GC1BVNR Legend of the Ghost River Howler (Traditional Cache) in Tennessee, United States created by bitbrain (with assistance from Mark & Don)

This cache has been archived.

bitbrain: Look for the Revenge of The Ghost River Howler coming soon to a swamp near you.

GC1BVNR ▼

A cache by bitbrain (with assistance from Mark & Don) Message this owner

Hidden : 5/2/2008

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

Legend of the Ghost River Howler

Many strange events have occurred in this cypress and tupelo swamp. These events have been passed down through the oral histories of the region’s inhabitants. The most frightening of these stories, perhaps, are those centered on a hairy, bipedal creature whose name translates roughly to The Howler in English.

Recent theories and research suggest that the Ghost River Howler may be related to the Fouke Monster, Swamp Ape, Sasquatch and Bigfoot. Unlike these creatures, though, the Howler is described as being only about five feet in height. Witnesses do say that its feet are large in proportion to its body, but no plaster casts have been made since the Howler has never been spotted outside the Ghost River area.

The most distinctive characteristics that Howler witnesses have reported are a haunting, plaintive howl or wail like a coyote trying to sing La Traviata and a stench reminiscent of the port-a-lets at the Beale Street MusicFest. The vocalizations are sometimes described as almost human while the aroma is nearly always described as inhuman.

In 1986, three college students left LaGrange on a Saturday float trip through the Ghost River. They expected to be at Bateman Bridge by mid-afternoon and back to Memphis for the Saturday night parties. Four hours into the trip, the guys all caught the scent of something awful. Accusations flew regarding the source of the odor, but it became obvious that this was not anyone’s flatulence.

They saw what they took to be a person wading through the swamp ahead and called out to him. The fellow made a guttural sound and appeared to motion for them to follow. This was their mistake. They deviated from their planned course and followed this guy into the swamp. After only a few minutes, the guys had lost sight of the mysterious swamp man and decided to head back to the channel. A cold rain began to fall and a heavy mist settled across the Ghost River.

The three students back-tracked and searched for the river channel. It was nowhere to be found. As darkness began to close in, the guys were wet, cold and despondent. They wondered why they had even followed the swamp wader. Their food was long gone, as was their fresh water. Dressed in shorts and t-shirts for an easy day-trip, they were not prepared for what they knew they were about to endure – spending a night in their canoe, in the swamp.

There were many times during the night when the students could smell the swamp man nearby and hear his howls through the trees. Sometimes it sounded like he was right beside them. Sometimes it sounded like he was at water level. Sometimes the sounds seemed to come from high in the cypress. The students were terrified, paralyzed with fear and hypothermic. Not one of them slept a minute through that night.

As the sun rose, they heard a car go by not too far away. Looking up, they saw power lines overhead. These signs of hope lifted their spirits because they knew the power lines were only a couple of hundred meters upstream from Bateman Road. With renewed vigor, they paddled toward the west and soon found themselves in the river channel and in sight of the bridge.

After twenty-two years, I am finally ready to face my fears and revisit the Ghost River. I am hiding this cache in honor of my two friends, neither of whom wishes to be identified. We are not certain what happened that night in the swamp, but I am here to tell you that the Ghost River Howler is real.

If you need to rent a boat for an attempt on this cache, you can find a list of outfitters at http://www.wolfriver.org/outfitters.htm
For our trip in May 2008, we used Ghost River Rentals. They check up on the cache on their float trips.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

va gur zvqfg bs n pyhfgre

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)