Have you ever heard or seen something long before daylight on the way to your deer stand?
And I’m not talking about these sissy stands about 20 yards off the road with feeders, air conditioning, and comfy chairs to sit in. I mean one of those stands so far off about halfway in, no matter your physical condition, you are wondering if you were ever sane or in your right mind to put a stand so far away?
Yep. That stand.
Now, my folks are from the mountains. We are solid Appalachian stock, and I grew up with stories of haints and boogers, panters (panthers or mountain lions), wild people, and outlaws. I heard my great-grandmother tell of hearing panthers scream at night and of her grandmother walking home late at night and being stalked by them.
I’ve heard great uncles and cousins tell of ghosts and spirits lurking in the deep hollers of Fannin and Gilmer counties. I love those old stories, and I’d give anything to hear them again around those same fireplaces, on those same porches, in those same old hills.
But right now, I want to know if you have ever seen or heard something you can’t explain on those long walks into a deep woods stand.
Last year in Morgan County, for instance, there was a Bigfoot sighting.
Now, you may laugh, and you may scoff, but not me. I’m a bit too afraid to offend whatever that might be. Is Bigfoot real?
I have no idea, but my people have been telling stories of him since before there was time.
Have you ever stopped walking and heard footsteps continue on a walk at night following hounds through a Middle Georgia swamp?
Have you ever peered through an early-morning mist to see the figures of those long since gone? All these things are commonplace among the people of the Appalachians.
We settled in an area never wanted by anyone for centuries, with native peoples no one had seen when we arrived, and histories no one knew. To be honest, though, I’ve never seen a Bigfoot.
I did go to his museum last year with my wife and kids. Pretty cool place outside of Blue Ridge.
We had been up at Lake Blue Ridge with my aunt, cousin, and his family at their lake house. On the way home, my wife and I thought it would be fun to stop, and it was. The creature’s history, sightings, and folklore are fascinating. And in my family, we are suckers for old homes, battlefields, and museums. We all enjoyed it and spent way more than an hour there that afternoon.
I have, however, seen a ghost, but that’s a story for a different day. Maybe right before deer season opens and everyone gets out in the woods amongst all those creatures and beings they ignored the rest of the year.
Remember, a lot of them haven’t been ignoring you … While you walk through the woods early one morning, think of all those who walked the same land, the same river bottoms, the same ridges.
Although it was long ago, let’s just hope they are pleasant companions for the day.
But in all seriousness, enjoy the coming season.
Tight lines and following seas y’all!