It was a Friday night when we decided to head out again. The weather had cooled off, the bugs are dying down, and we'd been dying to head back out there again. Since we'd had some success in Toms River before, we decided we'd stop by and get to know the area a little better.

We had an incredibly large crew that night - some old faces, some new. Bel, Charley, Mary, Kevin Hart, Tim Garrity, Liz McLaughlin, Ed, Tony and I took off into the woods like spies on some sort of covert mission in order to escape the security guards, who are known to kick you out if you're in the park after dark. (Or, if you've read the previous hunts, give us rides further back into the park... but anyway...).

We made it to the woods undetected and started down the path we'd been before. Or so we thought... As we continued walking in, we realized that some areas didn't look familiar and we must have made some different turn this time. Nonetheless, we were out there so we continued to search the area.

I know that in the last hunt description from May, I had claimed that this area always delivers. Well, the park gave me a wake up call that night. After a few hours of searching, we realized that some of the normally scared members were actually quite calm out there, and nothing eerie had occurred. No loud noises, no strange footprints, nothing out of the ordinary except for an owl who seemed intent on following us. Maybe he was aggravated by our presence, I don't know. But everywhere we went, we kept hearing that same owl.

I wish I had better things to report from this hunt - in the past, we'd been on what seemed like a roll. Strange noises, some odd prints, something to keep the intrigue going. But this hunt was more of a reality check for us. I'm almost glad it happened. Our newest members, Liz and Tim, got some of the experience that we wanted them to have. (Although they have yet to learn what it's like to feel followed by an unexplained loud noise.)

So, unfortunately, I'd have to say that this hunt was mostly a dud hunt. Sorry about that. However, it keeps us real. We can't expect something cool to happen every time, and there is always the possibility that we're in the wrong place at the wrong time. Oh well. Better luck next time!

So in the meantime, enjoy the pictures of us out there on the hunt. And keep checking back, because we're going to be doing a lot more research this season, and I'm hoping we'll have better things to report then!

Well, that's our story for Hunt #23. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!