My youngest 11yo geo-kid and I discovered this spot while training together for his first 5k race, so we thought the next myth in our series should be about running would be appropriate :) I also thought it was appropriate that I had to wait around and dodge intermittent groups of a high school girls' track team running by so that I could hide it...Please don't reach behind the "No Trespassing" sign - cache is not there but some wasps certainly were at the time of hide. CONGRATS to KorinaCigars for FTF!
Atalanta’s father, Iasus, had wanted a son instead of a daughter, so when Atalanta was born, he took her to a mountaintop and left her to die. She was raised by a she-bear and grew up loving the wilderness, She was an fierce huntress. She took an oath to the goddess Artemis, and vowed to remain unmarried and pure. Atalanta was later reunited with her father after she proved her hunting skill by killing the wild Calydonian boar Artemis had sent to ravage the land after the king Oineus forgot to sacrifice to her.
Many tried to win Atalanta's hand, but she would agree to marry none, despite her father’s urging. Atalanta agreed she would only marry someone who could outrun her in a footrace. Those who lost would be killed. Being so swift, she easily beat all who challenged her, and many young men lost their lives. Finally, a young man named Hippomenes asked the goddess Aphrodite to help him, and she gave him three golden apples to slow Atalanta down. The apples were irresistible, so every time Atalanta ran ahead of Hippomenes, he rolled an apple ahead of her and she paused to run after it. Hippomenes won the footrace and married Atalanta.