Skip to content

Dead Bull's Rock: The Legend Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

larryc43230: It is with great sadness that we must archive our last active geocache. It's had a great run (almost 14 years), but the time has come to free up this area for a new hide. Our thanks to everyone who has sought out the cache; we hope you had fun!

More
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Many years ago, just after dinosaurs ruled the earth, the neighborhood of Georgian Heights was new, and filled with baby-boom kids who --- if you can believe it -- played for hours on end without a parent watching every move.


In those days, when what is now Georgian Heights Park was just "the woods," houses were fewer. The creek had a tiny waterfall and real ponds -- now rock-filled -- where we caught crawdads. The path was longer, the woods wider, the trees denser, and there was a legend about the granite boulder at the end of the path -- it covers a dead bull. Yes, it's THAT big, though now covered with graffiti, alas!

Some said the rock fell on the bull and buried it on the spot, though where the rock supposedly fell FROM was never clear. The alternative version was that a farmer placed the rock on the grave of the bull. Why? Who knows? I (The Little Truffle-Pig, who is recording this bit of neighborhood folklore for posterity) can say that there were once some decaying wooden remnants of old buildings, now long gone, where I was stung by a bumblebee -- I was in 2nd grade at the time, though not at Georgian Heights school, which wasn't built yet.

Fast forward 10 years or so, and my younger sister came to know the thing as "Devil's Rock." It's an understandable corruption, but actually a conflation: There WAS a smaller rock with a split, in which a black stain (regarded as the devil's mark) was visible. Alas, we (larryc43230 and I) looked for it on the path, but were unable to locate it on the day this cache was stashed. We did encounter an 18-year-old local muggle who told us that he had always known the big granite hulk as "Devil's Rock," and that it supposedly simply emerged from the ground.

Now for practicalities:

This cache is located in Georgian Heights Park on the west side of Columbus. There are two good places to park (that we know of), one on Holly Hill Drive (PARK1) and one at the end of Savannah Drive (PARK2). It will be helpful to know that Savannah Drive occurs in two parts which do NOT connect. Good luck with that.

The terrain you'll face depends on the direction you take. There is a trail leading from the field to the cache area (though a bit obscure); there is also a somewhat shorter route that will take you across a bit of a dip in the landscape, with the potential for wet feet. Whichever route you choose, enjoy the park!

You are looking for a fairly standard Lock 'n' Lock container painted in camo colors and hidden in a woody area, just off a trail. Depending on the time of day and the weather, there may be youthful muggles from the nearby school in the area, so please exercise stealth as necessary and re-hide the container as found.

We hope you enjoy the legend, and finding the cache, which was almost lost in the hiding .... but that's another story!

ADDENDUM: Since the original hide, we were notified by cachers of malicious burnings at the site (so sad that a venerable old oak could not be allowed to die in peace), so we moved the cache -- as a large owl swooped into a nearby tree to observe --- to a location that we hope will be less attractive as a target for petty arson. The cache is now hidden about 175 feet away from its previous location. Alas, depending on the time of year, the rock may no longer be within sight, so if you didn't pass it on the way, the coordinates are included as an Additional Waypoint.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Congratulations to fhetter532 for the FTF!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ng gur onfr bs n fxvaal, zhygv-gehaxrq gerr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)