The dark history of Aros Road is known by few people, as no formal writings of it exist. Let me pass it on to you now...
Clan Macdougall resided in Aros Castle on the Isle of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. Despite their barren fields and relatively small army, they ruled over the clans of the surrounding islands. Numerous wars were waged between Clan Macdougall and the other clans, but bad luck always managed to befall the other clans. Plagues ravaged the war parties, winters would turn unseasonably warm, turning the ground surrounding Aros Castle into swamps, unsuitable for staging attacks. In one instance a stray arrow during archery training struck and killed the head of an opposing clan. Rumours of Clan Macdougall's practice in the Dark Arts began to spread throughout the lands, but no proof was ever found.
As with all things, time relegated the clans to the history books, and the descendants of the clan began to journey from their homeland. One such family, landed in Victoria in the 1830's. The daughter, Cailynn, was 17 at the time. She was an unparalleled beauty, and as a woman of marrying age, was soon betrothed to Eric, the boatswain of a merchant vessel. They moved north to the Cowichan Valley and settled on the water, and named their homestead Aros Estate, at the end of what is now Aros Road. Cailynn tended to the Estate while Eric continued to serve on the merchant vessel. During their second winter together, a sudden squall hit while Eric was out fishing in the strait in his rowboat. Cailynn rushed to the water's edge, but could not see any sign of Eric in the dark. After a long, bitter winter's night, Cailynn returned to the water's edge, and made a terrible discovery. Eric's body had washed up on the shore. She gave his body a makeshift burial in the woods later that day.
Cailynn was inconsolable, and returned to her parents home to grieve. While there, she began reading the ancient clan texts her parents had brought from Scotland. While she was not able to fully understand the old language, she was able to decipher a ritual to the goddess Airmid. Reading from the primitive texts, she realized that it was a spell of reanimation - bringing the dead back to life. She gathered the necessary totems and runes, and headed back to Aros Estate.
At the stroke of midnight, Cailynn performed the ritual over the grave of Eric. After a few minutes of silence, sounds of clawing came from the grave, Eric emerged from the ground and Cailynn lifted him to his feet, intertwining their bodies in a long awaited embrace. Eric, his soul now ripped from heaven, lifted his arms toward the sky in a futile attempt to retake his place above. Cailynn began to feel strange, and she struggled to move. Slowly she felt their bodies harden, for Cailynn had not fully understood the ritual. The soul was returned from the afterlife, but the body would not be able to house it, so Airmid would turn it into a tree to house the spirit forever. Cailynn's impetuousness had gotten her caught in the transformation, and so both their souls are now forever trapped in the tree, Eric knowing that he had been torn from heaven. Cailynn has become known over the years as "The Witch of Aros Road".
This geocache is placed at this tree. Please say a quiet word for Eric and Cailynn as you sign the log, some say if you listen close enough, you can hear Eric's laments on moonless nights.