{"id":7308,"date":"2026-10-10T14:59:55","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T18:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trommetter.org\/timeline\/?p=7308"},"modified":"2026-11-05T08:23:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T13:23:12","slug":"the-great-north-carolina-troll-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.trommetter.org\/timeline\/2026\/10\/10\/the-great-north-carolina-troll-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"The Great North Carolina Troll Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Decoding the Grandmother Tree<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every good scavenger hunt starts with a single clue, but ours actually began back in July with a giant named Big Pete<\/a>. After finding him resting in Charlotte, my wife and I knew we had to complete the rest of Thomas Dambo\u2019s North Carolina troll trail. That meant hitting the road this past Thursday to track down the remaining members of the recycled-wood family and piece together the secret they were guarding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These twenty rhymes outline the secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"THE<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our first stop took us through High Point to find Little Sally. There is something surreal about walking into a quiet patch of nature and finding a massive, expressive wooden creature holding onto a tree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"Little<\/a>
Little Sally<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

After photographing the intricate textures of the reclaimed pallets and branches, we pushed east to Raleigh and tackled the main event at Dorothea Dix Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dix Park is home to an entire troll family, and they make you work for the reward. We started our trek by finding Mother Strongtail and the baby, Dix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"One<\/a>
Mother Strong Tail<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dix<\/a>
Dix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

From there, we went over to the pine grove near the dog park, eventually spotting Dax and Dux blending into the tree line. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"Dux<\/a>
Dux<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Dax<\/a>
Dax<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Finally, we drove to the Grove and found Daddy Bird Eye resting on his hillside. With his discovery, we had successfully gathered all seven hidden symbols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Daddy<\/a>
Daddy Bird Eye<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thursday night turned into a puzzle-solving session. Armed with the symbols we\u2019d collected across the state, we cracked the code to reveal the location of the legendary Grandmother Tree. Dambo designs these installations so that the finale is a hidden reward exclusively for those who put in the legwork to find the others, and decoding that final location felt like unlocking a local myth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Friday morning, we headed into North Raleigh to claim our prize. We were anticipating a challenging, off-the-beaten-path search and definitely made it harder than it needed to be at first. We finally had to laugh when we realized the Grandmother Tree sat right off a clearly marked, well-trodden trail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>
Tributes from Thomas Dambo fans<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The final destination seems like a letdown until you realize the troll family has hidden the Grandmother Tree from humans to avoid her being chopped down. If you go back to the beginning and read the 20 rhymes again, you realize that we don\u2019t get to see the actual tree, just the tributes left by other troll hunters who came before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

A human seeks the oldest trees, to kill and cut them down
And chop it up in tiny pieces, haul it, burn it in their town
And so the trolls have cast a spell, enchanted the Grandmother Tree
So no human can find her. Now she looks like any other tree<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And true to the spirit of the project, my lips are sealed on the exact coordinates. If you want to see the Grandmother Tree, you\u2019ll just have to go find the trolls yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

🗺️ Exploring the Carolinas & Beyond<\/h3>\n

If you enjoyed this travel dispatch, explore more regional heritage, roadside notes, and stories from across the Carolinas:<\/p>\n