When I first started geocaching, I came across a cache that took me completely by surprise. I was so shocked by it, it became a game changer. I had been geocaching for about a month and had found plenty of pill bottles, magnetic key holders, and lock-n-lock containers. But this one turned out to be very different. It is a now-archived cache called “Escape from Hameln #3.” I wasn’t geo-savy enough at the time to search the internet for what this geocache name might elude to, so I thought I was looking for just another container.
Turns out that day I was with a friend and new cacher, known as chirpitychirp, and I had looked for this one before but didn’t find it. I was hoping that with her help, she could see something I could not. This hide was located near a group of overgrown evergreen trees with lots of leaves piled up on the ground. Mind you, the last four geocachers to search for it could not find it, and it had not been found in over a year in a half. I was not so mindful then of DNF’s, and if I had been more experienced at the time, I probably would not have even looked for it. But I didn’t really know better.
Since the leaves around the trees were so thick, I thought I would go grab something from the car to help me poke around ground zero easier. I was searching around one tree and my friend was searching around another. She then also went to the car to find something to help her probe the area. Then she suggested we switch trees looking for it. It’s worth noting that my friend was somewhat of a prankster, and you have to always keep that in the back of your mind. So I am digging around now, with my long tool, searching through the piles of leaves just where my friend had just searched. Then I see something. It was kind of black and small. So I got down on my knees to retrieve it. I reached real far in with one arm and grabbed it to pull it out. Then I saw it. A MOUSE! I dropped it instantly and screamed. Yes, screamed like a little girl. It was not a real mouse mind you but at the time I thought it was real. Then my friend came over and we examined it. She laughed so hard. It was only a fake mouse. I then accused my friend of placing it there while I was searching the other tree. After finally examining it closer, the head came off and a geocaching log was inside. We laughed and laughed at the clever cache and at each other.
So now to the game changer part. This cache so inspired me that I became one of those clever containers hiders as well. I have made caches with fake mixed nuts cans– with a plastic snake that springs out when you open the cache, ones that contain Halloween screamers that scream when light hits it, one that giggles when you open it, one made out of kids’ banks, one made out of 3 piece hinged alligator swimming pool toy, Easter Island aquarium ornament, a few made out of dog toys, one made out of a plastic tube pencil case holder that zips opens, and many others that can’t really be described but you get the picture. Because of this one cache, it inspired me to create so many others that are not your run of the mill. Not surprisingly, geocachers in my area tend to approach my caches with caution as they never know what they will be faced with. Oh the logs! Priceless.
Have you created a cache with a bit of a thrill factor? Or have you found a cache that make you scream with fright or laugh out loud? Show us! Tell us! We want to know! Share pictures on social media and tag @geocachetalk.
Carla Young, aka Lilsprinkles67, caches in and around West Texas. She’s found 1837 caches to-date and has hidden 118. She loves geocaching, NASCAR, and going on cruises. Carla has cached in Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, the Cayman Islands, and Belize. Her own geocoin, “Pink Sprinkles Geocoin,” can be seen at TB5PE6K; it was released in May 2013. In 2017, she was on vacation 470 miles from home and found it in a cache, picked it up, and brought it back home. Her furthest traveling trackable is TB6HMDN. Find her on Twitter: @lilsprinkles67.
“Sprinkles make ordinary things special.”
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