This is a hybrid Letterbox / Geocache, and it was placed by Den 1 of Cub Scout Pack 685 to introduce the scouts to both hobbies. “Akela” means “leader” to Cub Scouts, and is in reference to the leader of the wolf pack in Rudyard Kipling’s, The Jungle Book. Please hide well. This is a very high traffic area. This cache is hidden at the posted coordinates. Please DO NOT KEEP or remove the stamp or ink pad. For a more interactive find with young families, the story below will take you to the cache.
Hidden Pond Nature Center has exhibits, nature trails, a pond, a playground with picnic tables, and a picnic shelter. Bathrooms are inside the nature center (which is closed Tuesdays and holidays.) Pets are allowed on leashes. Hidden Pond is located south of Old Keene Mill Road off the Greeley Blvd. west of Rolling Road.
Important: Please be stealthy and rehide the container well, as this park has many visitors.
Akela decided today was a good day to teach about tracking, so the pack all met at the parking lot of Hidden Pond. Akela told us, “See if you can follow me to my den,” before he bounded off down the trail toward the nature center. Before we lost sight of him, we took off in pursuit.
As we approached the nature center, we came upon a sign reading “R1”, and noticed a wolf tail disappearing down a trail to our left. As we rounded the corner, we descended toward the pond where we usually enjoy chasing beavers and spying on sunbathing turtles. We crossed three bridges while following Akela’s prints around the pond, but after the third bridge, we came upon stairs leading up and a path to our left. Which way to go? The sound of squirrels chattering to our left and scampering up trees suggested we should head in that direction.
After this path joined another, we passed a bench to our left. We noticed our leader down the path branching off to the left, so we quickly followed after past another bench and down the stepped path. Along the path, we noticed orange blazes on many of the trees. Were these placed here by our leader, or simply marks along the path? At a fork in the path, we decided to stay on the orange path and not follow the blue blazes (it is a little-known fact that our leader does not like blue). Just ahead we saw a double-trunk tree with an orange blaze at a tee in the path. Near the tree we spied a hastily scrawled ‘S’ beside Akela’s paw print, so we deduced that the South fork would take us to our leader.
We headed down the southern trail and discovered a well-maintained boardwalk, so once again prints could be of no help. As we padded along the walk, we paid close attention to anything that could be a clue. Perhaps the inscription (no longer there) indicating the boardwalk was an Eagle Scout project of Pack 1140 has meaning. As we paused to consider the etching, we heard scratching behind a split tree directly behind the etching (look ESE). We quickly padded past the tree, and just behind it under the raised roots of a partially fallen tree, we found Akela’s Den.
NOTICE: This cache is hidden with the permission of the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) Park and Hidden Pond management. Geocachers must abide by all Park Authority rules, regulations and other restrictions. This specifically includes park access times. Unless posted otherwise, all Park Authority parks are open from Dawn to Dusk. Night Caching in Park Authority parks is expressly forbidden.