We recently discovered the trails out here in the Clear Bay area. One day we decided to hunt down a couple of the caches out here and got a bit of a later start than we intended. Needless to say the sun started to set, and we found ourselves in the dark woods. Armed with a couple of flashlights and my boys overactive imaginations we (by we I mean mama bear and I) had a blast finding our way back to the car.
For quite some time we had something “following” us through the woods. It was about 20 feet off the trail and you could hear it rustling through the leaves as we walked. When we stopped walking the “stalker” would stop walking. The kids imaginations were running wild with what it might be. Mountain Lion? Bear? Bigfoot? Chupacabra? Jersey Devil? Rake? (I still don’t know what “Rake” is) Needless to say they got scared. I may or may not have played on that fear and fed it a bit, but hey, what else is dad for?
Every time we have gone out to these woods, I convince the boys that the forest is watching them. Sometimes we get that rustling just off the trail, sometimes I have to be creative and fall to the back of the group so I can toss a stick or rock off into the trees to create the rustle. But you can bet by the end of our journey, the boys imaginations are running wild.
If you come out at night, with a bright enough flashlight and look around you can see that the forest certainly is watching. The trees themselves have eyes that you can see reflecting the light in the distance. Every once in a while if you are lucky you may even be able see an entire face on a tree.
For the best results, keep quiet so you don’t scare the trees back into hiding, hold your flashlight at eye level and look around. When you see the tree that is watching you, go toward it and look for the next one. You may have to look very carefully to see the reflection of the eyes, since trees are brown naturally they have brown eyes which don’t reflect quite as much light as a typical firetack would for other night caches.
The way is an easy enough walk 99% of the time and I would even go as far as to say it is stroller friendly if you want to bring the really little ones along. Lake Thunderbird is listed online as being open 24 hours a day so timing shouldn’t really be an issue. Come out early and enjoy some of the other caches in the area before it gets dark. Then once the sun sets, test your nerves and see if you can shake the feeling of being watched in the darkness.
Placed under permit with Lake Thunderbird State Park.
Special thanks to Spottypossy for beta testing for us. *****CONGRATULATIONS TO PSTEELMAN1 FOR BRAVING THE NIGHT AND GETTING THE FTF*****