Posted on 10/25/2003 10:36:15 PM PDT by SteveH
Unexplained tree-top boulders found in forest
By Judy Hess Staff writer
JHess@bcdemocrat.com
Something unnatural is going on in Yellowwood State Forest.
The mystery began a few years ago when a turkey hunter, scouting in a remote area of the 23,000-acre forest, discovered a large boulder in the top of an 80-foot-tall chestnut oak tree. What he saw wedged among its branches was a boulder about 4 feet wide and a foot thick.
The boulder was eventually dubbed Gobbler's Rock after the turkey hunter. It sits high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine near Tulip Tree Road in western Brown County and is thought to weigh at least 400 pounds.
After the initial sighting of Gobbler's Rock, hikers have found at least two more giant sandstone boulders sitting in the top limbs of two sycamores. One boulder is nearly 45 feet off the ground and both rocks appear to weigh about 200 pounds. The trees are 100 yards apart growing near the banks of Plum Creek in a seldom-visited part of Yellowwood State Forest, just southwest of Helmsburg.
Known to locals as URBs, or Unexplained Resting Boulders, officials can't explain how the boulders got wedged into the branches in the first place. The huge rocks couldn't grow upward with the trees because the saplings could not have withstood their weight. The boulders must have been placed high in the trees after their trunks were sturdy enough to support them.
Sandstone boulders are a part of the natural Yellowwood setting. They are scattered around the forest floor so the rocks could have originated near the trees.
But officials can't find any proof that this was caused by a natural event or that someone played a joke. A joke that would require heavy-duty moving equipment to get the boulders into the branches.
As theories abound from fraternity pranks, tornadoes, to high winds or floods, the strange phenomenon is now the focus of several UFO Web sites.
In fact, the rock-in-a-tree is highlighted at abduct.com, a UFO-related Web site.
The Web site posts a few comments from a UFO investigator about Gobbler's Rock and asks "did a UFO put a boulder in this tree?"
"If the rock was blown into the tree, why isn't there some sign of damage to the bark? It had to be gently rested in the branches, I would think, but by what?" the investigator asks.
Another UFO Web site ponders such questions like "could an examination of the trees reveal whether they had had damage at a young age? Can anyone think of a mechanism whereby the boulders were lifted as the trees grew?"
Mark Shields, a Yellowwood employee, says "Just about every theory has been shot down."
"If I had to guess, maybe a tornado," Mr. Shields said.
He stated it's unlikely that blasting at some nearby site would have blown the rock into its perch. The most logical answer, he said, is that a tornado picked the rock up and dropped it in the branches. Although he admits that theory's not very likely because of the way the boulder sits in the tree.
"The rocks sits right in the crown of the tree," Mr. Shields said.
If you'd like to try finding the huge boulders, you'll need a compass. The trees are a considerable distance from the nearest roadway.
Directions to
Gobbler's Rock:
To find Gobbler's Rock from the Yellowwood State Forest office, head north on Yellowwood Lake Road, then turn west on Lanam Ridge Road. From Lanam Ridge Road, turn left onto Indiana 45, and then quickly turn south on Tulip Tree Road. Follow this gravel road about two miles, and park in a small pull-off near the gate.
Using a compass, continue walking south about a half-mile, and look for a cleared, grassy area on the left. Look for an old logging path that leads east from the cleared area, and follow it east and south. Gobbler÷Õ Rock is high on a south-facing slope overlooking a ravine. (GPS coordinates: N39 12.204, W86 21.955)
Directions to
the sycamore tree rocks:
Travel north on Yellowwood Lake Road about three miles from the Yellowwood State Forest office. Turn east on Lanam Ridge Road. Follow the road about three miles, and turn west on Dollsberry Lane, about a mile south of Helmsburg. Follow the gravel road until it ends. Park in a small parking area on the south side of the roadway.
From this point, a compass is required because there is no marked trail or path, and underbrush in some areas is thick. Follow the old roadway west, and then southwest. South of the pond, which is on private property, travel southwest to Plum Creek, following the creek as it meanders west. The two sycamores holding the rocks are on the north creek bank, about a third of a mile west-southwest from the parking area. The trees are about 100 yards apart, but not visible from each other. (GPS coordinates: N39 14.986, W86 18.492, N39 14.984, W8618.560)
Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.
For real time political chat - Radio Free Republic chat room
And you won't miss a thread on FR because e-bot will keep you informed.
That's assuming a rope to be heavy-duty-moving-equipment.
Don't forget the heavy-duty-moving-equipment pulley....
Does the turkey hunter gobble himself? Perhaps a hunter can tell me if they make "turkey call" doodads kind of like the "duck call" thingies? That, or the rock was named after the hunter's prey, not after the frekin hunter!
Sorry, I'm in a bad mood and feel like being nit picky.
No mystery here. At least not as to how the rocks got there. Who did it we might not know, but it is certain someone put them there.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.