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If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? This is a philosophical question that has been debated often over the years. Scientifically, sound is a vibration that is transmitted, acknowledged via our senses, captured and passed through our ear, and is recognized by nerve centers that acknowledge the sound. Therefore, if there is no ear to capture the vibrations, then sound does not exist. But, if a tree falls in the forest and you are there to hear it, does it make a sound. I say it does and here is why.
I was geocaching on the Mason rail trail outside of Mason, NH. there are several caches along the rail trail, and they are known as the Mason Rail Trail North (or South) Progressive Challenge. If you are interested, you can look up GC1G0B8 for more information.
This particular rail trail runs from Greenville, NH to Ayer, Massachusetts. I didn't complete the trail, but I did get a few of the caches there and it is a great place to go geocaching.
So I searched for a good 45 minutes looking for one of the caches that is along this trail. I decided to go look for some of the other caches and then come back to this elusive one. I found a couple of more caches and then decided that I wanted to give the elusive one another go, so I headed back to the spot where the cache was supposed to be.
I had recently gotten a smart phone and had not really used it for caching before. I decided to use it to check my coordinates to make sure that I had the correct ones loaded in my GPSr. I logged onto geocaching.com (I love technology) and looked at the cache information and sure enough - the coordinates had recently been changed because the cache had to be moved from its original spot. So, I cursed myself for not updating my GPSr before heading out and went to the new spot.
I found the cache in its new location. I was elated. I knew that there was another cache about 500 feet due east and it looked like a bushwhack the whole way. I figured - I am here now, so what the heck. I loaded my gear and proceeded to head in the direction of the next cache when I hear a thud...thud....creak. ??? What in the heck?
Thud...THUD...CREEEAAAAKKKKK! There was some noise and it was about 150 feet in front of me. I paused and could hear rustling in that same direction. The thuds and the creaks continued and for some reason I decided to look up. There was a tree top swaying back and forth. With each thud the treetop shook....with each creak, it swayed back and forth. Then all of the sudden there was a SNAP! and then a bunch of rustling as the tree top disappeared and the tree fell to the ground. The impact was loud and it the ground shook when the tree hit. I don't know what it was that caused that tree to fall....a bear? A Moose? Whatever it was, it was big enough to push over that tree. I was not interested in any way to find out what it was! It didn't take me long to high tail it back to the rail trail, and I did a 1/2 mile faster than I have since high school! :)
Can you hear a tree fall in the forest? I say yes! Would that tree have made a sound if I were not there? Well...think about this - with all of the bugs and animals out there - come on! Something has to hear it, right? If nothing else - that big "whatever it was" that pushed over the tree would have heard it!
Geocaching - its a blast, but sometimes I have to wonder what the heck I got myself in to! LOL!
Happy trails and happy caching to you all!
Originally posted Saturday, February 12, 2011, in the author's blog: wherethecacheis.com