Job 5:14 - They meet with darkness in the daytime, and grope in
the noonday as in the night.
Disturbed by the dark? Tremble before tunnels? Upset at the
unknown? Then RUN, don’t walk away from this one! Only a couple
glimpses of the sky will relieve the thick blackness that envelopes
you as you travel into the belly of the earth.
You will embark upon your lightless journey at the above
coordinates. Your best friend will be your flashlight. (Complete
with spare batteries – just in case). This tunnel is wide and tall
but you will need some boots or hiking shoes as there is a constant
stream of water that escapes down the middle of the passageway and
you are almost certain to have soaked feet by the conclusion. The
amount of water you must contend with is determinate upon the
amount of recent rainfall. If your going to attempt this by
yourself, be aware that your cell phone (at least Verizon) is
totally useless down here. I would not recommend bringing small
children on this one.
An official green geocaching microcontainer will be the object
of your quest. Bring your own pen for it’s far too small for any
writing utensils let alone trade items. It is possible to hide a
travel bug near the cache. Others have done this and you will see
what how this is possible when you reach the location.
Start at the tunnel entrance - take a last longing look at the
grass, lake, and sky, it’s the last you will see of them for a
while. Harden your resolve, take a deep breath, turn your back on
the daylight and disappear into the inky blackness. You do not need
to be Rand McNally to successfully navigate this underworld. One
turn to the left and one turn to the right – then dead ahead.
To get the full effect of this caching experience, turn off your
flashlight occasionally. This is darkness you can actually feel.
This cache could easily have been called Passage of Panic or Tube
of Terror but I have named it as I have, for you may find yourself
uttering a small prayer to see the sunshine again.
Take special note of the storm grate opening that has the the
iron step rungs going up. You can see trees from here and can
actually climb up into this opening if you wish. We will reference
this later.
When this long segment ends – you are close to the cache. The
tunnel will now go to the left and the floor becomes gravel. You do
not need to travel down this leftward passage. Simply turn around
and face the long section you just traveled (You should be facing
north). The cache is on the north side of the wall. Found it??
Congratulations! Please sign the log and carefully replace the
container inside the small plastic bag.
If you emerge alive, you can track your progress above ground.
Remember the last storm drain you looked up through on the way in
(about 225 strides from the final destination)? This can be found
in the middle of a park boulevard located at N42 08.738 W080 02.778
The final destination of the cache is located under the south side
of the street at N 42.08.646 W 080.02.756
1 Peter 2:9b – “who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light”