GC14D2A Devil's Footprint (Multi-cache) in North Carolina, United States created by Rabid Chipmunks

This cache has been archived.

Rabid Chipmunks: This one is being archived. There is no real interest beyond the few that have done it and it needs maintenance. Maybe sometime in the future we'll set up something else in this area.

Thanks for visiting!

GC14D2A ▼

A cache by Rabid Chipmunks Message this owner

Hidden : 7/15/2007

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The Arledge clan was among the first settlers in the Green River Cove. The Cherokee Indians told those early settlers that a supernatural monster came through the cove breathing fire and brimstone. This monster was so fearsome that he left his footprint upon a very large rock in the Green River. It is a left footprint, imbedded several inches deep and headed upriver. The settlers believed the Indians were describing the Devil himself. In spite of this, the Arledges raised crops and families in this fertile cove.

The first of the Arledge family to arrive was Isaac, who bought 100 acres on the south side of the river in 1804. His brother Amos followed in 1809 when he purchased 210 acres on the opposite side of the river for $600. Amos was considered to be fairly wealthy. He had quite a sum of gold and would take his gold down to a sandbar in the river and scrub them with the sand to make them shine. It is said that he bored holes in the floorboards of his cabin and hid the gold in them. Around 1845 the cabin caught fire and Amos died trying to save his gold. He is probably buried in the family plot up on the ridge just above where he lived. A careful search of the burnt cabin was made but only about $400 of gold was found. The Great Flood of 1916 covered much of this shoal and Amos’ home site with sand. Many believe if you look hard enough you can still find gold here.

Amos and Sallie had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan’s wife, Harriet McCormick had a dream one night, that Amos’ gold was hidden in the cliffs along the Green River. He hooted at the idea and would not go to look for the gold. She kept nagging at him and finally he gave in, and went with her and searched the cliffs. There they found $2500 in gold coins, hidden in the place she had seen so vividly in her dream. Jonathan and Harriet had 9 children. Levi, Isaac, Green Berry, Angelina, Happy, Clement, Eli, John and Mary Ann. Three of them are buried in the Silver Creek Baptist Church Cemetery. One of them was born on the 4th of July and died on Christmas at the age of 94.

To begin this adventure, let’s go visit the Arldeges. Head to the place designated at the top of this cache page. Explore this area looking for descendants of Amos and Sallie Arledge. First, find the Arledge child that married Christopher Columbus. The year that they were married will be ABCD. Then find her sibling who was born and died on major holidays. The year he died will be EFGH. Levi’s wife was named Cynthia. How old was she when she died? This will be IJ. Now, let’s find Green Berry. He was born on 12-18-1816. What year did his wife die? This will be KLMN. The coordinates for the next stop will be North K B.E B H West E (L-J).D I J When visiting the cemetery, do NOT rush through. Read the stones carefully and use the info provided. If you get frustrated looking for one, stop and take a breath and just look around. There are no relevant Arledges on the other side of the church. That is the newer area.

Head for stage 2. Park in the gravel area near the gate. Just a few feet beyond the gate is where Amos’s great grandson, Clement and Eliza raised 10 children. With this many kids, Momma used an attitude adjuster at times. She kept it in the kitchen and the boys would take it and hide it whenever they got the chance. If you look in the hollow along the creek bed from the where the house once stood you may find it. Solve this puzzle and you will be on your way. Make sure that the numbers in each row and column add up to the amounts next to them. Use each number only once. The tree cover is heavy, so the gps could be off a little.

Once you have the right numbers, you need to cross the river the Old Fashioned way. They called it “fording” the river and would choose a shallow place where the banks were low. If you go straight across the road from where you parked you will find the place where the old road forded the river. There is a fishing trail here. Pick a shallow spot and head for the other side. If it’s very cold or you don’t like getting wet, you do have options. You can bring a kayak and shuttle across and back with it. You can also drive up the river to the first bridge and bushwhack your way down the other side. If you do ford the river, I suggest you check whether the river is being released for electric generation. You can go to this website (visit link) or call 828-698-2068 after 8 am each morning to check the status. If they are releasing 1 unit at 100%, the river will be about 18 inches higher than when it is shutdown. The difference being knee deep or waist high on me. When the water is released it takes about 6-7 hours to reach this point from the powerplant. So, for instance, if the the dam is opened at 7 am, which it often is, you would have until 1:00 pm to get across, visit the places on that side and get back while the water is low. You will need about 2 hours on this side of the river.

Once you have made it to the old homesite of Amos, you should look around to see if you can find any of that lost gold from Amos’ burnt cabin. Although almost all remnants of the old cabin are gone, you might be able to find some scattered around this spot. Search for logs with gold hidden in them. If you are lucky enough to find some, you will need to decipher Amos' code. This area is fairly clear and no bushwhacking is needed. The gps should take you to about the center of the area you need to search. The coords for the next stage will be 18.xxx and 16.xxx . OK, this stage has thrown most everyone so far. I'll give a few extras here. You are looking for 3 "logs" with a total of 12 chunks of gold. These will form a jigsaw puzzle of words and gibberish. Then you have to decipher the code. It is a cryptogram.

When you have gotten the required information, you will look for the Devil’s Footprint, or Devil’s Track as some call it. It is on a large slab of rock at the water’s edge. The rock is about 10 feet wide and 30 feet long. If the water is at 100%, it will be under about 4 inches of water and difficult to find. At 60% or less you can find the track on dry rock. You do not have to find the track but it is worth looking for. There is a photo below. Once you have located this, travel upriver about 120 feet and look for a rock window in the cliff face. Check photo below for help. In it you will find your next task. Many of the old timers liked to play dominoes. Amos used a few dominoes to remind himself of the final hiding place. Be very careful to arrange the dominoes in the correct sequence and color code to get the numbers needed to find the lost treasure of Amos Arledge. Be sure to pay attention to the colors on the puzzles. If you want to check yourself, the next stage is within 100 feet of the river.

Now you're ready to find the cache. Follow your gps along the river. As soon as you reasonably can, you should head inland and up for easier walking. As you get close, be sure to look for an old logging trail that the deer use these days. This is the easiest way to get you to the top of the hill. Follow this trail until you are even with the cache. Make your way down the hill, straight towards the river. You will be about 60 feet directly above the river and there are very steep drops ahead of you, so go slowly. You do not have to go near any dangerous edges for the ammo box. Check out the photos for help.

You will want to bring bug spray, pencils, some paper for the puzzles, some clothes and shoes that can get wet. I always wear shoes in the river. Drinking was recently banned along the river but there are shards of glass and sharp rocks on the bottom.

The FTF prize is a nice picture frame with 3 pictures stacked in it. 2 of them are pictures from our cache locations, the other is a surprise. We have dropped in 3 coins, one is unactivated, thanks to Team Betty.

If the river is released at 200% or we have had alot of rain, please wait to attempt this cache. If you bring your kayak, please drag it up the bank out of sight of tubers going by. I would hate to see you lose it.

Be sure to take your time with the puzzles and do not assume anything. This cache will take about 4 hours.

Have Fun!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fgntr 1 Rkcnaq lbhe ubevmba Fgntr 2 Ybbx hc-xrrc vg fvzcyr Fgntr 3 Snyyra gerrf-fcryy gur ahzoref gb penpx gur pbqr Fgntr 4 Ybbx ng cubgb-rnpu chmmyr=1 pbybe Pnpur Svefg yriry orybj gbc bs pyvss

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)