searching for the spot where the geocache was. Found the half-way mark and the cache spot was about 100 yards further down, or I should say, up the trail. We kept seeing where bark was chewed off a lot of the trees. We found a Ranger with a group of people on a tour and joined him in time to hear his spiel about the people who first climbed Devils Tower. A couple of guys named Ripley and Rogers wanted to be the first to ascend the tower and set about devising ways to getting to the top. They first came up with the idea of a huge kits carrying a man to the top. They actually tried to build one but naturally it didn't work. Then one of the men came up with the idea of finding a crack that extended all the way to the top and building a ladder. They fashioned stakes from oak and set about making their ladder. The would pound the oak stakes into cracks and actually fashioned a ladder. Ripley was left-handed and the way the ladder was built only a left-handed man could pound the stakes into the crevices. Because of this Ripley became the first man to reach the top. The Ranger pointed out where the ladder was built.....I couldn't see it, "B" couldn't see it and I don't think anyone else could either. The group went one way and we went the other. I did ask the Ranger about the chewed bark and he told me that porkpines were the culprits.
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