All,
Manumuskin and I have searched on two previous occasions for a stone that is inscribed with the letters JC and both times we had to turn back. We calculated it to be in a really intense area along the Merrygold Branch near New Gretna. Al has been very persistent concerning the JC stone and this week he asked me again to give it another try. He looked over the aerial maps where we had traveled before and came up with a route that he felt avoided the intense briers but still left us in water most of the way. With the weather being somewhat warmer today it was a good opportunity to give it a try.
The first part was routine as we traveled the beginning of the same route we had before. We then turned off, heading into the swamp where we were hoping the 1200 foot distance would be easy on us. It was extremely hard going and it took forever but we finally made it to the location. Unfortunately, we could not find the stone. A little depressed we decided to travel another 700 feet to a high "island" that Al was worried had severe briers. Our thinking was there may be a clue there to help us find the stone on our return leg. So again we fought our way on and upon arrival we found the island to be intense briers. Despite this I thought I found a clue, and I made a determination that we may need to search about 50 to 60 SSW of where we had been. So we altered our route and this time just plowed through the swamp to make it there as fast as we could. We were beginning to feel the strain of the intense briers and brush.
When we were about 150 feet from the location we were shooting for, Al yelled out he had found the stone. Located directly in the water, we could just see the top portions of the incised letters. Realizing we could never remove the water to see the complete letters, we tried several ways to get the water to clear. Unfortunately, no matter what we did we failed. In any event, we had found a granite stone that I am certain very few individuals have even viewed.
Sorry for the flush photo's but with the bright sun and the shadows it was extremely hard to get anything of quality. Al may have better luck with his photo's.
As we arrived.
The inscribed JC.
It is hard to explain what we went through today. The back of my hands were all cut up by the time we were done. Here is a video of me following Al just before we found the stone on our return route.
Guy
Manumuskin and I have searched on two previous occasions for a stone that is inscribed with the letters JC and both times we had to turn back. We calculated it to be in a really intense area along the Merrygold Branch near New Gretna. Al has been very persistent concerning the JC stone and this week he asked me again to give it another try. He looked over the aerial maps where we had traveled before and came up with a route that he felt avoided the intense briers but still left us in water most of the way. With the weather being somewhat warmer today it was a good opportunity to give it a try.
The first part was routine as we traveled the beginning of the same route we had before. We then turned off, heading into the swamp where we were hoping the 1200 foot distance would be easy on us. It was extremely hard going and it took forever but we finally made it to the location. Unfortunately, we could not find the stone. A little depressed we decided to travel another 700 feet to a high "island" that Al was worried had severe briers. Our thinking was there may be a clue there to help us find the stone on our return leg. So again we fought our way on and upon arrival we found the island to be intense briers. Despite this I thought I found a clue, and I made a determination that we may need to search about 50 to 60 SSW of where we had been. So we altered our route and this time just plowed through the swamp to make it there as fast as we could. We were beginning to feel the strain of the intense briers and brush.
When we were about 150 feet from the location we were shooting for, Al yelled out he had found the stone. Located directly in the water, we could just see the top portions of the incised letters. Realizing we could never remove the water to see the complete letters, we tried several ways to get the water to clear. Unfortunately, no matter what we did we failed. In any event, we had found a granite stone that I am certain very few individuals have even viewed.
Sorry for the flush photo's but with the bright sun and the shadows it was extremely hard to get anything of quality. Al may have better luck with his photo's.
As we arrived.
The inscribed JC.
It is hard to explain what we went through today. The back of my hands were all cut up by the time we were done. Here is a video of me following Al just before we found the stone on our return route.
Guy
