Masks and poison ivy (Part 2)

Another peculiar site is what we name “Boar Cave”, which is an almost inaccessible cave whose entrance is totally surrounded by bushes. So much so, that you will never realize there is a cave until you go very close. To reach the entrance of the cave, one needs to climb a tall, smooth and slippery “ledge”. What makes it even harder is the fact that the ledge has several tall bushes at its base, leaving little to no room to make the climb.

I really wanted to check that place out. This was the north facing side of the hill– which is seldom explored. I placed my hands on the ledge and pushed downwards, after which I placed my foot on a bush. I slipped! I came down, the ledge banging against my patella. I then found myself staring at this white glove someone had left there. The glove was lodged into the stem of the bush and while climbing I slipped on it. Seeing it just bothered me and so I gave it a kick. It was hard. How can a glove be hard? “Some sort of termite or ant hill perhaps?”, I thought, seeing holes in its structure. “But why is it white?” I then used a stick and gently dislodged it.

“WOAH! It’s a bone! A wild boar’s lower jaw!” I was puzzled. I mistook the lower jaw of a wild boar for a glove?! I shrieked in excitement and showed the jaw to my friends and all of us found it interesting. The holes I had seen were holes formed in the jaw due to the falling of a few teeth. Nevertheless, the jaw still had the protruding incisors and tusks along with a couple of molars.

The question then arises– “Why is there a jaw lodged into the stem of a bush?” Strange indeed, as no one even comes to this area of the hill. One cannot simply walk to this region of the hill. You need to actually climb to reach it, not to mention wading through a sea of poison ivy, thorns and cacti. The rest of the body wasn’t nearby and the bone had no other remains. It was nearing 8:00 AM, so we concluded the hike and made our way home. What a day it was!