The Red Headed League Letterbox Hybrid
david2400nc: Thanks for the fun ya'll.
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is a LETTERBOX HYBRID geocache. The logbook, ink pad and stamp should remain there for the next person. Letterboxing is a precursor to geocaching, using compass headings and other clues to lead the seeker to the letterbox. Typically a letterbox contains a logbook and a stamp. If you wish, you may stamp your personal journal with the rubber stamp in the letterbox; you then may stamp the logbook with your personal stamp if you have one – if not please sign the log the traditional way.
“I had called upon my friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, one day in the autumn of last year and found him in deep conversation with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman with fiery red hair. With an apology for my intrusion, I was about to withdraw when Holmes pulled me abruptly into the room and closed the door behind me. “
And so Dr. Watson was introduced to the Case of the Red Headed League.
Mr. Wilson, a red headed tradesman, came to Holmes with a curious case. He had been chosen to fill a vacancy in the Red Headed League. This league was formed through a benefactor in the US for the propagation and spread of red-heads. In order to receive compensation from the League he had to copy the Encyclopedia Britannica while staying in a specific building between the hours of ten and two Monday through Friday. While at first Mr. Wilson thought it a hoax he nonetheless went to the building on a Monday at the appointed time and did indeed have the first volume of the reference book ready for him to copy. It turns out it was all a ruse to lure this gentleman away from his place of business while his assistant, with the help of a confederate, dug a tunnel from Mr. Wilson’s business to a bank next door in order to steal gold coins kept in a vault. Holmes managed to determine the criminal’s motives and was able to thwart the robbery.
Now it is your turn to join the League, with any color of hair or no hair. All you have to do in this League is follow the instructions below and you will be rewarded with a letterbox cache in the woods.
To find this letterbox you will have to do some research. You will need to locate The Encyclopedia of North Carolina, 2nd edition by William S. Powell. It is available in the reference section of just about all the libraries in Mecklenburg County. The above coordinates will take you to the South Regional Library which is a good place to do your research.
Look up the following topics (the page number is provided) and answer the question associated with it. Each answer will be a number which you will use to plug into the calculations listed in the directions to the letterbox.
A. Beech Mountain - Beech Mountain is home to Ski Beech Resort with this many ski slopes? Page 108
B. Blockade Running – Wilmington is how many miles up the Cape Fear River? Page 128
C. Calabash - How many more restaurants have been built since the first restaurants of the 1940s? Page 162
D. Cape Lookout National Seashore - How many miles does Cape Lookout National Seashore extend along the NC coast? Page 177
E. Church Camps - It is believed there are greater than this number of denominational church camps existing in the Blue Ridge Mountain area. Page 221
F. Cotton mills - In 1884 there were this many cotton mills in operation in North Carolina? Page 294
G. Gastonia Strike - One of the goals of the Gastonia Strike was a weekly wage of this many dollars. Page 492
H. Fort Macon - How many Confederate soldiers were wounded in the siege of Fort Macon? Page 462
I. Fort Bragg – This cantonment and reservation is how many square miles? Page 457
J. Vacation Bible School - The earliest Vacation Bible School programs ran as long as this many weeks. Page 1157
K. Outdoor Dramas - The outdoor drama Unto These Hills celebrated this number anniversary in 1999. Page 857
L. Pirates - How many men does the bulk of the Pirate history in NC center on? Page 887
M. Snipe Hunting - Snipe hunting denotes 1 of this many forms of recreation in NC. Page 1053
N. Tar Heel - The earliest known use of the term Tar Heel was in a diary entry written by a soldier in this number regiment. Page 1103
O. Tweetsie Railroad - What is the number of the Tweetsie locomotive to survive the ET&WNC railroad company? Page 1141
You may attempt to answer these questions by using the internet but the answers may not be the same as those in the Powell book; for example when I looked up the answer to question I. there were a few different values given but they did not match the one in the book.
Once you have the number answers for the questions plug them into the calculations enclosed by brackets {} in the directions below.
Starting coordinates:
North: 35 {G - E} . {A + B + D + H + N}
West: 080 {K - L} . {I + L + M}
At these coordinates you will find a recreational structure so have a seat if you need a rest. Otherwise look north and find a lamp post close by. This is lamp post #1; you will proceed on the west side of the road to lamp post # {E - O}. At this lamp post you will move on a bearing of {C + E + F + G + K + N} for {O} paces to the start of an unofficial path. Follow this path {G + G} paces on heading {D + D + E + F + G + K} to a wood pole. From the wood pole on a bearing of {E + F + G + K} walk {E} paces. You are at the base of a berm, so at a heading of {G + K}, walk {J} paces (over the berm) to the letterbox at your feet.
Please note that I define a pace as two of my steps.
I think you will not have trouble with these directions since there are landmarks to guide you except toward the end, but by then your geo-sense will kick in and you should be able to locate the container.
Have fun and watch your step. As Holmes put it at the end of the story –
L’homme c'est rien--l'oeuvre c'est tout
{The man is nothing, the work is all}
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqreprqnegerrebbgf
nggurzbhgubsnfznyyqenj