Tree and Cairn

[cuzimloony]

While doing some exploring I came across this tree that led me to this cairn, not directly, but it is in the same area. This was the end of the day and I didn't get to explore past these pics. I'll be going back soon, but I'd like to go back with your opinions in my head...... Can trees naturally do this or was this man-made? I don't know what to think about the cairn....possible trail marker? This particular area was mined (coal and iron) in the mid-1800's and since then hasn't been much more than a state forest. The mines closed in the 1870's. It is extremely remote and must be hiked in to. The hike takes about an hour from where you have to leave the vehicle..... Any thoughts on this tree and cairn?

 

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[wainzoid]

i would say that the tree is collateral damage from logging and the stones are a deer hunters seat

 

[cuzimloony]

i would say that the tree is collateral damage from logging and the stones are a deer hunters seat

There was logging here at one time...., but why would a deer hunter put 2 circular stones on the front of his seat? You can see one rolled off at some point......
Maybe just bored?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Agree on both counts.

I wonder how all these "marker tree" folks intuitively know how much damage a young tree could take and not just die.

My bet would be that 99.999% of odd trees were just deer antler rubs, misc. logging, wind storms, ice or snow damage.

 

[Backwoodsbob]

Post your pictures in the signs and symbols pf treasure thread. You will find more help.

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[Backwoodsbob]

Trees and stones are used to mark a trail. More marking higher up tree. Yes a lot of tree get damaged during logging. I see it often. Not the case there

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[Rawhide]

I never seen anyone use a pile of rocks to mark anything but the entrance or turn on 4 wheeler trail. There are rocks piled up here out west, but I have not actually seen one with my own eyes. Knowing the wind and water damage that goes on I would say a pile of rock surviving more than a few years would extremely unlikely.

The tree could be a bent tree to mark a trail. You need to look at the age of the tree. Some trees takes hundreds of years to get to 6 inches in diameter. Between logging and forest fires, again a bent tree surviving more than a few decades would be unlikely.

Now what is it to say someone in the 1800's hiding confederate gold did not make that bent tree? Or someone re using a old trail marker to hide something? I would look for depressions and mounds in the area but would not waste too much time doing it. You most likely have a modern rock pile and a unique tree that I would use for a trail marker.

 

[wainzoid]

i believe the tree didnt mark the trail, but the trail marked the tree

 

[Rawhide]

The tree is a poplar or elm. Not good for anything but shade. The wood is too wet for burning and it just rots if you build with it. No one mentioned that so thought I would.

The moss on the rocks is found in creeks and very wet areas. It wont grow in direct sunlight. I spent a little time in the woods and love a puzzle.

 

[Wudnut]

I been told that Native Indians would tie limbs in an angle so as they grow they bend and this would be a directional for trails and used as game trail.

 

[Backwoodsbob]

The Spanish used both. Sorry but the tree is not a poplar. Bark is wrong. Well from the type here anyway. I do like thee trail made the tree though. As they often do. Normally it's at the base of tree. You can't tell a tree age from size. Here the Bay and Magnolias are used. But not limited to just those. It changes as they moved west. The stones look very much like what's in eastern parts of the country.. is it shaped like a diamond or square. Either way there are what called the sentinels. They are a group who guards treasure sites. Rumor has it they remark sites.

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[wainzoid]

my guess is a 40-50 yr old wild cherry tree. the only native americans to see that tree were hunting with a compound bow. and the only spanish to see it were high school language teachers.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Bunch of 40 to 60 year old hemlocks around it by the looks. In this part of NY hemlock groves were clear-cut for the leather industry and it took them a while to come back.

And a nice 18" high pile of rocks with a log back-rest is a great deer stand. They are all over these parts.

 

[1320]

There was logging here at one time...., but why would a deer hunter put 2 circular stones on the front of his seat? You can see one rolled off at some point......
Maybe just bored?

Why would someone use round rocks to mark a trail? That looks to be a deer path beside the bent tree. Next time you're there, go sit on the rocks and see if you have a shooting lane to the trail.

 

[cuzimloony]

The location of these rocks makes it 'not a great location' for deer hunting. It would be nice to sit on after a long walk, but not a good place to spot and more importantly shoot at deer. The 'chair' faces uphill into dense woods and isn't on a 4X4 trail, but there ARE quad trails in this forest. Behind this cairn is a river, but it is down a steep embankment and can't be visibly seen. I hunt, and I can see this more as a 'rest stop' or trail marker as I do a 'hunting position'. I like to be uphill shooting downhill.....
I can definitely be wrong about that though.
Also, the tree is NOT visible from the rocks and vice versa, but they're in the same area.
When I go back, Ill be able to take more pics.....

 

[cuzimloony]

Bunch of 40 to 60 year old hemlocks around it by the looks. In this part of NY hemlock groves were clear-cut for the leather industry and it took them a while to come back.

And a nice 18" high pile of rocks with a log back-rest is a great deer stand. They are all over these parts.

These are Hemlocks and this forest is known for its hemlocks......

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

The location of these rocks makes it 'not a great location' for deer hunting. It would be nice to sit on after a long walk, but not a good place to spot and more importantly shoot at deer. The 'chair' faces uphill into dense woods and isn't on a 4X4 trail, but there ARE quad trails in this forest. Behind this cairn is a river, but it is down a steep embankment and can't be visibly seen. I hunt, and I can see this more as a 'rest stop' or trail marker as I do a 'hunting position'. I like to be uphill shooting downhill.....
I can definitely be wrong about that though.
Also, the tree is NOT visible from the rocks and vice versa, but they're in the same area.
When I go back, Ill be able to take more pics.....

There was hunting even before there were quads. If those rocks have been there 50 years the trees and cover may have been much different. I have a tree-stand beside a brush lot on the edge of a hemlock woodlot that was open pasture 40 years ago. The farmer split it into five 20 acre lots and sold them off for home sites.

I used to hunt semi-public land (thousands of acres owned by a furniture company) and I hunted where the quads didn't go because that's where the deer were. In the thick brambles you can't see 40 yards in any direction. Around 10:30 to 11:00AM the lazy quadders would get moving to go into town for lunch and that was a great time to be sitting quietly in the thick stuff because the deer would silently button-hook around behind them.

In the morning the hills catch the sun and warm first and the air moves up slope. In the evening the air currents tend to move down-slope, so you will do better facing uphill. Hunt high in the morning and low in the evening and keep your nose to the wind.

 

[1320]

And every buck hunter that's a student of the chase, hunts the thickest stuff possible.

 

[cuzimloony]

I didn't mean to imply it has to be on a 4X4 trail to hunt on, although that is how it sounded. I was referring to an earlier post that mentions the cairn possibly being used as a 4X4 trail marker. Sorry bout that.....
Also, I don't think they've been there 100 or even 20 years.....,but its more of a feeling than anything really. I think the rocks would look more 'together' if they had been there that amount of time. The moss would cover the rocks the same or...they'd be more worn 'together' than they are. But....Im basing this off 0 experience so I guess Im looking for input....
As far as it being a hunting chair.....ok, Ill bite. Ill have to go take more pics, but I know if it were me hunting that area, there are a lot of better places to set up with much better lines of sight, however, maybe an 'ol timer on the mountain has some tricks or two and knows whats up for the area. It still doesn't explain the two white round rocks though. They aren't part of the chair or seat structurally so....decoration? Just cool things to have nearby? Something to throw just in case?
Ill have to go back and get more pics and search the area better. I like the input though!! You guys have got me thinking Thank you!
Does anyone have any examples of documented logger damage that makes trees look like that?

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Documented?

I have trees that were caught under ice and snow, or pinned beneath larger trees that were eventually cut-up or rotted. If they were young they try and grow straight again (towards the sunlight coming through the canopy) after the "stress" is removed. Yours may have been bent that way when it was a 1/2" sapling and eventually grew to size.






If the one below lives, it's gonna be bent.