Escape From Azkaban!

It all started with a post on the Arkansas Geocachers Association forum. Our friends red ink and CacheMates had some trackables that had been trapped in a TB prison for almost a year. To add to the problem, the cache (Azkaban TB Prison) had failed to be approved and the cache owner was MIA. (we hope everything is alright Burl)

The mysterious wizard Chuck Walla came to the rescue with what information he/she had on the cache which included the coordinates for the initial stage and the first part of the cache description. Since we had planned on geocaching on Saturday anyway, we were excited at the prospect of hunting this cache and aiding in the breakout of these trackables.

Azkaban was hidden on the Lee Creek trail system near Van Buren. Looking at the online maps we could tell it would be on the "Homestead" trail roughly 1.25mi from the parking area. We arrived in the parking lot around 12:00 and began grabbing everything we would need for an enjoyable day on the trails with the kids. We always bring plenty of snacks, drinks, and a load of other stuff which gets thrown in my pack. LOL.

The weather was cool but not cold, bright sunshine, just perfect for a day hike. We started down the trail and soon ran into our first obstacle. It seems some dark wizard had cast an aqueous spell which caused the creek to be higher than we had seen and running quite well also. We were unprepared for this trickery and spent quite some time trying to find an adequate place to attempt a crossing. We were successful, but one of our party sadly succumbed to this dark wizards magic. But with a smile on her face and a squish in her step my wife soldiered on!

The forest around us seemed to reverberate danger as we continued on our quest. But after thwarting the last attempt at turning us back, our spirits were high expecting the worst was behind us. It was then we found ourselves at the base of a high and very steep hill. This is when it became obvious that the trail was built with mountain bikers in mind. No switchbacks, just straight up. The kids were excited about some rock formations at the top so up we went. Almost immediately I felt Azkaban's dark magic on us again. My pack suddenly felt heavier. All of our strides shortened and our feet fell hard on the path as if some maniacal force was simultaneously pulling us down and back at the same time! It was only our encouragement of, and aid to each other that we were able to reach the summit. But again the dark magic had left its mark. Although we had reached the top, our strength and especially that of our littlest adventurers was gone. All was not lost though, as I had come armed with some magic of my own given to me by the good wizards Sotirod and Aloc.

Using the magical charms Sotirod and Aloc had given to me I was able to cast off the dark curse which had befallen us. Their magic was strong as we were soon back on our way and the forest parted giving us an easy path toward our destination. It was a short while later that the device (constructed by the good wizard Garmin) used to locate the prison beeped its warning that we were near our goal. It lead us to a gully ringed with short bluffs. We knew Azkaban laid before us. Triumphantly, we followed the device to location of the expected "key" to unlocking Azkaban's location and releasing its prisoners.

But there was no key. We could find nothing. We searched and searched in vain. A strange depression seemed to befall us as we thought our quest would end in failure. Shadows lengthened as our hopes darkened and the whispers of despair began to resonate in our ears. NO! All was not lost! This was the work of Azkaban's guards. The Dementors.

Holding the device high I cried "Expecto Geo!" The Dementors scattered and directly behind us our oldest son proclaimed the prison to be found! With her evil guards in retreat, Azkaban could no longer imprison the innocent trackables and we were able to release them without any further trickery by the forces of darkness. We took a break and enjoyed the thrill of our successful quest and spent some time exploring the area before we decided to make our way back to the truck. Our quest had taken us across creeks, up steep hillsides, and through the forest to our goal. We were, and still are, quite proud of our little adventurers who did fantastic along the 2.7mi hike.

We found a couple of geocaches on the way back. We'll gladly return later for more fun and adventure. Is it any wonder why I love this game! Happy Caching!