Tom watched as the setting sun streaked the sky with orange and red as he walked quietly along the trail. He snapped his vest closed as he felt the chill of the evening mountain air slowly spill down into the tiny valley. Darkness would come more quickly here than at the higher elevations, and he knew he would not have time to walk all the way to the pond and make it back to the campsite before nightfall. He enjoyed his solitary walks, and was accustomed to walking alone in the nighttime woods under the light of the moon and stars. He knew the others would be concerned if he did not return while it was still light, so he reversed course, heading back toward the campsite.
Tom had read the documentation and listened to Adam’s explanations of the technology behind the LANav, and shared his excitement about testing something so new and unique, but he could not shake the feeling that there was something mysterious about this project. There seemed to be something that just didn’t fit; out of kilter, like an image drawn with slightly mismatched proportions. He wondered what information was being withheld from them. He couldn’t understand the reasoning behind selecting an independent group, such as they were, to do the type of research they were about to do. Usually a company with potentially ground-breaking technology wanted to keep it closely guarded, not farm out the research to an independent testing company. Perhaps they already knew what the beacons were, but hoped a fresh set of minds could figure out a marketable use for them. Or, perhaps they had already discounted the anomalies as meaningless but used them as an enticement to Adam. He shrugged off his uneasiness; he was being paid to conduct a test, not question the motives, and at least he was getting outdoors for a few days in a gorgeous wilderness area.
Tom’s archeological and anthropological pastimes included the study of American Indian culture and exploring ruins from the colonial and pre-colonial periods. Tom had American Indian ancestors on both sides of his family, but his attempts to uncover his genealogy any further back than his grandparents were thwarted by a lack of records for that part of his family tree. It was almost as if those members of his family didn’t want to be traced. He didn’t harbor any false hope that he would ever learn much more about his own family’s descendants, but learning some facts about the American Indian way of life in this part of the country gave him a tiny feeling of connection with those mysterious ancestors. He knew there were a few Indian ruins nearby, and hoped he would get a chance to investigate them. It would make the trip to Georgia worthwhile for him, even if the LANav proved to be less groundbreaking than everyone hoped.
Tom returned to the campsite just as Adam was preparing to contact Dr. Odan.
“Oh, yes, I agree completely with your team’s recommendation,” Ed Odan’s voice replied through the earpiece of the LANav. They were well outside of any cell phone service area, but the LANav’s satellite communications were working flawlessly. “In fact, the other engineers here at TSO are anxious to discover the meaning of the beacons, but the investors are most eager to learn if the effectiveness of our device is improved in any way, you see.”
“In that case,” answered Adam, “we will spend the rest of the evening preparing to start the beacon research in the morning. As you know, our plan for this part of the project is to simply follow the LANav to the first beacon and record our findings. After we observe the location of the first beacon, we can make a decision about how to proceed. If warranted, we’ll return to the site prepared to backpack in with enough supplies to last several days in the backcountry. We know there are additional beacons further on, possibly on a projected path, and we’ll follow them to gather as much data as possible. We are likely to be hiking in some difficult terrain, requiring some strenuous and tiring effort, which is one reason why I originally scheduled this part of the testing last. When we return, we will complete the rest of the standard testing. Judging by how well the LANav has performed so far, completing the standard tests should not be too exhausting.”
“Your plan indeed sounds most acceptable,” said Odan. “Thank you for the update, Adam. The exemplary performance of the LANav is most gratifying. Please report the additional findings to me after you have made your observations at the first beacon, before you begin your backpacking journey. We’re all looking forward to your report, you see, and would like updates from each of the subsequent beacons. Oh yes, be sure to enjoy yourselves, and for goodness sake, please make the safety of your team a priority.”
Chapter nine
The testing team was excited about the next phase of the project. They had done field testing of products before, but nothing had given them the opportunity for such an adventure. They all loved outdoor activities, and could hardly believe they were actually getting paid to have so much fun. Their voices and gestures were infused with excitement as they discussed the details of tomorrow’s tasks. Even Tom, normally staid and unemotional, was animated with anticipation.
Their exhilarated mood mellowed during the preparation of the evening’s campfire dinner, as the fatigue of the day’s hiking in the Cohutta Wilderness Area set in. They brought along standard freeze dried backpacking rations, but only as a standby whenever “real” food was not available. Adam’s fishing yielded three decent-size native trout for them to share, which Tom offered to prepare using some of the pepper-weed seeds and other wild herbs he found on his solo hike. While Sal built the fire, Alice put together a salad from the tender spring dandelions, clover leaves, Day Lilly shoots, and wild onions and garlic she had gathered. She had a knack for food preparation, especially when it came to putting flavors together using native plants. She was adept at edible plant identification, and enjoyed researching the botanical specimens of each new area she visited. Her love of botany and cooking provided her companions with many gastronomic treats on their camping trips. She had no qualms about a woman doing the bulk of the food preparation; it was something she enjoyed and did not consider her gender to be relevant. She occasionally imparted the chore to one of the others, usually enjoying the variety of culinary style. Tom was pretty good at putting together a tasty meal, while Adam’s concoctions ranged anywhere between delightful and disaster, and Sal’s idea of meal prep was pretty much limited to ordering from a menu.
They were ravenous after their long hike in the fresh air, and the smell of the roasting trout had them drooling. While preparing the meal, their talk turned to reminiscing about past hiking and backpacking adventures they had shared, and how they wished all their projects could be like this one. All conversation ceased once they began eating, focusing their concentration on the delicious meal.
Dinner and cleanup were concluded quickly, and they unanimously agreed that dinner was the best they ever had. They had already completed as much preparation for tomorrow’s work as they could, and were anxious to kick back and enjoy the quiet evening at the campsite.
Appetites slaked, they sat staring into the glowing red embers of the campfire, nibbling on a dessert of trail mix, watching the indigo sky transform to a black and silver star field. Stars filled the heavens without the artificial lights of a nearby city to obscure them, while the waxing gibbous moon softly illuminated their campsite with a gentle glow. They listened to the evening melody of the forest transform into a nighttime song, the slosh and gurgle of the stream combined with frogs, insects, and other creatures, all competing for a leading part in the symphony. They spoke in low, quiet voices as they discussed tomorrow’s journey.
“In the morning,” said Adam, “we’ll hike back out to the trailhead and take the SUV to Fort Mountain State Park, just east of Chatsworth. The state park will be a good place to leave the SUV for a few days. It looks like we can reach the first beacon by starting out on the Gahuti trail, a fairly well-used backcountry trail that has a trailhead at the state park.”
“How far off the trail is the first beacon?” Alice asked.
“The Gahuti trail is about an eight mile loop around the state park, but we will only take it for a short distance before picking up another trail that leads to a stone
wall Indian ruin near the top of Fort Mountain. From the ruins, we’ll go off the trail for only about a half-mile to the beacon. Looking at the SAT maps, there doesn’t appear to be any trails closer to the beacon. It’s in a ravine on the northeast side of the mountain. I expect that last half-mile to be pretty rugged.”
“Dude, when I looked at the maps I saw a couple roads that looked pretty close to the beacon. Wouldn’t it be better to start hiking from one of those roads?” asked Sal.
“You’re right, there are a couple of roads, but remember we have the mountains to deal with,” Adam said. “By starting from the state park, we can drive most of the way up the mountain and not have such a drastic climb as we would if we started from one of the other roads. We also avoid private property, and the state park gives us a good place to park the SUV.”
“We’ll also get to investigate the ruins by going to the park,” said Tom.
“Yeah, I’d like to check those out, too,” said Sal. “Hey, here’s one for ya—why was the archeologist depressed? Because his career was in ruins!” Sal heard the groans of the others as he dodged a piece of trail mix Alice threw at him.
“Oh, my, on that note, I’m going to bed,” Alice said as she stood up and brushed the dirt from the seat of her cargo pants.
“Sleep tight,” said Sal, “but watch out for bears. You know they always go for the babes first,” he said, attempting to frighten her out of a few minutes sleep.
“I’m not worried,” she replied. “You’re the one sleeping next to the spot where Tom cleaned the fish.”
The team turned in for the night, sharing a furtive smile as Sal tried to inconspicuously reposition his sleeping bag.
Chapter ten
The crunch of gravel beneath the Suburban’s tires at the Fort Mountain State Park parking area roused the team from their quiet ruminations about the day ahead. They made good time to the state park by taking a couple of back roads, courtesy of the LANav’s superb mapping capabilities, and at the same time checked off a few additional test suites that they had planned for automobile navigation. Many commercial GPS receivers failed to keep up with a moving vehicle when the maps were extensively detailed, but the TSO LANav’s computer handled the quickly scrolling maps flawlessly.
They had risen at dawn, broke camp, and made quick work of the five mile hike back to the trailhead, then enjoyed a quiet ride through the Chattahoochee forest to Fort Mountain, anticipating the excitement of the day. It was a pleasant surprise to find that the state had installed roads even deeper into the park, and they would be able to reach the stone wall ruins, now less than half a mile from the parking lot. Even better, they would have more time to explore the ruins since they could reach the first beacon location quicker than they had planned. The chilled mountain air, not yet warmed by the early morning sun, filled their lungs, invigorating them with enthusiasm. Stretching as they exited the vehicle, they decided to leave their equipment behind until they had a chance to explore the ruins, and only take a few items necessary for a short hike. They would hike out to the first beacon after they examined the stone wall, and return to the vehicle if additional backpacking or climbing equipment was required.
“Hey man, why not just take all our junk now?” asked Sal. “Save us a hike back to the SUV.”
“We could,” Adam answered, “but I thought it would be better to get a look at the area around the first beacon. Plus, we want to spend some time checking out the ruins; better to do that without all the heavy gear.”
It was still early morning, so there were not yet many visitors and the parking area was nearly empty. A sign reading “stone wall” pointed them to a well-kept paved path leading north. Not more than a few hundred feet along the trail was an overlook with a breathtaking view of the mountains of the Cohutta Wilderness Area, where they had spent the previous night. The morning sunshine illuminated the bright, spring-green fields and budding treetops below. Adjacent to the forest they could see a quilted collage of recently tilled and planted fields of the farms in the valley. The sky was clear and bright-blue. The few high, fluffy clouds cast steam-gray, shadows meandering across the landscape, and a maze of crisscrossing mining and fire roads further added to the patchwork effect.
As they reveled in the view, they noticed a few more cars in the parking lot; mountain bikers who were unloading and preparing to head out on the trail. Fort Mountain State Park is a popular mountain biking spot, having miles of challenging bike trails with plenty of rocks, boulders, red clay, and steep climbs. Their envy of the bikers was evident as they watched them unpack; this park would be an awesome biking adventure! Delaware, being mostly flat, had a few hilly single track bike trails, but reaching challenging mountain biking terrain almost always meant going out-of-state. Adam had considered bringing their bikes along to use on the trails that allowed bikes. He knew that there would be times that they would be hiking in the back country where bikes would not be practical, and so decided against the idea. Looking at the view from the overlook almost made him regret that decision, and he made a note on his mental to-do list to schedule a return trip with the bikes. The bikers rolled past them as they made their way to the ruins of the stone wall, just a short ride from the first overlook.
“Man, what an awesome day for a ride,” said Sal.
“Yes, indeed,” Tom agreed, “but it’s a good day to explore the ruins and take a hike, too. I’d be willing to wager that any one of the bikers would jump at the chance to give up their ride today for some hands-on time with the LANav.”
“You think so, dude?” asked Sal. “Hey, Adam, do you mind if I make a deal with one of these cats? His bike for the day in exchange for some LANav fun time?”
“Not if you don’t mind my giving him your pay to go with it,” Adam answered.
“On second thought,” said Sal, “I better not let you chumps go without me. You probably won’t be able to do without my highly developed technical skills.”
“We could definitely do without your highly developed ego,” said Alice with a wink to Tom and Adam.
They descended the overlook platform and followed the path to the stone wall. There was an informational sign about the wall giving the dimensions and some background theories about its origins. The 855 foot long structure ran east-west along the highest point of the mountain, and had a number of shallow depressions spaced about thirty feet apart. In a few places the wall’s height reached nearly six feet, but on average was only about two or three feet high. In other places the wall was no more than a pile of rubble.
“The sign has several different stories about how the wall came to be here,” said Tom. “Actually, they really don’t have any idea what it was for, or when it was built for that matter. The most accepted theory is that it was built by woodland Indians around 500 BC as a fortification. I’ve even heard one suggestion that it wasn’t constructed at all, but just a natural formation of hard rocks that were left by erosion.”
“Looks more like Fred Flintstone’s backyard fence to me,” said Sal. “Hey, Wilma, fetch me a Bronto-burger, pronto!” he said to Alice.
“You’d be better off with some Flintstone Vitamins. You look more like Barney than Fred,” Alice said.
“Hey, that’s cool,” Sal chirped. “I always thought Betty was a pretty hot number. Yabba-dabba-do!”
“Oh, hush. You obviously have the maturity of Pebbles,” Alice sighed.
The sun warmed the air as it rose higher in the sky, and the radiated heat from the rock wall added to the increasing warmth as they scrabbled around it, discussing a few more serious ideas about the significance of the structure. They concluded that the most logical purpose of the wall would have been for defense. Whatever the real use may have been, the construction had taken a tremendous effort by someone. An 855 foot span of thousands of rocks would have taken even a large group of laborers many weeks to put in place.
They followed the path northerly for a few hundred yards past the wall to a more recent structure; a stone f
ire-tower. The fire tower had been built in the 1930’s on the highest point of the mountain by the Civilian Conservation Corp, and provided the rangers an ideal vantage point to watch for fire outbreaks in the entire park and much of the surrounding forest. There was a set of wooden stairs leading to the access door of the tower. The team only glanced inside one of the lower openings as they walked past, choosing instead to head for an overlook just northwest of the tower. This second overlook afforded a panoramic view down the western slope of the mountain and the adjoining countryside north of the park boundary.
Looking to the left from the overlook, they could see the streets and buildings of Chatsworth and the smaller surrounding communities far below. Directly ahead and to the north, the looming mountain peaks of the Cohutta Wilderness area were visible through the thin Georgia haze. They watched as several hawks, floating in the gradually warming air, hunted for a mid-morning snack as they drifted over the treetops. Several smaller birds, too far away to recognize, darted between the gliding hawks. Beyond the mountaintops, about fifteen miles further north, was Tennessee.
“Sure don’t have views like this back in Delaware,” said Adam, his voice breaking the spell of the glorious view. “I’d like to stand here enjoying it, but if you’re all done gazing we need to get down to work.”
Adam retrieved the LANav from his belt pack and adjusted its settings to show the location of the anomalies. As he faced north from the overlook, the LANav indicated that the beacon was almost directly to his right and less than half a mile from their present location. He consulted with Tom, who had brought along a topographical map, and together they traced a line that would give them the most accessible route to their target.
“To reach the beacon from here,” Adam began, “we’ll need to hike easterly for only about a half-mile. The heading to the beacon is at about seventy degrees, but there are two ravines between us and it. The first is the little gulley you can see from here, just to the right. The beacon is actually inside the second little valley. Our best approach is going to be to walk along the mountaintop until we reach the second gulley, and then head down. Tom will plot our route along the map, but we will try to rely on the LANav’s maps as much as possible. He’ll plot our course on the map, just in case the LANav has a problem. The first beacon is so close we won’t need any other navigation equipment.
Timecachers Page 7