Strange things found in the forest

MossRoad · Dec 8, 2015

dan ny escarpment said:
This one is cheating since not in the woods, but an interesting old piece of equipment from an oil boom ghost town, in Pithole City, PA.

Is that a lay-down smokestack on a portable boiler? Neat! :thumbsup:

MossRoad · Dec 8, 2015

ultrarunner said:
Maybe bathtub Gin???

Maybe they were filming a Cialis commercial?

buckeyefarmer · Dec 8, 2015

MossRoad said:
My wife and I camped in Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky many years ago. We wanted to hike up to see the natural arch. From the campground, it was a several mile hike up some fairly steep terrain. So we load up with food and water and off we went. Pretty vigorous hike. When we get to the top, there's people all over the place. We saw very few on the trail, but it was somewhat crowded. What the heck? Then we see a sign for a chair-lift that came up from a parking lot on the other side of the hill!
:confused3:

Anyhow, many long lost roads and wagon paths are all but obscured by mother nature rather quickly.

Did a week backpacking there in the early 80's. There are many natural arches in the park, but the tourists go to one.
couple pics of some of the other arches in the park that most people don't get to, and one of me rapeling.

MossRoad · Dec 8, 2015

Nice! :thumbsup:

One thing I remember about Kentucky state parks back then (80's) was how clean the campgrounds were, and, they had washing machines!

buckeyefarmer · Dec 8, 2015

All i had was a tarp to rig as a tent, and it was cold and snowed a couple times. Beautiful park.

tman1020 · Dec 9, 2015

dmccarty said:
I left this next bit out about the map. Meant to say it but got distracted. :laughing::laughing::laughing: The cut out map section covered the area we were walking in.... So if he/she was bread crumbing, he used the most important part of the map given the location of the map section. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing: Later, Dan

The way you described it being located within a very private area of thick brush made me think someone was trying to make toilet paper in a pinch and the piece that you found was the part that was really needed so it got spared. Then disregarded once he/she no longer needed it. luckily you found the piece that you did not another yuck.

dmccarty · Dec 9, 2015

tman1020 said:
The way you described it being located within a very private area of thick brush made me think someone was trying to make toilet paper in a pinch and the piece that you found was the part that was really needed so it got spared. Then disregarded once he/she no longer needed it. luckily you found the piece that you did not another yuck.

To small for TP. And the map paper was water proof so it would not work well as TP. :shocked::laughing::laughing::laughing: They really needed the map section too since they were in the middle of that portion of the map. The paper was right next to a blown down tree that was too high to crawl over so you had to crawl under as I best remember. I think they lost the paper when they went under the tree. What I could not figure out is if they were going in the same direction as I was or in the opposite direction. Did they loose the paper before going under the tree or after. :confused3::laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

ultrarunner · Dec 9, 2015

Call it a Find??? First car, 31 Model "A" Ford. $26.00. Some people down the canyon had it for sale. 15 At the time & did not have a drivers license.

More Later,
Jim

A Model A was also my first car... still have it today. With 5 million made they are still around in good numbers... several here on TBN have or owned Model A's

My only find in the wood of significance was a stash of old Model A parts...

ultrarunner · Dec 9, 2015

Call it a Find??? First car, 31 Model "A" Ford. $26.00. Some people down the canyon had it for sale. 15 At the time & did not have a drivers license.

More Later,
Jim

A Model A was also my first car... still have it today. With 5 million made they are still around in good numbers... several here on TBN have or owned Model A's

My only find in the wood of significance was a stash of old Model A parts...

nybirdman · Dec 9, 2015

Always finding old horse drawn equipment in our area,interesting are the old stone foundations and rock walls in the area.Of course we have lots of rock so they had to do something with it.
I found a stone foundation that measures about 25'x35' maybe 50 yards off the road(used to be dirt) the current owner;who is in his 80's said it used to be called the "widow's place".I actually found it marked on a 1865 map.

Texas Dawg · Dec 9, 2015

In the late 60's right after my parents purchased the homestead where they still live, a moonshine still was discovered. It sat on the very back of the property on a little creek. They never found out who the "owners" were but after a little dynamite (by the authorities), there was plenty of scrap metal laying around. With copper prices like they are today, that would have been some pretty good $$$ laying around.

2LaneCruzer · Dec 9, 2015

nybirdman said:
Always finding old horse drawn equipment in our area,interesting are the old stone foundations and rock walls in the area.Of course we have lots of rock so they had to do something with it.
I found a stone foundation that measures about 25'x35' maybe 50 yards off the road(used to be dirt) the current owner;who is in his 80's said it used to be called the "widow's place".I actually found it marked on a 1865 map.

Here in Oklahoma, most of the older Territorial/early statehood public buildings are built from sandstone, as are some old barns, homes and out buildings. The story I am told is that brick was not available, but sandstone was plentiful, so that's what they used.

ultrarunner · Dec 9, 2015

I'm jealous... you guys have such great stories... the only thing I use to find out in the woods was Poison Oak!

I like history and the olden days as my Grandfather would say... not much that is very old in California compared to much of the country... time really started around 1850 with the Gold Rush the year before...

stuckmotor · Dec 9, 2015

300UGUY said:
Welcome to the forums. Pardon my ignorance, but what was the "bush war" ? And when?

I'm ignorant too and a web search didn't help.

Woops!:shocked: I found out zimbo is from South Africa and searched again. The Bush War had to do with Rhodesia.

oldpilgrim · Dec 9, 2015

yup, a 31 Model A roadster was my first car in 1962. Still have it.

I didn't get it from the woods but back in the 60's when I restored it, I found a lot of needed parts from 'bog buggies' abandoned in the woods. Many were 'converted' and used for running the cranberry bogs which are in abundance around here.

dmccarty · Dec 9, 2015

Texas Dawg said:
In the late 60's right after my parents purchased the homestead where they still live, a moonshine still was discovered. It sat on the very back of the property on a little creek. They never found out who the "owners" were but after a little dynamite (by the authorities), there was plenty of scrap metal laying around. With copper prices like they are today, that would have been some pretty good $$$ laying around.

My wife's family has a farm that has been in the family for several generations. When I visit the farm I often go walk to the land trying to get to the river. I never make it to the river since I always get sidetracked for one reason or another.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

The grandparent generation had three boys who grew up working the farm. They made bricks for farm building foundations, sawed thier own timber for lumber, grew crops, raised cattle, had a dairy, etc.

One year I was walking to the river, and as usual, got sidetracked into some woods in the back of the farm. In the woods, was a very deep cut creek that went from the interior of the farm, and I assume, to the river if I had followed the creek for a mile or so. The creek was about six feet below grade which was interesting. As I was looking around, I saw some pipe that was 1/2 to 1 inch in size that was bent this way and that. Looked like the way the pipe was bent so that one end was down in the creek pulling water up to the level land. There was some other stuff on the ground that just shouted out STILL! :laughing:

The pipe and debris was near the property line of the family farm which was as far from the road as you could get.
If the still was found, they could say they knew nothing about it and it must have been made by some one who had trespassed onto the property.
Anyone approaching the spot would be seen a good distance off across the family farm fields or the neighboring farm fields.
One could run/walk a good distance in that deep creek without being seen going to or from the spot. One could head towards the river or back to the farm house and pop up out of no where. Or walk to the spot unseen from the farm house.

Now, just down the road is an old gas station that is still in "business" though they don't sell gas any longer. :laughing::laughing::laughing: I think you can go in, buy a beer, some snacks, sit there eating and drinking. The owner is a friend of the family and grew up with the grandpa generation. The place has, shall we say, an interesting reputation in the family...

I made my way back to the farm house and had a chat with my wife's grandpa who was the last surviving brother. I asked him if there had been a still in such a such a place on the farm.

He hemmed, and he hawed, as he said he did not know what I was talking about but there was a certain gleam in his eyes.

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

I guess he did not know anything about that still and I bet not one drop of moonshine ever made it to that gas station. NOT!

I am willing to bet that those boys not only grew crops, raised cattle, had a dairy, sawed lumber, baked bricks AND made a bit of moonshine. For medicinal purposes of course. :laughing::laughing::laughing:

Later,
Dan

ultrarunner · Dec 9, 2015

^^^ It's sounding more like an episode of the Waltons...

dmccarty · Dec 9, 2015

ultrarunner said:
^^^ It's sounding more like an episode of the Waltons...

William Faulkner would have had a field day with my wife's family. He could have won at least one or two more Noble Prizes in Literature if he had written about her family. :laughing::laughing::laughing: