We decided to revisit some places to see if we could find out any more information, and dig a little deeper into each area. Our first goal was to return to the Blue Hole during the daylight hours and see what we can find in that area. So Heather, Charley, Bel, Beata and I met up mid-afternoon and took Charley's jeep down the trails to the Blue Hole. If you remember, the last time we were out there, it was dusk. This time we got in there with some daylight on us, so it made the investigation much easier.

We were able to see so much more this time. When you come down the trail, the trees on your right open and the Blue Hole appears. At the end of the trail, there is running water flowing at a pretty quick pace. We wanted to know where that water went, whether or not it fed into the Blue Hole, and if it did, how can that water be moving so fast yet the Blue Hole be incredibly still? So we went down the path to the running water. This time, we were able to find a trail that took us back a little farther past the running water. It didn't lead us far. We did discover the pair of waterlogged shoes that we've seen on other Blue Hole websites, however.

We headed back the other way and tried to circle around the Blue Hole. Charley brought out the machete and cut us a trail through some of the thicker woods, and we were able to circle around the Blue Hole approximately 180 degrees. We were able to see where we had been standing the first time. We found a source of water flowing in that could be where the Blue Hole is fed. The water does move in that area, but very slightly. The further you get away from the Blue Hole, the faster the water seems to flow. It's like the Blue Hole is the stopping point for flowing water, and the incoming currents don't disturb the rest of the sitting water. Strange.

We managed to follow some of these small waterways out a little further, but they weren't leading to much so we decided to head back. While out there we heard no strange noises, found no prints, and didn't get any sense of eerieness in the area. So we decided to pack up and head back, as the next team of hunters were approaching the area and were ready to go.

We then picked up Tim, Liz, and Mary for the second half of the hunt. Beata also left us at this time, so we had a six member team. We packed up the night gear and went back to Batsto for some further research in that area. We went down a large dark trail that we'd been down before and this time pressed on, further than we'd gone before. There were definitely some strange noises, but most were off in the distance. The dogs would periodically go nuts and the bugs and frogs would get quiet, but we weren't really coming across too much.

We then went back out towards the road that we'd come in on, and this time started to investigate the area around an old cemetary. While Mary, Tim, and Liz scoured the graves, Charley, Bel and I stayed near the woods edge, listening for sounds. At one point, I thought I heard something large moving through the water. There was a splashing sound and almost the hint of footsteps in a creek. Unfortunately, no visual confirmations were made.

At this point, it was pretty late and we'd been out for most of the day, so we decided to call it a night. It didn't seem like a good time for Jersey Devil activity, and nothing was really happening. Unfortunately, this seems to be the current pattern. I'm hoping that we'll break out of it soon...

Well, that's our story for Hunt #28. Questions? Comments? E-mail us at [email protected]. Want to join us? Click here for the online application!