THIS IS A HARD ONE...
“INDIANA SPIRIT QUEST”
The Indiana Spirit Quest series of geocaches
will take you to a number of historic cemeteries built by
Hoosier Pioneers. In just over a year, the quest has grown to over
a hundred ninety caches hidden in twenty-one Indiana counties, and
the hiders have grown to seven cacher teams, six of which are
comprised of A Man and His Dog... and one who is a Dog and
her Woman. 320 cacher teams have logged over
3,200 finds.
WHEEL DOG & EARTHDOG --THIS IS NOT THE WAY
UP!
INDIAN
SPIRIT QUEST #194
”Just Hanging Around"
THIS CACHE HIDDEN 5/13/2005. This quest is
unusual in that there is no cemetery here, just a real-life
Aboriginal Lover's Leap, a gift from the Last Glacier. Since this
is such a great spot to visit, the cache is now open to ALL
seekers, but If you found the old one, to log a smilie here, you
must find it again, sign the log AND post a new photo of yourself
on the top!
ORIGINAL CACHE
DESCRIPTION:
Park at N40° 49.780 W085° 42.404 Go up very short trail, Stop
when you get to the end! Take a good Look around, Then take another
bearing, and go down a little…Don't go looking for this cache if it
is snow covered, or icy! Very steep! …This is a lot harder to find
in the summer with top growth. Be VERY Carefull (sic) of sheer drop
offs!
THE BALLAD OF HANGING
ROCK
Come all you romance
lovers,
Come listen while I tell
The fate of poor Wy-nu-sa,
A fair young Indian belle.
Way down in Indiana
Where Wabash rivers glide,
There stands a lonely boulder
High on the river side.
There lived an Indian maiden
Wy-nu-sa was her name;
A lovely woodland flower
With cheeks of wild rose flame.
She had a fond young lover,
A warrior true and bold;
A gay and dashing hunter
Who loved his maid of old.
One night as late they lingered
In love dreams there alone;
The lovers' moon was shining
Down on the hanging stone.
A jealous hearted rival
Stole down the river side;
There slew Wy-nu-sa's lover
And hurled him in the tide.
With cries of bitter anguish
In her wild grief and woe
The broken-hearted maiden
Leaped in the stream below.
There with her own true lover
In tender love and pride,
In all her youthful beauty
The fair Wy-nu-sa died.
In many years no lovers
Would venture there alone
For since Wy-nu-sa parished there
It became a haunted stone.
They say when skies are dreary
And Wabash rivers sigh
When the lovers' moon smiles wanly
They hear her mournful cry.
When fireflies light the waters
And gostly shadows glow,
They see a phantom maiden
Leap into the stream below.
So! Come you romance lovers
My story now is told-
You've heard the Indian legend
Of the fair maid of old.
If on some lonesome evening
You venture there alone,
You may see the Indian maiden
Leap from the hanging stone.
September 5, 2004 by
Genius Loci (3337
found)
Come all you geocachers, come to read my tale
of joy,
That tells of three brave hunters, who came down from
Illinois.
They came to Indiana, where the Wabash waters glide,
to find the secret places where the geocaches hide.
The first was Hutt, their pilot, who drove their sturdy van.
From miles away, he drove all day, to bring them to this
land.
Mattster, his son (a plucky lad) was second of the team,
with eyes so sharp he could spot a cache from the other side of the
stream!
The third was Genius Loci, he's their stalwart navigator,
his directions always get there (though it may be sooner or
later).
The three had heard the legend of the Indian Maid so fair,
and set a course for Hanging Rock, and the cache that's hidden
there.
Hutt pulled up, and stopped the van, but much to his dismay,
He told the others "wait; until those Muggles go away."
And when at last the Muggles left, the cachers hit the
trail,
despite the height, they vaulted up the cliff they'd have to
scale.
The rock was high and slippery, and the path was very steep!
Yet up they climbed to reach to spot from where the Maiden
leaped.
The summit gained, they stood in awe, to view the stunning
scene
Of rolling hills and windswept skies, the Wabash's ravine.
Now turning their attention near, and searching on the
stone,
each tried to find the secret cache whose location was
unknown.
The dizzying heights, the slippery rock, their giddy
vertigo;
was making for a very tough hunt upon the steep plateau.
They checked the rocks and plants (that grow upon that towering
height)
But finding naught, were losing faith, for soon it would be
night.
With no place left they had not checked, They hung their heads and
cried:
"We've failed at last, our shame is great, we'll commit
suicide!"
For since it seemed (to each of them) they'd failed in their
search,
they next prepared to meet their deaths by leaping from their
perch.
But then was heard (as sighing breeze) a woman's gentle
voice,
and they dimly spied an Indian Maid, as white and cold as
ice.
She walked on air and raised her hand, as the cachers watched in
shock,
Then giving them a knowing look, she pointed at the rock.
She disappeared like a whisp of fog, but err she faded out,
they knew the place she'd shown them held the cache without a
doubt!
They hastened to that hidden spot, and yes, they found it
there.
"The precious cache is ours at last" they were heard to
declare.
So! Come you geocachers, for my story is complete.
You've heard how three brave hunters nearly went down in
defeat.
But if you cannot find this cache upon the Wabash mound,
You must get the fair Wy-nu-sa to show you where it is
found!
- Genius Loci ('the
Guardian Spirit of a Place')
LEAD DOG & EARTHDOG PATRICK AT THE SUMMIT
The cache container was
a small black plastic jar (micro); now its a spice jar; now
it's an m & m tube... (10-7-06)... BYOP. PARK WITH
EXTREME CARE..
None genuine without this official SixDogTeam
seal. Digital photographs taken by Lead Dog, (C) 2005 by RikSu
Outfitters unless otherwise noted.
"Indiana
Spirit Quest" is brought to you by the following fellows of
GEOISQ*: The SixDogTeam, Kodiak
Kid, THE SHADOW, Team Shydog, Rupert2, Torry, ~Mystery Dog~, and
Team Tigger International. If you are interested in spreading the
Quest to your neck of the woods AND WOULD LIKE TO JOIN US, email
SixDogTeam.
*Grand Exalted Order of
the Indiana Spirit
Quest