On the Eleventh Day of Christmas, mrGreen317 hid for me, an ammo box under yet another evergreen tree!
Welcome to the Twelve Cans of Christmas (12 CoC). Each cache is a simple puzzle that leads to the coordinates of a plastic ammo box (i.e. "Can") somewhere in SGL 108.
While the retailers have pretty much packed away the Christmas wares for 2018, the traditional Christmas season actually runs from December 25 through January 5, the "Twelve Days of Christmas". (After today, you still have one more day of Christmas left to enjoy!) Here are some "regular"-sized geocaches hidden for the "Twelve Cans of Christmas" to grab this Christmas season or any other time of the year when geocaching is on the day's agenda.
Find this cache by using the simple puzzle, then plug the solved coordinates into the built-in coordinate checker on this page.
Y = The number of pipers piping in the song (not the image above) given on Day 11
Then the caches is at:
N 40 38.[ Y - 2 ] [ Y - 5 ] [ Y - 8 ] W 078 29.[ Y - 2 ] [ Y - Y ] [ Y - 4 ]
Note the simple math inside each bracket is to be solved for a single digit that makes up the decimal part of the final coordinates.
This cache location is designed to provide a bit more of a hike "past the gate", even farther beyond the cache hidden for 12 CoC Day 1 of this series. The ground goes up hill a bit to GZ, but the SGL path is otherwise pretty easy to follow beyond the gate. Very close to the suggested parking is last year's Day 2 Gate cache (GC7GA0X). You will also be passing this year's Day 1 cache (GC81CXV).
Two possible waypoints of approach to GZ have been provided on the cache page below, along with the suggested parking. Either of these locations might be a good start to leave the grassy game lands road and head into the woods towards GZ. The first waypoint is a bit of a break in the brush between the grassy road and the open woods. Going through the open woods towards GZ should not be very difficult once passing the brush. The second waypoint is for an animal path leading through a more open area of taller grass and brush right towards the edge of the woods where GZ is located.
This cache is located in state game lands, so PLEASE observe all state game land rules and wear orange during hunting seasons. During the primary hunting season, finding this cache is recommended on Sunday only.
The area right around GZ is rocky and also was showing evidence of animal droppings. Snakes, deer, or even bear might be present at certain times of the year. Always use caution when hiking in state game lands and when possible, hike with a partner or two.
Ticks have been reported at other locations in SGL 108 this winter by geocachers, so please be watchful. Ticks pose a potential health risk, so please be sure to check that any ticks are removed from one's person after seeking the geocache.
Clues for the series final cache
- Each of the Twelve Cans should have an ornament affixed to the inside of the lid, attached by chain. Please be sure to leave this attached ornament with the container, as it is a clue needed to log the final cache.
- If interested in the series final cache, be sure to write down the ornament object on your personal notes or take a photo with your device, whatever is most convenient, to remember which ornament was found with each numbered Can of Christmas.
- Unlike last year, all the needed clues for the final at each of the series caches are already in place at the time of hiding and publishing.
A congratulations on FTF goes to KB3PPR/KB3PPS and carels. Merry Christmas to you and your families!
Series FTF Notes
- Each CoC series cache has a single card and white prize box with colored ribbon. The card and prize box are both to be taken by the FTF at each cache. The envelope will have an FTF 4-digit prize code for additional FTF fun at the conclusion of the series on or after Jan 5, 2019.
- Note that each gift box includes a similar ornament gift to the ornament that is attached to the inside of the cache container. The ornament attached with the white gift box goes with the FTF, while the ornament attached to the cache container should be left attached to the cache container.
- While there is a series "final" cache planned for after Day 12, the extra FTF gifts for this series of 12 will not need to be hunted out in the wild as last year. The extra prizes will be shared at upcoming events or delivered to the winning geocachers through other means (such as postal) if attending events is not convenient for any of the winning geocachers.
- Additional series FTF information will be communicated to series FTF winners via geo-messenger and/or the email on file with geocaching.com
Merry Christmas from the Green-Hippo household!
(mrGreen317, Sage-Hippo, and littleEEE)