martinsville, set ourselves up at the Homestead, and picked up some dinner (burgers fantastique) from Third Bay Cafe, our favorite Martinsville restaurant. Then we settled in with some wine and watched Europa Report, which we had seen a few years back, but we both enjoyed it and wanted to see it again. It holds up nicely.

We headed on back to Greensboro yesterday afternoon, and then, last night, got a nice dinner from Fuji Sushi. Since being mostly homebound these past few weeks, I have sure been missing the sushi, so it was great to be able to bring home some of the good stuff. For the rest of the evening, being in the Japanese spirit and all, we put on three of the Ju-on movies, which I have always liked a lot — Ju-on: The Curse, pts. 1 and 2 (the original made-for-TV chapters from 2000) and the theatrical feature, Ju-on: The Grudge, from 2002. That put us late into the night, but it sure made for a pleasant birthday evening.

A couple of new geocaches at the Richardson-Taylor Preserve, placed by friend Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom), were published this weekend, so this morning, friends Robgso (a.k.a. Old Rob) and Ms. Fishdownthestair (a.k.a. Natalie) met at the trailhead, spread ourselves out nicely, and hiked out to the new one called "Fun in the Woods" (GC8PWW0) A few previous hunters had posted DNF (Did Not Find) logs, so we hoped we might manage the first-to-find honors. We hunted high, low, over, under, and everywhere in between, but we couldn't turn the up the damned thing. After an hour or so, we decided to move on to a couple of other targets. One of them was my own cache, "Alien Artillery #2" (GC8PVCV) which resides a little ways up in a tree. Now, friend Rob is not a tree climber (which is due less to his own lack of desire or proficiency than a profound fear of his wife should she learn he climbed a tree), so I volunteered to go up and grab the log for him. Happily, unlike on my first ascent when I hid the cache (see "Alien Artillery," April 26, 2020), I did not fall out of the tree.

After this, we parted ways with Rob and returned to the site of "Fun in the Woods," where we came upon a geocacher I'd not met before, namely MetsFanNC. We joined forces and hunted, hunted, and hunted (again), still to come up empty-handed after well over an hour. Sigh!

Well, a DNF gives me a reason to take another trail hike, which I'll no doubt do this week. Maybe I'll find myself a tree to climb, just for fun. I'm old as the hills now, so I can climb if I want to.

Up we go, and making the grab.

Alien Artillery

Yep, I put out a couple of new geocaches today in the Richardson Taylor Preserve, out there along the Bigfoot Trail (a.k.a. the Bill Craft Trail, for them what don't know any better, as I've mentioned on other occasions). Space for geocaches out there is just about used up, but I did find a few slivers of land that looked good for a couple of new hides. These, like most of mine, are themed (see images above). As with Threnody (GC8P8P4), which I placed a couple of weeks ago, the science-fiction/horror theme draws from a plethora of sources — my own fiction, movies, television series, books, short stories, etc.

So, I did fall out of a tree today. But only once, and I landed on my feet. Sure enough, one of the hides involves a pretty hairy tree climb. In this tree (that's the bloody bastard there to the left; if you enlarge the pic and look closely, you can actually see the cache), there's precious little to grab onto, and on my first attempt up, I managed to miss my only handhold. Fortunately, it wasn't a long way down, and the ground was soft from the recent rainfall. I hope prospective finders will be careful for their own sakes as well the cache's, since I don't want to have to truck out there to do maintenance because someone's reach (and grasp) fell short.

Anyhoo, the day proved beautiful for hiking, and since I was pretty far into the outback there, I barely saw a living soul today — only a couple of folks near the parking area when I was coming and going. That's my idea of a day in the woods anyhow.

Here's the write up for "Alien Artillery #2," the one in the tree. Try not to fall out of anything while you're reading.

Special Agents: Following the discovery of the nearby anomaly, code named THRENODY (Ref: GC8P8P4), an entirely new and unexpected situation has arisen. Possibly IN RESPONSE to that anomaly, an unknown party (likely the same one involved in prior incident report code named TRIPODS (Ref: GC690XE) appears to have launched and successfully made two precision strikes at coordinates very close to Anomaly THRENODY. We call the first of these ALIEN ARTILLERY #1: PROBE (GC8PVCC), the second one ALIEN ARTILLERY #2: TRANSMITTER BEACON.

On 4/14/20, Listening Post Beta detected a pair of projectile launches from the Planet Mars. LPB tracked the projectiles to their points of impact, which occurred on 4/26/20 — two sets of coordinates, both in close proximity to ANOMALY TH. (These are NOT thought to be warheads, but data-gathering pods; the purpose for data gathering is as yet unknown.)

This is case file ALIEN ARTILLERY #2: TRANSMITTER BEACON. Your task is to discover the exact location of the beacon and inscribe the requisite agent code on the mission log we believe you will find at the site (this will require you to detour some distance off the Bill Craft Trail). We predict our investigations will prove that we are on the brink of something — in the words of Special Agent Dale Cooper — “both wonderful and strange.” Please be aware that this particular case involves an element of danger. Depending on your height, agility, and overall physical ability, retrieving object at the site may require a partner or specific “tool of the trade.” You are certainly encouraged to avoid undertaking this task alone. If you are unable to retrieve and then return the object to its exact original state and location, please do not attempt its retrieval.

Good luck on your mission of discovery!
Federal Bureau of Investigation Project Director Gordon Cole

#

Here's a few shots of the woods in the area of the new hides. Very pretty out there now, it is. It's been a gorgeous spring, pandemics be damned.

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.

The Green Ravine

More Green Ravine

"Timber!" at Last

Lots of cars at all the local trails

Since getting out for exercise is one of the few legitimate reasons for going out and about under the current lockdown, the local trails are packed. Now, I frequent these trails, and I'm often out here when not another living soul is using them. I'm assuming that massive numbers of people now need alternative venues for exercise and hit the trails, rather than walk on neighborhood sidewalks and such. I had planned to come out after "Timber" (GC8NHY3; see "Quarantine Spring," April 3, 2020), which I had failed to locate last week, so about 11:00 this morning, I headed up to the Bigfoot Trail (a.k.a. the Bill Craft Trail) at the Taylor-Richardson Preserve just up the way.

About the time I got there, I received notifications on my phone that two new caches had been published — right there on the Bill Craft Trail! Thing is, the trail is almost 4 miles long, and both these new caches resided up yonder at the other end. I contemplated moving the car to the far trailhead, near Northern Guilford High School, but I decided against it and opted to put in the big hike. And... lord have mercy... did I ever hike.

I occasionally encountered folks on the trail, but in all cases, we kept considerable distance between us. After the first mile or so, I hardly saw a living soul out there. Rather than stop at "Timber," which lies at about the halfway point, I kept on trucking, figuring I might be able to get the first-to-find on one or both of the new caches ("Lake Rhodorooter" [GC8NRJF] and "The Outdoor Classroom" [GC8NRQW]), placed by friends Skyhawk63 (a.k.a. Tom) and Punkins19 (a.k.a. Linda). Indeed, once I finally got way out yonder, I managed to make short work of both, and sign the coveted FTF slots on the logsheets. Now, needless to say, since we don't want to be leaving any microscopic nasties around, I scrubbed up both before and after handling the containers and logs, and, just for good measure, sanitized the exteriors of both containers. Those caches are now probably the cleanest things in Greensboro.

Even getting back to "Timber," it was a pretty long hike. I was kicking myself for not having processed the clues that had been evident in the puzzle solution on the online geocache page. Had the obvious smacked me in the head while I was out there on Thursday, I have no doubt I would have found the cache on my first outing. As it was, armed with the knowledge I should have acquired earlier, I made short work of this lovely little hide. The very well camouflaged container is one created by friend Robgso (a.k.a. Old Rob) and hidden by Ms. Fishdownthestair (a.k.a. Natalie). No matter, I greatly enjoyed both trips out to the woods, particularly since so much other time is now spent at home. I understand there's another handful of caches soon to be published on the Bigfoot Trail, and I'm sure looking forward to heading out there again.

I did find my first tick of the season, alas. The little bastard had just bitten me but hadn't really locked on. I hope he was the only one of his nasty little kind I might have brought home. Hateful little shits.

Y'all be safe.

This not horse area. You not horse here.

The woods were beautiful today.

Old feller successfully social distancing

Back to the Bigfoot Trail

It's not really called The Bigfoot Trail — in official (but clearly ill-informed) circles, it's known as the Bill Craft Trail — but to me, it is and always will be The Bigfoot Trail. Because Bigfoot is out there. He's big, I tell you, and he's got feet.

The Taylor-Richardson Preserve is an extensive area of pine/deciduous forest and wetlands between Plainfield Road and NC 150 in Guilford County, just north of Greensboro, and the hiking/biking trail (The Bill Craft Trail, yeah, right, ha ha) runs about four miles from end to end. Many, many times during my now decade-long geocaching career I've hiked that trail, and I've placed several caches in the preserve myself. Nowadays, however, new hides out there are rare, since space that doesn't conflict with the existing caches' 528-ft. buffer zones is limited. Happily, though, now and again some determined soul will finagle an opening, and the redoubtable 2McTwins (a.k.a. Daniel and Dustin) who have placed numerous excellent caches, in the woods and otherwise, have done it again with a new cache along the Bigfoot Trail.

I spent the morning caching in Randolph County, south of Greensboro, with regular partners Robgso (a.k.a. Rob), BigG7777 (a.k.a. Gerry), and Suntigres (a.k.a. Bridget), which was most enjoyable, but after lunch at the excellent Compadres Mexican Restaurant in Randleman, I decided I needed to find another cache. For my sanity's sake, I desperately needed to find another cache! Happily, the Bigfoot Trail isn't far from home, and with that one new cache lurking out there, I decided it would be my target.

I'm especially fond of the northern end of the trail, as it's far less traveled than its southernmost reaches. Those woods are quiet and secluded, and today, beneath heavy cloud cover, the atmosphere felt just this side of eerie (which, as you probably know, or can deduce, "just this side of eerie" is damn near the best possible atmospheric quality, perhaps exceeded only by "absolutely fucking eerie"). True to time-proven tradition, as I hiked the near-silent woods, I occasionally heard heavy footsteps in the woods around me, and once, I discerned what might have been a big ugly hairy figure watching me from a distance (there is, admittedly, some chance this was one of the McTwins spying on me to pick up a few geocaching pointers). Several times I heard what I was sure might be the voluminous roar of a critter with huge feet, but each time it turned out to be a jet passing overhead on its way to land at Piedmont Triad International Airport. Bummer, some might say, but as I do enjoy plane spotting, watching them proved a pleasant enough diversion.

On another nice note, I've been informed that semi-frequent caching partner Cupdaisy (a.k.a Debbie) believes she has found yet more free space in the preserve for a cache or two of her own, and I shall look forward to these...hopefully. One can never venture deep into Bigfoot country too often.

Shades of Boggy Creek

View from little footbridge over the stream

There's not only bigfeet, there's beavers!

Little outdoor classroom in the middle of the woods

Near the trailhead on Simpson-Calhoun Road — alpacas!

Also on Simpson-Calhoun—wee little burro and big pale horse