One day, John and Maggie embarked on an exciting adventure to hide a very special geocache, packed with treasures just waiting to be discovered.
John had a secret plan. He wished to keep his treasure safe from wandering seekers, so he planned to hide it deep within the enchanted forest and leave behind clues that only the cleverest treasure hunters could follow.
They wandered happily through the woods, listening to the birds sing and the leaves rustle in the breeze. But as the day went on, they discovered something troubling, the battery on their cell phone had died! Without a map or GPS to guide them, they had no way of knowing exactly where they were.
As the sun began to dip below the trees and the forest grew darker, John and Maggie started to worry. How far had they wandered? And which way would lead them safely home?
John was sure they had been walking in circles when just then, they came to a fork in the trail. Standing beside the path was a yellow rectangular trail marker. It reminded John of his favorite snack, the delicious cheese curds he had packed for the journey!
“I’ve got an idea!” John exclaimed.
Taking inspiration from the cheese curd colored marker, they chose the trail to the left. As they continued further down the trail John dropped a cheese curd at each of the following yellow markers they passed, creating a tasty trail of clues to help them remember which way they had come. He was carefully keeping track of their route while making sure his treasure would remain hidden from anyone who might be looking for it.
When they reached the fourth marker, John stopped.
"This is the perfect place," he whispered.
Stepping six paces west from the trail, he came upon a tree whose trunk split into the shape of a ‘V.’ From his pocket, he pulled out a small note containing the secret code needed to unlock the treasure. Knowing that anyone following the trail would need the code to continue, he carefully tucked it away and made sure it was hidden in just the right spot.
"Now only true treasure hunters will be able to solve the mystery," he said proudly.
With the secret code safely hidden, John and Maggie returned to the trail. In the distance they spotted a strange shape, but in the fading twilight they could not tell what it was. Curiosity tugged at them, so they continued onward.
As they walked, John left four more cheese curds, one at each of the next four trail markers. But when he reached into his bag at the eighth marker, he discovered he was completely out of cheese curds.
By now, darkness had settled over the forest, and the mysterious object in the distance still seemed just out of reach. Not knowing which way to go and with no more cheese curds to mark their path, John and Maggie agreed that the safest thing to do was stay where they were.
They walked seven paces west from the trail and discovered a cozy resting spot beside another tree shaped like a ‘V.’ They sat down, and wrapped themselves in their jackets. "We'll wait until morning," Maggie said. "Everything will look much clearer in the daylight."
Can you follow the cheese curds, uncover the code and find John, Maggie and their geocache?
Permission for this cache was granted by Mike Jentsch.