Every perfect geocaching adventure deserves at least two geocaching misadventures. For us, misadventures include not having a necessary tool, getting wet, getting lost. I would say that we’ve experienced more times when we weren’t quite prepared for the cache than times we were prepared.
For instance, Karl has tipped his canoe every single time we’ve gone caching in canoes. Now, anytime we go canoeing, he tips himself for the heck of it. The last time we went out on canoes, the boys were goofing around and tipped themselves over in the middle of the lake. They had to swim their boat to shore, struggle to dump all the water out, and get back in. All while in the midst of a thunderstorm!
Another time, the kids went to stay with their grandparents while Karl and I spent our time finding a long trail of geocaches. We didn’t expect any of the caches along this trail to require any climbing. Maybe we approached the cache from the wrong direction. Who knows? Either way, Karl happened to have rope in the trunk and I decided to do a short, roadside rappel. 
I was pretty scared, but Karl assured me that he had a firm hold. Apparently, he had a “firm hold” with just one hand because…HE TOOK A PICTURE! Good thing I didn’t know about this picture until I had climbed back up.
Other mishaps include those times we didn’t expect to get wet.
We set out one morning to attempt to be the first ones to find a few new caches hidden in a nearby park. All but one of the caches had been found by the time we made it to the park that afternoon. On our way to the final cache, we learned why it still had not been found. It was surrounded by water thanks to recent flash flooding. 
The same day we found the one mentioned above, we decided to go for one more that we knew required a watery trek. We were already wet, so why not? 
Another time early in our caching days, we managed to get ourselves lost and wet. Well, we weren’t exactly lost; we just had a lot of trouble getting where we wanted to be. We had to cross a creek, but couldn’t find a good place to cross. We kept walking and walking and walking in an attempt to find a narrow passage. Finally, I said, “We keep getting farther and farther away from where we want to be. We’re crossing here.” The kids and I made it across without any problems. Karl, on the other hand, lost his balance on a rock, tried to steady himself with the small branch of a tree hanging low above his head, the branch broke, and he tumbled right into the creek. The only injuries were to his ego and to our lips from trying not to laugh too hard at his expense.
But the most epic misadventure happened when I had to walk through water. We could see the cache from the trail. The only problem was that the cache was surrounded by water because it resides on an island. I don’t know why we didn’t see this one coming; the cache is called “Callahan’s Island.”
Noah thought he could make the jump across the moat. We waited a good 15 minutes listening to his boasts as he attempted to conjure up the courage to jump.
Eventually, he admitted that the distance was too far for a jump and the water was deeper than he was willing to wade through. Hannah had packed a change of clothes, but the mid-March temps were too cold for her. So, this happened:
That’s me signing the log. Yes, I got down to my skivvies and walked through the water on a couple of rocks and logs as I felt my way across the bottom of the creek. Good thing we were the only ones in the woods that day!
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