Sycamore trees have a long history in folklore dating back to Egyptian times where the Holy Sycamore is said to connect the worlds between the dead and the living.
Sycamores, in general, are known for their longevity. The North American sycamore is one of our largest hardwood trees and can grow to mammoth proportions. Perhaps it is their strangely colored trunks—which become mottled with stark patches of white, gray, and greenish-brown when the bark flakes off—that make them seem so mysterious. Their odd appearance earned them the name “Ghosts of the Forest” from Native Americans, with many tales spun around their magical, often sinister, nature.
According to one legend that originates with the Wyandot tribe, the great chief of the Evil Spirits became angry at two of his followers and cast them out along the water. These two evil spirits that had been cast across the water ended up colliding against two stately sycamore trees. All at once, the evilness spread into the trees causing them to become deformed with the limbs becoming grotesque. The Indians always believed these two trees were inhabited by the evil spirits and would be very careful when passing by. When settlers arrived and heard these tales, they would often laugh. That is until one of the settlers was found dead under one of the trees with the horrified look of having been scared to death frozen upon his face. Occasionally a defiant settler would scoff at the "haunted" trees and brag that he would cut them down for firewood. Usually, after these threats were made ill misfortune would occur to the unlucky boaster. One of the last known attempts to cut the evil trees down was made in 1840. This gentleman grabbed an ax to hack into one of the vexed trees and missed. The ax glanced off the tree trunk and ended up lodged inside his leg. An artery was struck causing blood to spew at the base of the trunk where he promptly bled to death.
The Cache: The cache is a medium-sized lock & lock hidden along the Paw Paw hiking trail.
This cache is located in Lower Huron Metropark. A Metroparks vehicle permit is required for entry to the parks: $10 daily pass, $40 annual pass, $29 annual seniors pass. All park rules and regulations apply. Please park in parking lots only.
For general information please call 810-227-2752 800-47-PARKS, or visit www.metroparks.com. Dogs on a leash are allowed in this section of the park The hours for the trail are dawn to dusk.
A Metropark geocaching permit has been filed and approved by Kevin Arnold (Southern District Interpretive Supervisor).