Date: 2015-07-22
From: Pinefield Hut

To: Swift Run Gap
Miles today: 12.0
Weather: overcast clouds

Last Wednesday, I was heading north on the AT in Shenandoah NP, going downhill just before Powell Gap. Had left Pinefield Hut early that morning. Came upon a small rocky outcrop with fantastic view of hollow and valley beyond. Startled an older bearded guy sitting on the rocks just getting ready to bite off a chew of "tabbacy."I apologized for the start, then sat next to him to savor the view and have a trail snack and some water. Nice to get that heavy pack off my back, too. Another hot day on the trail.We exchanged pleasantries. He wore a shirt indicating he was an AT trail maintenance worker. Talked a bit about his work. From his accent, I knew the man was a local.I made mention of the beautiful view of the valley below us. "Bacon Holler," he said while pointing that way. Then he leaned over and said in a gravelly voice, "Want'a hear a story?"Of course I said yes. He told me the point had been a popular place to camp. He gestured towards some small level clearings on the other side of the trail opposite the rock outcrop. The old man went on to say a couple of years earlier a hiker had come up to this point and found a dead man stretched out on the rock outcrop. The dead man was clutching a flashlight. His eyes and mouth were both still wide open. The corpse had both hands on the flashlight pointing it towards Bacon Holler - uh, Hollow.The spooked hiker had fled back down the trail to find a Ranger. The NP service brought in an expert to investigate (or "vestigate" as the old man would say) this strange death.Seems the dead man had been camping at the same point during a moonless night (new moon). He was a young man, age 32, and not from the area. The young man had no history of major medical problems. Yet, the autopsy revealed he had died of a massive heart attack.During questioning, the locals in "Bacon Holler" below the rocky point had some interesting observations. Some claimed to have seen a small flashing light up on the point the night of the young man's death. One man, the trail worker's father, claimed the light flashed at different speeds - some short and some long.The "vestigator," said the old man, never could determine what caused the young man's heart attack. So the case was closed.Later that same year, someone secretly came and erected a kind of memorial in the vicinity of the old campsite near that rock outcrop. They cleared an area, then set heavy flat stones on the ground, forming a crude circle. Then they arranged heavy rocks atop the flat stones in the design of a pentacle. The rangers at first wanted to remove the stone design, but were overruled by orders from Washington, DC. No one ever found out who gave the order. The Rangers did, however, let the memorial area overgrow with forest brush.Naive campers who went to that beautiful spot to camp were known to change plans and leave abruptly just as night came. They would scurry down the rugged, rock strewn path using whatever light source they could- often leaving their belongings behind. Those campers would later complain of growling, howling and groaning noises unlike any they'd heard before in the forest. Some complained that their flashlight would start to blink on and off by itself and not stop.The old fellow looked me right in the eye. Then he said the people in "Bacon Holler" see a light flashing from that rock outcrop whenever there is a new moon. Happens well after dark. And that started right after the young man's death. No one from Bacon Holler has had the will to go up and investigate during the nighttime when its occurring. As the old man said, "those happenin's best left 'lone."There was a pause after he said that to me. Then I boldly asked, "Is all of that really true, or just a load of bull? I mean, flashing lights from this point every new moon? A pentacle on government land?"The old man turned and spat a large volume of "tabbacy" juice on the rocks in front of us.   Then he wiped his chin with his hand, turned back to me and with a stern look on his face said, "Jez y'all go ask any dem good folks in Bacon Holler - they'll tell ya' true." He pointed to the few houses far below us.I thanked him for the story, got up, shouldered my heavy backpack and bid him adieu. I had to complete a 12 mile solo trek on the AT that hot summer day. And a lot of it was still in front of me.