Jim Tumbls.

On the evening of December 29, 2011 I ventured out into the woods with my Geobuddies to attempt GC38829, our first nighttime cache, through state game lands in the middle of winter.

Suiting up for our first nighttime cache adventure. I had two pair of pants on, hiking boots, three layers, plus winter coat. I stayed rather warm for the entire trek.

Just one of the many obstacles we had to overcome. This was an easy one… thankfully the two sets of pants I was wearing mostly protected me from the thorns I bushwhacked! From the listed parking coordinates, our path sent us through a rather untamed briar patch. While plowing through the thorns, we saw three flashlights in the distance on the path we were trying to get to. We assumed they were fellow cachers and this was confirmed later on…

A beautiful night for a hike through the woods! There were light flurries for pretty much the entire hike, making a gorgeous scene - especially since we were all warm and in the company of friends.

This is actually a water “tower” which signaled the start of the marked path to the actual hide. All marked with reflective bands in trees! We’d already been through the hardest part of the trek (thorns, swamp, half-frozen puddles) so this is where it got quick to complete the journey.

We managed to make up a lot of time here and by the time we made it to the first stage of the multi-cache (and puzzle location) we had caught up with two of the flashlights we saw earlier. After a short conversation with the guys, we learned that they were with a friend we’d previously met at a few geocaching events! She’d already started investigation on one route while the rest of us pondered our choices and decided on the other route. Just as we were getting ready to go that way, Brenda comes back and we all go down the correct path together. Eventually we found the final marker; smile marks the spot!

Once the final marker was found, the resting spot of the cache itself was rather easy to locate. Here’s the group uncovering the cache:

And investigating the loot:

Group shot!

And since our pals had a better route to the car, we hiked back with them and they gave us a lift to our parking spot, saving us from the thorns again. Many thanks to Team Vauction for the ride!