Endless Story Traditional Cache

I've been known to invent 'activities' at family dinners or campfires to make things more interesting. For example, I will turn a paper restaurant menu over and draw something. Then I will pass it to the next person and ask them to add to it. After everyone is finished, we all look at it and laugh or make up a story to go with it. Our campfire version is similar, but since it is dark it is up to each participant to add to the verbal storyline that someone starts. I start with something like, "It was a dark and stormy night and Snoopy was busily typing his next novel when all of a sudden...". The next person takes the story wherever they wish and so on. It occurred to me that this might be a fun idea for a cache.

So here it goes! The Rules: 1- I will start the story by using the opening chapter of a short story I wrote and sometimes tell at campfire events. When you log this find, just continue the story from where it ended in the log preceeding yours. 2- The stories must be geocaching.com and family appropriate. 3- You can go in any creative direction you would like and does not necessarily have to stick completely to the theme of the prior entry. If you are participating, you MUST at least pick up the story where the last entry left off. Then...off you go. 4- Have fun and be creative. Entertain us all! 5- In order to get the best story possible and to keep the thumbs of our smart phone users from being worn down to nothing in the field, you may log the find with a brief entry while in the field and later insert your story when you get home and have more time to be creative. Simply edit your log entry. Please be timely though so the next person has something to go by. You could be passed by if you are not quick! 6- You are NOT required to participate. You can simply log your find if you wish.

My story is titled Sakanaga.

It was autumn and the air was crisp and tinged with the smell of smoke and leaves. I was hiking alone, having chosen to spend some time away from the stresses of everyday life while enjoying the sights of the mountains. I was on a trail I had walked before that wound along the crest of a ridge and climbed ever higher until it peaked at an overlook before descending into a valley. I had not taken a branch of the trail that descended into the valley before, preferring instead to keep to the ridge crest for the views. Today I was here to explore the valley. I stopped to rest and sip water from my canteen. I could hear squirrels rooting in the leaves just out of sight while a woodpecker drummed against a tree further along the ridge. As I sat and listened to the tapping noise echo through the woods, a hawk quietly soared past below me. The peacefulness and beauty of the place was amazing. It was around four o’clock and the sun was starting to dip lower in the sky. I knew it would start to get dark in the valley soon so I stood and shouldered my pack. As I left the overlook and entered the valley I noticed it became much cooler and a little dimmer. Even though the high trees had lost most of their leaves, the mountain laurel and pines were thick enough to block much of the available light. I left the warmth of the sun and the breezes behind as the air around me cooled and became still. As the air continued to cool, I could smell and feel moisture in the air. The sound that I had earlier nearly mistaken as just the wind in the trees coalesced into the more recognizable noise of water rushing over rock. The trail leveled off slightly and disappeared around a sharp bend. The noise of rushing water got louder. I rounded the bend and saw a small waterfall by the side of the trail. That is when I noticed I was not alone. An old man was sitting near the waterfall’s base in the only patch of direct sunlight I had seen since entering the valley. He was facing away from me and sat very still. I saw that he was wearing jeans, soft worn moccasins, and a red flannel shirt under a suede vest. His leather hat seemed as old as the trees around us and was tilted back on his head at a jaunty angle. Before I could approach, he turned around and I saw that he appeared to be a Native American. The way he looked at me made me feel like he was expecting me. I nodded to him as I walked closer. He nodded back to me and motioned for me to approach. “I hope I am not disturbing you,” I said. “This is a beautiful spot. Do you come here often?” He smiled back, and with a grandfatherly look replied, “I am always here or at least nearby.” I told him this was my first time on this part of the trail and introduced myself. His handshake was surprisingly strong and firm. He said his name was John Littlecougar. I took out my canteen and drank as he looked at me appraisingly. I saw he had no canteen so I took my extra water bottle out and offered it to him. I said, “You don’t have much equipment with you.” He replied,” I’ve lived in these woods longer than you have been alive. It provides everything I need when I need it so I have no need to carry all the things you bring with you. But,” he said with a sparkle in his eye and a grin, “I am old and it is harder than it used to be for me to get down on my belly to drink from the stream.” He took the water, nodded his thanks and then drank. We stood there in silence as he looked back at the waterfall for a moment, and then he turned back to me. It appeared that he had made up his mind about something. He said, “You are not like most of the people I see here. You seem to belong here more than the others.” I didn’t know what to say or how to reply to that. He went on, “You are the also the first person to offer to share your provisions with me.” He paused. “I would like to give you something in return.” I told him that wasn’t necessary. I was afraid he was going to try to pay me or make a big deal out of it. Suddenly, I became a little uneasy. His appraising look changed to one of certainty. He said, “Yes, you will need this.” He reached into a deerskin satchel that sat at his side. He pulled out a small leather pouch. It was decorated with what looked like painted designs and it glittered faintly, like mica in river sand glitters as the water’s flow disturbs it. It was tied with a leather thong and appeared to contain something. He placed it on the rock between us and asked me to sit. He said....................

To read fellow geocacher's contributions to this story, please scroll or go back to the very first log and read backwards to the present.

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