To complete this cache, you must trek
into the dead of the forest on the darkest of nights. When you get
to your destination, you must wait in the dark for a signal.
Prepare for an adventure into the depths of darkness. This cache
may very well scare you silly. You should be prepared for a 1-mile
hike through the forest in the dark. The following is a bare
minimum of supplies needed per person.
- Three sources of illumination. I would recommend an LED-powered
headlamp, also a couple of good flashlights. You may want to bring
one of those gigantic floodlights per team, but only if your team
is full of wussies.
- Lots of spare batteries for everything. All flashlights and
GPSrs should have at least one backup set.
- Glowsticks (even change your flashlight batteries in the dark?
Yeah.)
- Compass, and the ability to use it. At all times, the road you
parked on is to the east within 3/4 of a mile
- Waterproof footwear. Some places are wet. You may wind up
trudging through deep mud or trying to leap over a creek and not
making it.
- Extra-warm clothes. The temperature generally drops throughout
the night until the sun comes up, so dress warmly.
To begin, park near the given coordinates, you will find a
trailhead. Leave your vehicle behind and plunge into the gaping
jaws of doom! Follow the trail of firetacks most of the way to
stage one.
Keep your wits about you as you navigate to the coordinates. For
an easier walk out, mark a waypoint at the end of the firetack
trail. Once you leave the trail, the real bushwhacking begins.
Follow your GPS to the fallen twins. You will know them by the trio
of firetacks placed in one of their toes.
Stand between the feet of the twins and extinguish all of your
lights. You must prove your worthiness by plunging yourself into
total darkness. If you can remain in the dark and keep your wits
about you, you will see the signal. Once you have seen the signal,
you know you have passed the test. Being fearless about the dark
will reward you with the coordinates to the final cache.
A note to potential seekers: I wasn't kidding when I said
"the darkest of nights" you have no hope of finding this cache
unless it is very dark in the woods. If there is a full moon, then
it had better be cloudy, especially if the leaves are off the
trees. Finishing this cache hunt requires you to see things in the
blackness that you will never see if it is too bright in the woods.
Enjoy!
Don't forget to collect the fear code from this cache. Some
day this cache series will be complete, and there will be a final
cache findable only be those who conquered all their fears.
Night caching is dangerous, and
this location is notorious for poor to non-existent cell-phone
reception. Batteries die, GPS units lose signal or die, and cell
phones can fall into stream or ponds, or just get lost. Please
bring a compass, even a $2 compass can get you to a road. Always
tell someone you trust where you are going and when you expect to
return.