While on a recent vacation to the Ottawa area we completed a couple of night caches, entitled Parkway to Hell Night Cache (GC1GJDB) and No Exit from Hell Night Cache (GC1HYMQ). Many thanks to our friends graciious & twosips and p72wilson for suggesting these caches and then protecting us from the dark forests of Ottawa while we searched for them.  The geocaches were a lot of fun, even if Kayla ended up getting a little scared about being in an unknown wooded area after dark!

What’s a night cache you ask? This is perhaps best explained by describing a typical night cache, or at least the one’s that we’ve found!

Step 1: Let the sun go down and the stars come out.

Step 2: Head out to ground zero with your gps, a flashlight and a sense of adventure.

Step 3: Arrive at Ground Zero and follow the instructions given to you.  This means that you’ll likely be looking for a series of firetacks hidden along a trail leading you to the geocache container. If you don’t know what a fire tack is, they are best described as a small reflective pushpins, which remain invisible during the day but light up when a light source (e.g. the beam from your flashlight) hits them, hence the necessity of it being dark. They’re usually placed in trees, six to seven feet off the ground and once you find the starting point you’ll have to search out the next tack.  Think of it as connecting the dots or following a trail of bread crumbs.

But as with many things in life, the best way to understand this type of geocaching is to give it a try! While they aren’t plentiful, there are a few night caches located across the island. Why not check one out?

Here’s a short list:

Take Out Your Flashlights (GC3HAZ5) – Located in Flatrock

Jack’s Watching Night Cache (GC2TF6A) – Located on Veteran’s Memorial Highway near Carbonear

Are You Afraid of the Dark? (GC1F930) – Located in the Old Town Site in Gander.

Hike by Night (GC2W3N0) – Located in Clarenville

Escape into the Night #3 (GC2500Z) – Located near Amherst Cove/Bonavista

Close to the Fence – Night Cache (GC1THVM) – Located near the airport in Happy Valley Goose Bay.

My scan didn’t turn anything up in Western Newfoundland, if you know of a night cache out that way, let me know and we can add it to the list!

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Have you found a night cache before? What was your experience like? Let us know!