In this area,in timberland you can sometimes find old carved trees called "witness trees", the markings usually denote a section corner or such is nearby.I,ve seen some with a cross,but usually accompanied by numbers that mean the corner involved. If you know how to read those you can sometimes find an iron pin or such that is the exact section corner or intersection of corners.Just a thought for you.
Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
If you spend a lot of time in woods,especially older woods,carved trees are not rare.People been carving on trees since man invented a sharp rock. I always attempt to place some type of interpretation on them,even if it,s my own.Never know when it,s the key to a cache,so investigate. Always,I do,just for my own entertainment. No cache yet!
That is a softwood tree, likely in the 30-50 year old range max. So you can rule out it being connected to any old world treasure burial. Given it is using initials, a cross and an arrow pointing to the base, as Newnan pointed out, it's likely a pet grave.