By Patricia A. Hawkenson (October / Bad Luck / Compass)
The post said:
“HOUSEKEEPING STUFF BEFORE YOU START... Coordinates are for parking area. Once you get there, turn lights off to gain your night vision. While looking at the picnic pavilion from the parking lot, go to your right. As you adjust, shine your light around to find the first marker at the trail head to lead you to the cache. Markers are white-ish dots that will reflect light. When you get to the area near the cache (past the bridge), the markers will be two dots together. Three marker reflectors in a line, means you have gone too far. Cache is glow in the dark, and will need charging. However, cache is also partially under cover. Proceed accordingly. Mark way point for your return to your vehicle when over. Special equipment needed includes flashlight (brighter is not necessarily better...) and 2 way radios if you have them.”
I knew the story:
“At the early part of the 20th century, UW - Eau Claire was a college that prepared teachers. A student named Jacob Larrabee went south of town to collect plant and insect samples from this area for his biology course. Larrabee, while climbing up a hill to collect a sample, lost his balance and fell, breaking his hip in the process. He died of exposure never being able to say goodbye to his family. His restless spirit has been roaming the woods trying to find his way back for the last eighty years. Night visitors have heard the faint groans and seen a glowing mist, the ghost of poor Mr. Larrabee trying to get home. Perhaps you will find him, too.”
Compassman43, I decided to try my first night cache on Halloween night. My friend, Kyle, newly named: Captured 44 - reluctantly helped me seek out the hidden cache. The first fire tack was easy, too easy. We saw it glow before I turned off the headlights of my car. We got out and headed down the slope. The air was cold enough to see our breath and humidity threatened to split the sky open. A gibbous moon hung in the only open space in the darkly clouded sky, and the dusty, crunching leaves beneath our feet sent crackles up to scare the dead. All we needed were howling wolves. The big tree was easy to spot, but then I found myself frustrated with the lack of expected markings on the trail. Where was that two fire tack tree? Our lights swiped from side to side, side to side, and side to side.
In no time we lost our confidence. Then Captured44 let out a short inhaled gasp. A deer’s glowing eyes were as bright as the reflectors we were supposed to be following. It bounded away. Gaps in between the tacks seemed very far apart. We came to many intersections, but they didn’t mark which way to go. We had to go down each path a ways and back track. We went down three different paths and didn't find any more tacks. Captured44’s fingers were frozen, and it was almost 11:30 p.m. Bummer. No cache yet. Captured44 continued to complain about the cold, the darkness, the creepy feeling crawling down his neck. I laughed. Wuss.
The flashlights we were using were LED’s, the light very clean and white, so a lot of the flowers and leaves were reflecting back as white to us, and we often confused them for the tacks. We looked around the clearing as well, but we didn’t find anything. We continued anyway, hoping to see some kind of flash. Occasional fireflies provided a temporary euphoria. With increased confidence, we crossed the small bridge. Sadly, it was too dark to play Pooh Sticks. Still, the water gurgled on, its voice urging us forward. The moon was still shining overhead creating eerie shadows on the vegetation. An owl hooted softly in the distance. We moved more slowly.
Then I saw the stump with three dots. Three dots? We never saw two! We headed back to a beaten down area. Finally, we went back to the bridge, trying to find the two reflector spot. No luck. Frustration set in. We wandered in that brush in our confusion, and I was almost ready to call it a night, when literally, he stumbled on the cache! He hollered, "I've got it!"
We took the coupons for two free games of Bowlwinkle’s bowling replacing it with a glittering Hello Kitty key chain that said, “I’d Rather Be Shopping.” We signed the log, replaced the cache, and started to take what we thought was a shortcut back to my car. Heavy rain began and lightning signaled the end of our adventure, so we ran as a flash cracked across the sky and struck with thundering brightness. We were soaked, but we stood still - truly frozen in our tennis - when we saw my car ablaze.
Larrabee didn’t want us going home just yet.
The post said:
“HOUSEKEEPING STUFF BEFORE YOU START... Coordinates are for parking area. Once you get there, turn lights off to gain your night vision. While looking at the picnic pavilion from the parking lot, go to your right. As you adjust, shine your light around to find the first marker at the trail head to lead you to the cache. Markers are white-ish dots that will reflect light. When you get to the area near the cache (past the bridge), the markers will be two dots together. Three marker reflectors in a line, means you have gone too far. Cache is glow in the dark, and will need charging. However, cache is also partially under cover. Proceed accordingly. Mark way point for your return to your vehicle when over. Special equipment needed includes flashlight (brighter is not necessarily better...) and 2 way radios if you have them.”
I knew the story:
“At the early part of the 20th century, UW - Eau Claire was a college that prepared teachers. A student named Jacob Larrabee went south of town to collect plant and insect samples from this area for his biology course. Larrabee, while climbing up a hill to collect a sample, lost his balance and fell, breaking his hip in the process. He died of exposure never being able to say goodbye to his family. His restless spirit has been roaming the woods trying to find his way back for the last eighty years. Night visitors have heard the faint groans and seen a glowing mist, the ghost of poor Mr. Larrabee trying to get home. Perhaps you will find him, too.”
Compassman43, I decided to try my first night cache on Halloween night. My friend, Kyle, newly named: Captured 44 - reluctantly helped me seek out the hidden cache. The first fire tack was easy, too easy. We saw it glow before I turned off the headlights of my car. We got out and headed down the slope. The air was cold enough to see our breath and humidity threatened to split the sky open. A gibbous moon hung in the only open space in the darkly clouded sky, and the dusty, crunching leaves beneath our feet sent crackles up to scare the dead. All we needed were howling wolves. The big tree was easy to spot, but then I found myself frustrated with the lack of expected markings on the trail. Where was that two fire tack tree? Our lights swiped from side to side, side to side, and side to side.
In no time we lost our confidence. Then Captured44 let out a short inhaled gasp. A deer’s glowing eyes were as bright as the reflectors we were supposed to be following. It bounded away. Gaps in between the tacks seemed very far apart. We came to many intersections, but they didn’t mark which way to go. We had to go down each path a ways and back track. We went down three different paths and didn't find any more tacks. Captured44’s fingers were frozen, and it was almost 11:30 p.m. Bummer. No cache yet. Captured44 continued to complain about the cold, the darkness, the creepy feeling crawling down his neck. I laughed. Wuss.
The flashlights we were using were LED’s, the light very clean and white, so a lot of the flowers and leaves were reflecting back as white to us, and we often confused them for the tacks. We looked around the clearing as well, but we didn’t find anything. We continued anyway, hoping to see some kind of flash. Occasional fireflies provided a temporary euphoria. With increased confidence, we crossed the small bridge. Sadly, it was too dark to play Pooh Sticks. Still, the water gurgled on, its voice urging us forward. The moon was still shining overhead creating eerie shadows on the vegetation. An owl hooted softly in the distance. We moved more slowly.
Then I saw the stump with three dots. Three dots? We never saw two! We headed back to a beaten down area. Finally, we went back to the bridge, trying to find the two reflector spot. No luck. Frustration set in. We wandered in that brush in our confusion, and I was almost ready to call it a night, when literally, he stumbled on the cache! He hollered, "I've got it!"
We took the coupons for two free games of Bowlwinkle’s bowling replacing it with a glittering Hello Kitty key chain that said, “I’d Rather Be Shopping.” We signed the log, replaced the cache, and started to take what we thought was a shortcut back to my car. Heavy rain began and lightning signaled the end of our adventure, so we ran as a flash cracked across the sky and struck with thundering brightness. We were soaked, but we stood still - truly frozen in our tennis - when we saw my car ablaze.
Larrabee didn’t want us going home just yet.
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