Smurfy Nightcache - Escape from Gargamel across the fields near Giessen

A Smurfy night cache near Gießen: A new night cache appeared near Gießen as part of the 2018 Advent calendar - by and with the Smurfs!

The smurfy night cache near Giessen convinced me….

Do you also think that there are less and less (good) night caches? Especially in the darker season, when you can start a night cache early, this type of cache is actually quite popular. Sure, large, well-known night caches like "The Shining", "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" or "When the Lights Learned to Run" were planned at some point as a cacher. You can also spend a night there, you have traveled from further away and you know what you are getting yourself into. Some of the "big ones" are also archived or you can only find them on the map at Opencaching...

But what about the small, solid multis that come with a reflector line, maybe a reactive light, and UV paint? The ones for which we don't have to drive long distances and make entries in our appointment calendar years in advance?

But what about the small, solid multis that come with a reflector line, maybe a reactive light, and UV paint? The ones for which we don't have to drive long distances and make entries in our appointment calendar years in advance?

Spoiler information may be hidden in the next part. This certainly does not diminish the fun of a visit, solutions are not revealed here.

Smurfy Night Cache - The Mystery

On the geocaching map you will first find a question mark with the title "4. Little Door 2018 – Smurfy Christmas Story”. A question mark means there was a riddle to solve for this advent calendar door. The listing quickly makes it clear that a film has to be watched for this. This can be watched free of charge on youtube without any problems and – to my delight – does not last well over an hour, but after 20 minutes of a funny little film you have the answers in front of you. Okay, since the owner supervisor might be reading along, I have to admit that at first I couldn't find an answer for sure. But the owners are friendly and support you or you just have to look again. You can also try the alternatives as the checker in geocaching will give you a green or red light. Continuing to read the listing always helps. And then the cache plays like a nice multi on site.

Smurfy night cache - the calendar

If you have the checker on green, you get to the calendar. The stipulation is that 2-4 cachers can smurf along the path and only one team each night. Since we have winter with early darkness, the cache starts quite early. After the entry you will receive an automatic mail with a code. This unlocks the start for one hour. So much for the topic of “few technical frills”. Well done, because it starts at the edge of a residential area and you get close to residential buildings again at a later point. The flashlights on the dirt road are certainly not disturbing, but they are noticeable. It's a good thing that there are regulations for the groups here. Arriving late (an hour's breath!) or simply going there without an appointment - that doesn't work. And that's certainly beneficial for geocaching.

Smurfy Night Cache - the path

Once you have solved the riddle, you get the starting coordinates of the geocache. At the start there is an easy task to accomplish and off you go. At the next station you turn onto an asphalt road into the fields, where you stay for a long time. For a long time - yes, but the way is not that far. Quite manageable for younger geocachers. Which means that we think the cache is also doable with children. It gets muddy at a later point in time - as is the case on farm roads in the field. Hopefully nobody will come up with the idea of driving the car through the cache. A reflector section follows later, which would make this a little more difficult.

Smurfy night cache - the tasks

As already mentioned, the tasks are all fair and solvable. Beautiful "hiding places" made of wood and pictures show you how to do the tasks. UV should not be forgotten, sometimes there is additional information. Either you get a number for North and one for East and a bonus number, or you get directions in the form "Go towards... and then further in the direction of ... until you come to ...". On the reflector route, you follow blue reflectors, which I personally find pleasant and visible. Always at eye level and when there are three in a pile together, then you know that you have to look right there and that the Smurfs left us something.

One always stays nicely in the story of the Smurfs along the way, if not in the Christmas story. You flee from Gargamel, you have to unravel the mushrooms and sometimes you have to smile a little after solving a code. The meanness of the owners comes through a bit…. But of course that just puts a smile on our faces and we continue on our way. Searching for stars was also a lot of fun and we had to think for 2 minutes for some of the puzzles - but that's exactly how it should be.

After only 4 stations you are already on your way to the final. The T rating is also reflected here, but everything can be done well.

Smurfy Night Cache - The Final

Of course we can't write too much about it here, but that was also "solid" and puts a smile on your face. Not difficult to find, reasonably easy to reach and then you have the log book in your hand. Here the owners have come up with something. The log in or on this log book was a lot of fun for us. On the same way as you came, it then goes the short distance back to the car.

Smurfy night cache - conclusion

Make! Nice story, easy to do with a fun factor. This is not a task that fills the whole night, but can – with an appointment in the calendar – also be integrated into everyday life.

Many thanks to the owners for the great fun we were allowed to have! And if you're ever in the area, you can try the 3 attempts at AR caches right away. And Gießen has a number of other caches anyway, which definitely make a visit an experience.

We are very happy about a comment from you if you have visited the cache!