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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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in our disclaimer.
The BACON Case Files are going to be an ongoing series of caches dedicated to when BACON manages to find themselves in an interesting situation. Knowing our members, this series may get large!
This cache should be easy to find, although it has a higher terrain due to the length of the hike. Suggested parking is the trailhead at Cabot, or if you wish, a longer hike if you park in Sarver. Attempting this cache from anywhere except those two trailheads would be trespassing, so I would advise against it.
BACON Case Files: The Dew Incident
Well, you see, interesting things happen when you are out caching with BACON.
Whether you end up getting stuck for 14 hours while attempting a 4x4 cache, finding a hidden pond with your legs while hiking through the woods, or being questioned by a scary muggle with a crowbar, things just happen.
As usual, this time was no different. We were sitting around a nice spot, and I was planning to hide a cache. I don't like to hide unless I have an inspiration about the spot, and apparently my creative juices had run dry. The area was great, there was a mysterious machine slightly downstream, there was water everywhere.. but I couldn't figure out what spoke out to me most about the area.
Apparently, the 2 liter bottle of my favorite caffeine boost in my pack decided enough was enough, and jumped out of my pack. It took an opportune bounce and found itself in a perfectly shaped drainage ditch down into the creek. The bottle was making a rather slow decent down the trench, but I was in too much of a shock to move. The rest of the BACON members with me were in a similar situation, with two exceptions. rhelt100 decided to pull out his camera and record video, while HannahMQ made a valiant effort to retrieve my sacred refreshment. She was a bit too slow, as I watched in horror. The splash wasn't very big in retrospect, but to me it seemed the entire world had just landed in Buffalo Creek.
Then I snapped out of it. I had options. The bottle was caught in a small eddy, I could rescue it. I sized up the terrain, and began to make my moves. A small step here, a jump there, and I was almost within reach...
And then the sentient bottle slipped out of the eddy and into the main flow. It decided to stay directly in the middle of the stream as it slowly made its way under the bridge.
This was a game of Poohsticks I was destined to lose. But, one can always change their destiny. HannahMQ began the tracking process, following alongside the creek. I removed all my electronics and other items that could be damaged by the creek, and began making my way towards Hannah. After running down some rocks and jumping through a thorn bush, I arrived at the creek's edge. There, in the light of my headlamp, sat my bottle. Of course, it was on the other side of the creek. I made a desperate run back through the thorns and back onto the bridge, where rhelt100, purple_kv, and KerBear stood, doing their best to narrate this story. I ran past them and down the other side of the bridge, into even more thorns. Hardly noticing the thorns tear away at my face and my clothes, I pushed on. I came out of the thorns at a small creek, feeding into Buffalo. I stopped and contemplated my options for a moment. Was it really worth all this? My upper lip was dripping blood, my pants were ripped, and I wasn't even to my goal yet.
The decision was simple. I jumped the creek and continued towards the the bottle. A few more steps and I was there. If it was only so simple..
The bottle sat, rather comfortably, in a nook of a fallen tree. I took a wary step onto the tree, only to discover that it would not hold my weight. I managed to pull myself back onto the bank just before the tree went under. It shot back up with a splash, and I once again sat pondering whether one bottle was really worth all this trouble. I probably wouldn't drink from it again, considering the fact that the EPA was forced to constantly monitor this section of creek. I looked down at the bottle and knew I didn't have a choice. I would leaving nothing behind.
My hands shaking, I grabbed a nearby tree for support and threw myself at the bottle. My hands slipped against the label, but I had touched it. I repeated the process, tightening my grip on the tree and flinging myself out. My foot slipped and hit the fallen tree, causing the bottle to shift. The cap stood up proudly in the air, and I clasped it with the desperation only lack of caffeine can bring.
I pulled myself back onto the bank and sat for a moment, feeling quite proud of myself. The trip back seemed much easier then the way in. The creek seemed not as wide, the thorns not as thick. As I made my way back to the group on the bridge, rhelt100 finished up his commentary and pointed the camera at me, asking for my thoughts. Only three words could sum this up.
Nothing but footprints.
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Congrats to yavanna_21 for the FTF she earned with blood, sweat, and tears! Literally!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
[No riddles this time, this is a direct hint] Fbhgujrfg fvqr bs gur oevqtr unf n ohapu bs ebpxf., vg'f va n ubyr orgjrra fbzr bs gurz.