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In the late 1800's ethnologist James Mooney documented the Cherokee legend of Tsul'kalu', a slant eyed giant. Tsul'kalu' was considered a great hunter who lived in nearby mountains. Over time the name Tsul'kalu' evolved to Judaculla.
There is an interesting rock near Cullowhee which is covered with unusual carvings which as legend describes, the giant leaped down off his mountain to a creek below where he scratched the rock with his 7 fingered hands. Other versions say he scraped it with his toes. link
Supposedly the area near Whiteside Mountain was named after the same Judaculla who lived in a cave at Devil’s Courthouse. As a giant of legendary size, Judaculla was known to drink whole streams down in a single gulp and stomp from mountain to mountain as one might over ant hills. (In fact, according to Sequoyah’s Cherokee translation of the Bible, the word “Goliath” was renamed Judaculla.) He could leap from mountaintop to mountaintop and control the weather. His voice was like thunder, and his arrows were bolts of lightning. The Cherokee believed there was a cavern where Judaculla danced and held court, passing diabolical judgment on those devoid courage or virtue. The cave is supposedly high in the side of a mountain and only accessible by climbing a fallen tree with the branches shortened to use as a ladder.
To add to the mystery there is also a second area named Devil's Courthouse on the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 422.4 with the same legend. However, nobody has found any such cave near the Blue Ridge parkway in the area which has been marked in recent years as the "Devil's Courthouse" by the park service.
In the area named Devils Courthouse near Whiteside Mountain there are a few small caves, but only one in which I could find that would vaguely match the description of the one in the legend.. I have no idea if it is the cave of which the stories have been told, but it is where I hid stage 1 of the cache..
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To access the cave you must climb up Whiteside Mountain using the marked trail that everyone uses, and then take the alt trailhead (using the coords I've provided below) to climb down the bottom of the edge of Whiteside. Follow the trail till you reach the vicinity of Stage 1, and then carefully ascend up the small, but steep, hill (about 30 feet) to the entrance. I have no idea if this is Judaculla's cavern, but it seemingly is the only one that matches the description. The small hill may have not been there in the past, as it appears it may have been created over time by erosion.
Standing just outside the entrance, it is very difficult to imagine a cave is there. But if you look carefully, you can slip between the cracks into a small room. There is also a narrow tunnel upward to a second level where it is open to the outside with a platform (like a porch).
Stage 1 is inside the cave on the 1st level and blended naturally to it's environment. Stage 2 is down the trail a bit in an ammo box. Both should be fairly easy to find using the hints - but only after you reach those spots.
You may want to bring a rope to help reaching and climbing down from stage 1, but it is not necessary. Keep in mind it IS a strenuous hike and you MUST exercise care! The terrain is a FOUR. Use the coords below for the alt trailhead, as you cannot access the cave from directly above it unless you use rappelling gear!
You will need a flashlight to find stage 1 !!!
Make sure stage 2 is rehidden completely out of sight!!! The trail is popular with climbers!
Have fun!
Original contents: tiny geode, '67 GTO, flashlight, crappie kit, 2 small caribiners, 2 yr. planner, glow bracelets, pack of '87 baseball cards, 4 pieces of fool's gold, 7 polished rocks, spider, red jeep TB, trackable coin, and some other stuff. Trade something interesting to keep the game fun!
The physical cache and cache page information above were provided by 4wheelin_fool. At his request I have adopted the cache and will be responsible for everything related to the cache from this point forward. Thanks to 4WF!!
FTF HONORS GO TO mxcr and boxerlady!!!
