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Samson Won Traditional Cache

Hidden : 5/6/2014
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

A typical pill bottle in black tape, hung at about eye level, off a major trail. About 2 miles from Lake Elaine, 3 from Babbitt Road, or accessible from the Arizona Trail, off Old Walnut Canyon road. Take care not to trip on rocks and beware sharp branches. As always, bring water, some snacks and a cell phone. Met again some people on horseback today. It's a popular trail system, leading even down to Lake Mary Road, as well as to other points of entry in Flagstaff.

.............................................................................................................................................

I walked out this morning and removed a puzzle cache entitled Delilah I’d dared place on State Trust Land.  Yes, the 400-gorilla in the room, the one named Samson, has won.  I then moseyed a bit further down the trail to face again my arch nemesis, AZ-Views, Ponderosa (GC49E8R). By the way, I got him this time… But then, following the “waste not” rule, I marched onward Delilah in hand, till quite unexpectedly, I encountered Samson face to face, hanging behind a tree, black as a gorilla but not a chest-banging silver back…

BTW, I parked below Lake Elaine, off Skyview Road. I left the car at 9:02, spent a ridiculous amount of time looking for Delilah, stopped for GC49E8R and then moseyed on to encounter Samson at 10:12. I got back to the car at 11:00. But in hindsight, Samson seems to hang around the very same trail that Moriarty #15 borders. Hmmm, maybe I could have cut through the woods a measly .17 miles around N35 10.022 W111 35.713, crossed over to visit ol’ Moriarty #12, and gone on from there. Anyway, despite the two interruptions and a little GPS-guided bushwacking to cut across two switchbacks, I got back to the car at 11:00. 

Of course, if I'd taken a bike or gone on horseback (see Pic) it might have been easier or faster.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Abguvat gb nqq. Pnpur vf na rkgrafvba gb Zbevnegl 15, va gur fnzr fglyr naq bss gur fnzr genvy.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)