After the fantastic NEFGA Toys for Tots/Christmas Caching event, I took Paintfiction up on his invitation to do a couple of caches. I'd already collected my Smileys on them, but they were in a fun area and I didn't want to pass up a ride in his infamous Jeep Rubicon. What a fateful decision that turned out to be.

The Federation , Joe Merchant , Florida Cacher and Nolefan9399 all came along in a couple other Jeeps. The first cache was the "30 Mile Multi ", which we found uneventfully. From there we went to "The Intersection via the Pit ". I took the group down the route I had taken in the Tracker – a winding road-like trail given to steep turns. I thought I came close to rolling the Tracker when I did them. The experience was no less frightening in the Rubicon. But at least we had help if we did roll, and a neat little “Lev-o-meter” to let us now were weren’t really at as bad an angle as it seemed.

We soon found and logged the cache. Rather than stop, we considered another cache. The Federation knew of a route to "Pitcher Pump Well " that would allow us to drive right up to it. Otherwise, the cache was about a three and a half mile hike. We could also hit "Jim to the Rescue " on the way. Though I'd already found both caches, it sounded like a fun adventure, blazing new trails, so off we went in three Jeeps – a Rubicon, a Cherokee and a Wrangler.

We were soon crossing a large, deep water hole that would scare off the more timid (and wiser) cachers, but we charged ahead. Fortune favored the bold, and we were safely across in no time. Next we came to the treacherous spot that led to the placement of "Jim to the Rescue". Dave&Michelle had gotten stuck there previously and called on Paintfiction to rescue them in his Rubicon. We passed this treacherous obstacle cautiously but successfully.

After logging the cache, we calculated our next move. "Pitcher Pump Well" was a straight one-mile shot away. There was a road-like path that wound along the edge of the marshes of the Mantanzas River. It was low tide and the track looked firm and dry. We encountered a couple of dicey spots but made excellent progress.

Soon, the Rubicon was spinning all wheels and we had TWO stuck Jeeps. Good thing we had a third Jeep. Then, about a half mile from the cache, we came to a spot where the trail split into two parallel tracks. The tracks to the right had been the best so far and so we chose that. Paint's Rubicon made it through, but not without some grumbling from the wheels. We looked behind us, to see The Federation’s Cherokee spinning all wheels and very stuck.

We headed back in the Rubicon, quickly secured a strap between the Jeeps and began pulling at the stuck Cherokee. Soon, the Rubicon was spinning all wheels and we had TWO stuck Jeeps. Good thing we had a third Jeep. Quickly, we hitched up the Wrangler to the Rubicon. Unfortunately, the ground under the Wrangler was every bit as soft. Its wheels turned in and we now had THREE stuck Jeeps.

At this point I feel obligated to caution my fellow cachers. Always carry WD-40. Trust me on this. Always. You just never know.

While we proceeded to jack up and dig out the Rubicon, Nolefan9399 managed to free his Wrangler with some skillful wrangling. However, we faced some serious issues with the Rubicon. It was getting dark and the tide was coming in. The area was getting wetter, and softer. Did I mention it was getting dark? We decided to call for help. Just in case. At the very least, we wanted friends to know where to tell the authorities to search for our bodies. Bruce! Help! 2LuknF8 was on his way but was coming from Gainesville.

Paintfiction's jack presented its own challenges. It is an engineering marvel that works like a finely tuned machine. When it’s finely tuned, that is. Or at least well lubed. With the mud and other environmental hazards, the darn thing just wouldn't work properly. This is where WD-40 would have come in real handy.

Jacking up each wheel involved a cumbersome and time-consuming process and was no less than a three man operation. One to man the jack handle. One to work the levers with a paintbrush and hammer (yes, I said paintbrush). And one to hold the light. It took almost as much effort to lower the jack as it did to raise it.

Meanwhile, the kids - Gracie, Marlene, James and Phillip (fine children and great sports all) - helped round up wood, palm fronds, etc. to stuff under the wheels as we jacked them up. After this long, laborious process, we managed to free the Rubicon from its shackles of mud.

Now we had two free Jeeps, one stuck Jeep, a rising tide and complete darkness. And lots of muddy holes to stumble in through the darkness. We began to work on the Cherokee. Bruce called. He was getting closer.

We tried the same procedures on the Cherokee that had produced success on the Rubicon. However, the ground under the Cherokee was much softer. And the Cherokee's bumper was lower and designed for a different jack. We had problems keeping the jack straight and out of the mud. We did finally manage to get it jacked up enough to attempt driving it out. The result was a Jeep mired in the mud a mere five or six feet from where we started. We were crushed.

...in a few minutes he called back and informed us that he was indeed stuck. Our fourth stuck Jeep of the night. About this time, Bruce called. He was at "The Intersection via the Pit”. We directed him though the best route to our coordinates. (I don’t know how we would have explained where we were to anyone without a GPS unit.) He stayed on the phone with Paintfiction while he made his approach. When he got to "Jim to the Rescue", he said, "Wait, I think I'm stuck," and hung up. Sure enough, in a few minutes he called back and informed us that he was indeed stuck. Our fourth stuck Jeep of the night.

We hopped in the Rubicon and the Wrangler and headed back to help him out. The road was clearly wetter and more treacherous than when we had come through earlier.

As we arrived, Bruce was unwinding the winch cable. We soon had him hooked up to the Rubicon and listened to the high-pitched whirr of the winch as it torqued him out. It worked just like it was supposed to. Now back to winch out The Federation. We got to the area and stayed on the firmer ground while we hooked up the Cherokee. In no time, Greg was slowly winched to the sounder surface.

But we still had to make it out (not before hiding a cache though -- “Bruce to the Rescue ”). The trail was now very wet, and our traffic had created some deep ruts. The Rubicon almost got stuck; the Cherokee did get stuck. But once again the winch had him out in no time. We managed to make our way past "Jim to the Rescue" and through the big water hole. We were soon on pavement on our way to a Dunkin' Donuts to celebrate our escape.

Thanks Bruce!

If only I'd brought the Tracker. But then, that's all park of the adventure.