Trail running has taken me a lot of places, many places where I never would have seen. This morning, I ended up somewhere I never should never have been. I got up early for a quick 4-5 miler on easy trails on Turkey Mountain. I took the snake trail and veered off towards the Westside Y past Rock City, and wound around on some newer trails that came out near 61st street. At one point, I rounded a corner and passed an old homesite where an old well, or maybe it was an old septic tank--I'm not sure. I was doing a little exploring there, and thinking of taking a picture or two, when I heard something tramping quickly through the woods around 50 feet or so from me. It was a person, and they were bushwhacking quickly away from me roughly towards the road. I was startled to say the least, and headed on down the trail and it bended around on towards 61st street, and as I neared the street, I decided to step through some high grass to the road to see if that person had made it to the road. As I stepped over an old steel cable and through some large rocks, and on to the shoulder of the road, I saw the man crash through some heavy brush and spill onto the road. He looked up towards me, and staggered across the road and into the woods across 61st street. I should have went on my way, but curiosity got the better of me, so I went after him. I went just a little further from where he went into the woods to an old road, and stepped over a gate and headed south. I had never been there, and this hint of a road looked like it might be a good place to run, so I could check that out while checking on this old man....seemed like a good idea, right?
Well, the briers were relentless to my right where I thought the guy had went, so I kept on heading south and the road gradually curved a little downhill and to the east. I passed a small pond, and a trail lead to it and around it....a trail runners delight. Then, on the edge of a small clearing, I saw this old shack almost hidden in the scrub trees.
I headed over that way, peeked inside, and stepped in. It had a dirt floor, a cot on the south wall, and pot bellied stove in the center. I reached for my camera to take a picture, and was setting the light settings for an indoor shot. There were a few empty cans of beans laying around, and I noticed a couple of them were unopened. I then realized the a can on the wood stove was half full, and the stove was warm!! I quickly turned around to leave, and I met a horrible face at the doorway!
WHOA!! I nearly panicked, knowing I was clearly trespassing, and who knew if this guy had a gun, knife, or was ready to kill me for being in his house. Then, in a flash, I recognized this man. It was Eldridge! A man I had met on the other side of Turkey Mountain a year ago. "Eldridge! I said....It's Ken....remember me??" I was praying he'd remember and would be friendly and maybe understanding of me being in his house.
"Who? Ken....?!? Who the hell are you, why you in my place?"
"Oh, sir, I'm sorry....I didn't know, I was just running by, checking out some trails over here. I didn't know anyone lived here. I'm sorry....didn't mean--" He cut me off.
"Nah, don't worry about it son. It's nuthin. Nuthin. Don't worry about it. You that guy that I saw in the caves over on the east bluffs a while back, right?"
"Yeah, about a year ago." I was so glad he remembered me!! "How you been?" (How stupid a thing to say, I thought....like he would really think I gave a crap how he was....but actually, I was very curious about who this guy was and where he disappeared to that day after leaving that cave, and more importantly, why the entrance to that cave had vanished!
"What happened to you that day, after we got back out of the cave? You were there, and then the next minute, you were gone."
"Oh, I was there. I lived up here a long time....keep out of sight mostly. A man's gotta keep to himself roun here else people won't leave em alone." I processed that for a split second, thinking maybe back then I had just missed him as he had just slipped out of sight and kept silent. Today, he had crept up on me and I had not heard him approach the shack, although he did sound like a dinosaur tramping through the woods back across the road when I first saw him earlier today. "Son, that old well where you saw me cross the road a bit ago....well, that was where I grew up back in the depression days. My Pap and I, we built that well. That's where I growed up. Used to be our house there. That old well is all that's left over there. I still go over now and again....tryin to remember what I can. Gettin old and the memory's goin."
"You live here?" I asked.
"Hell no!!" Oops, I thought. Didn't wanna upset this guy. "No, I live here, there, and around. Where ever's the driest and that's hard to find this past winter."
"Ya ain't kiddin there," I chimed in. (That's good, Ken....get him talking about the weather. And quit trying to talk like him, Ken! Do you think that helps your cause??) "Listen, Eldridge, sorry again to come traipsing in here....I didn't know....I need to get on...I need to get on home and on to work." (I actually did need to do that!)
"Awright. Be careful out there, Son."
I left. I left without a "see you later", "good to see you again", "take it easy", or any other such cliche. I ran at a pretty good clip, made a wrong turn, and ended up almost to the intersection of HW 75 and 61st street, and instead of running home on the trails, I took the road home so as to get there asap.
Still, I would love to meet this guy and spend some time with him. This is the second time I've met him, and both times, the time has been brief. He has a story to tell, and I am still baffled about the disappearing cave entrance!
Well, the briers were relentless to my right where I thought the guy had went, so I kept on heading south and the road gradually curved a little downhill and to the east. I passed a small pond, and a trail lead to it and around it....a trail runners delight. Then, on the edge of a small clearing, I saw this old shack almost hidden in the scrub trees.
I headed over that way, peeked inside, and stepped in. It had a dirt floor, a cot on the south wall, and pot bellied stove in the center. I reached for my camera to take a picture, and was setting the light settings for an indoor shot. There were a few empty cans of beans laying around, and I noticed a couple of them were unopened. I then realized the a can on the wood stove was half full, and the stove was warm!! I quickly turned around to leave, and I met a horrible face at the doorway!
WHOA!! I nearly panicked, knowing I was clearly trespassing, and who knew if this guy had a gun, knife, or was ready to kill me for being in his house. Then, in a flash, I recognized this man. It was Eldridge! A man I had met on the other side of Turkey Mountain a year ago. "Eldridge! I said....It's Ken....remember me??" I was praying he'd remember and would be friendly and maybe understanding of me being in his house."Who? Ken....?!? Who the hell are you, why you in my place?"
"Oh, sir, I'm sorry....I didn't know, I was just running by, checking out some trails over here. I didn't know anyone lived here. I'm sorry....didn't mean--" He cut me off.
"Nah, don't worry about it son. It's nuthin. Nuthin. Don't worry about it. You that guy that I saw in the caves over on the east bluffs a while back, right?"
"Yeah, about a year ago." I was so glad he remembered me!! "How you been?" (How stupid a thing to say, I thought....like he would really think I gave a crap how he was....but actually, I was very curious about who this guy was and where he disappeared to that day after leaving that cave, and more importantly, why the entrance to that cave had vanished!
"What happened to you that day, after we got back out of the cave? You were there, and then the next minute, you were gone."
"Oh, I was there. I lived up here a long time....keep out of sight mostly. A man's gotta keep to himself roun here else people won't leave em alone." I processed that for a split second, thinking maybe back then I had just missed him as he had just slipped out of sight and kept silent. Today, he had crept up on me and I had not heard him approach the shack, although he did sound like a dinosaur tramping through the woods back across the road when I first saw him earlier today. "Son, that old well where you saw me cross the road a bit ago....well, that was where I grew up back in the depression days. My Pap and I, we built that well. That's where I growed up. Used to be our house there. That old well is all that's left over there. I still go over now and again....tryin to remember what I can. Gettin old and the memory's goin."
"You live here?" I asked.
"Hell no!!" Oops, I thought. Didn't wanna upset this guy. "No, I live here, there, and around. Where ever's the driest and that's hard to find this past winter."
"Ya ain't kiddin there," I chimed in. (That's good, Ken....get him talking about the weather. And quit trying to talk like him, Ken! Do you think that helps your cause??) "Listen, Eldridge, sorry again to come traipsing in here....I didn't know....I need to get on...I need to get on home and on to work." (I actually did need to do that!)
"Awright. Be careful out there, Son."
I left. I left without a "see you later", "good to see you again", "take it easy", or any other such cliche. I ran at a pretty good clip, made a wrong turn, and ended up almost to the intersection of HW 75 and 61st street, and instead of running home on the trails, I took the road home so as to get there asap.
Still, I would love to meet this guy and spend some time with him. This is the second time I've met him, and both times, the time has been brief. He has a story to tell, and I am still baffled about the disappearing cave entrance!
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