On Sunday, April 12, Outdoor Adventures, along with several student volunteers, organized a campus-wide scavenger hunt. In an adventure as unique as it was muddy, this unexpected team guided participating students as they explored the entire 500 Acres area, not only to search for geocaches but also to create their own works of art using paint, beads, and other materials, which they would then hide as geocaches.

The morning began like this: first, before starting the search, the participants met with the student volunteers near the Story Tree to begin the craft project. Since the students were experts at crocheting, they taught the team how to make small caterpillars, butterflies, and other insects using thin yarn and a few small decorations to give them shape. In the process, it was noted that this was not the first time they had done this, though it was their first time collaborating with Outdoor Adventures. Among other things, this small volunteer project arose as part of the final project for their First Year Seminar “Touch Grass,” where they performed a similar activity, and Outdoor Adventures took an interest in their work. As a result, they were coordinating the event this Sunday.

After putting together the crafts, the group was instructed to follow a digital map of the geocaches using a phone app. In total, there were three hidden geocaches that had to be found before the 12:00 PM deadline. The first cache was hidden in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, so the group had to explore the area carefully so as not to disturb the graves. This geocache was tucked inside a small plastic container where, on a list of names, you could write the name of the person who found it and the date it was found. If anyone feels like venturing out to look for this little box and finds it, you will find this author’s name written on that list.

To find the second chest, the group had to venture deep into the 500 Acres along a very muddy trail near one of the tributaries of the San Gabriel River. This second treasure was camouflaged as a red river rock among the fallen logs in the forest. It is worth noting that this was the hardest one to find because of this very camouflage. However, when the little box was opened inside the rock, there was no slip of paper to write down the names of those who found it. Apparently, someone very mischievous got there first and took it. Likewise, by the time it was found, the group was running out of time, so there was no room to lament its loss because the last little box was two miles away, much deeper in the forest.

The path uphill became difficult due to the heavy rains of the past few days. The trail, which was supposed to be easy enough for anyone attending with little to no prep, turned into a constant struggle to avoid succumbing to it and falling into the river or the mud. What should have been a half-hour walk gradually became slower and more difficult due to the many inclines along the way, which turned the walk into a climb. As you might imagine, there were many falls along the way. Truly, the group experienced a small fraction of the power of nature, which, like a predator lurking in every corner, used its muddy claws to make this adventure all the more fun.

The last geocache was hidden among trees, brush, and quite a few thorns. In fact, it was your very author who found the treasure while trying to free himself from thorny vines. Fortunately, inside the little box there was paper to write down all the group’s names, and there was also space to leave the crafts they had made earlier. Because if they had taken the prize from this geocache as well, it genuinely would have been the last straw after trekking all that way through dangerous terrain. After all, having two missing geocaches was not an option.

At the end of this unusual adventure, the team returned completely covered in mud. However, instead of feeling annoyed, all the participants found themselves amused by this turn of events. After all, this was just part of the adventure. With Outdoor Adventures, venturing into the unknown is an everyday occurrence, since moments like this teach us to appreciate even the smallest mishaps—because finding happiness in the midst of adversity is what days like these teach you.