DELIRIUM:
“an acutely disturbed
state of mind that occurs in fever, intoxication, and other disorders and is
characterized by restlessness, illusions, and incoherence of thought and
speech. Wild excitement or ecstasy.”
ILLUSION:
a thing that is or is
likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses. A deceptive
appearance or impression.
Of course, Gourley would have you believe that these
definitions in no way resemble his behavior or state of mind. However, the 5
fellow hikers that ventured off into the magical forest recently might have a
different perception on the state of mind of one Hiker Mike Gourley!
It all began innocently enough at the pull out for the
McCarter Barn. A service road leads to the barn junction and the Old Settlers
Trail (OST.) It is a short distance to the first home place where a discussion immediately
broke out as to whether the group wanted to proceed with Gourley’s quest to
reach some unknown home places found up side tributaries of Texas Creek. Gourley
often exhibited a wide eyed eerie glow from his eyes when searching for new
home places. And the drool emanating from the corner of Gourley’s mouth seem a
plausible cause for concern.
The group decided to proceed with caution.
Soon they arrived at another home place previously visited
Gourley paced nervously in anticipation of new horizons as he
paused to peer down at the remains of what was once the springhouse.
Proceeding along the OST there was often a watchful eye on
Gourley as he seemed to linger behind the group in silent contemplation.
At the next home place David and Betsy dug up some goodies.
This seemed to have a momentary calming effect on Gourley
But then with no warning he ran off into the woods causing confusion
and a search party to locate his whereabouts
The group was relieved to find that Gourley ran off to use
the little boys tree and the hike resumed to the next home place where Gourley
purchased a cup of coffee and a doughnut
This raised immediate concern from Marlene who watched as
Gourley drank from an imaginary cup and gobbled down a donut made of air
Gourley laughed and said that he was “Just kidding” and the
hike continued albeit with an air of caution
A very nice chimney at the next home place seemed to have a
calming effect, but only temporarily as these were still previously visited
home places for Gourley
The next home place had also been visited; however, the group
was nearing its off trail destination.
We located the old road that lead up to the two home sites
The group watch closely for signs of the Gourley Delirium.
The chimney remains at the first home place had to be one of the more
interesting and puzzling chimneys Gourley had ever seen!
Was this a chimney the group pondered. Gourley with tears in
his eyes thought perhaps not. He pranced back and forth taking pictures of
every angle.
After much careful thought and consideration, Gourley came up
with the hypothesis that there had been a wall to the side of the chimney that
had fallen in front of the chimney opening.
Upon close examination there was an opening that was mostly
hidden by the fallen rocks. For a moment Gourley seemed to settle down. The
next home place would not be so puzzling as it was simply a rock pile.
Nearby some pieces of pottery and glass appeared on a rock.
This man claimed to know nothing about them
Furthermore, he was seen up from the chimney examining a
piece from a stove. But that too seemed to mysteriously vanish. Gourley began
to question to what next should his wondering eyes appear. For to get to the last
home place would require a climb over the ridge to the end of the next creek.
All that was visible seemed to be a ridge covered in rhododendron. The group
began to question the extent of the Gourley Delirium. As the group continued
upward, Gourley soon exclaimed that he thought he saw a putty cat, but quickly
corrected himself and exclaimed that he thought he saw a trail across the
creek.
This brought raised eyebrows and sighs of disbelief; however,
Gourley danced a jig down to the creek and pointed upward at what appeared to
be an old trail.
David Lee came in for a closer look and proclaimed that
Gourley was not mad and that there was indeed a trail! The group appeared
relieved and thought that perhaps Gourley might be regaining his senses. The
trail climbed steeply through the rhododendron.
Soon some very nice views presented themselves for further
review.
The group continued the steep climb which at times presented obstacles
for navigation.
The mountain below the trail was steep as well which gave
rise to concern by some members of the party that thought perhaps Gourley was
on a suicide mission! It did begin to open up some as the trail began to level
out as views across Highway 321 became visible.
Near the top Gourley stopped to examine a white substance
which appeared on the earth’s surface.
The group kept a safe distance as Gourley’s eyes once again
began to glow at the prospect of what might be lying at the head of the creek
below.
Alas, the remains of a chimney with a stove part marking the
home place gave Gourley a sigh of relief as if he had completed an important
top secret mission.
The three home site quest was complete and Gourley seemed to
return to a normal state of breath and state of mind. That was, until he
suggested going back across the ridge! The group wanted to go down the creek
and there wasn’t nothing that Gourley could do about it. And the judge wasn’t
even going to look at the 27 8x10 color glossy photographs with the circles and
the arrows and a paragraph on the back explaining what each one stood for. Oh
wait, that’s another story…
There was no trail or road down the creek. The old trail we
had come over on continued over another ridge and down to Webb Creek. The open
area by the home place quickly turned to a narrow passage that was more easily
navigated in the creek.
Eventually it opened up and the group left the creek for more
open terrain down the mountain.
Near the bottom there was a pretty little cascade that
Gourley of course had to drop down to.
The group decided to name it “Bust your ass Cascade” for the
hike down from the home site was a half mile with 700 feet of elevation loss. After
a brief rest, it was time to head back down the OST. Marlene stopped to gaze at
an interesting boulder. Marlene said it looked rippled. But Gourley claimed it
was a rock from another planet with an Alien language written on it.
Marlene quickly moved on!
Throughout the day, Gourley proclaimed that he heard members
of the group threatening to throw him off the mountain. He thought he heard
snickers of dissent and plots to overthrow the hike and bury Gourley in a rock
pile. Were these just more evidence of Gourley Delirium? Back at the parking
lot he was assured that there had been no threats on his life and that all were
happy with the days activities. Gourley wiped the drool from the corners of his
mouth, hopped in his car, put it in reverse and drove off into the sunset. And
they all lived happily ever after…
