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Bull Run/Occoquan Marathon Multi-Cache

Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
4 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The Bull Run/Occoquan Trail (Blue Trail): a very popular trail in Northern Virginia for hikers, geocachers, and those who just want to take a walk in the woods. It is 18 miles long and many people hope to hike the whole trail at some point, but just can't seem to find the time. But now the Bull Run/Occoquan Marathon gives you a reason to wake up early one morning and hike the whole thing; the entire 18 miles from end to end. =====================================

This cache is a thirteen stage multicache that will lead you from one end of the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail in Bull Run Regional Park, to the other in Fountainhead Regional Park. While it may be a long hike, the joy of reaching the other end and seeing the beautiful sights along the way will surely prove to be an extremely rewarding experience for all seekers. Before starting, make sure that you have someone that can pick you up from Fountainhead after you've finished. The original hider took them just a bit over 11 hours to hike the full 18 miles and hide all thirteen stages, so most likely it won't be possible to hike all the way back (plus, it would just be crazy to hike all the way back). Be sure to start early enough that you will have enough time to finish and don't forget to pack a lunch and plenty of water. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FIND THIS CACHE IN ONE DAY IN ORDER TO CLAIM A FIND. It is completely fine to find this cache over a series of trips instead of one long day of hiking, but we really recommend the hike.

Stages 1-12 are pill bottles zip tied in a tree. None of the hides are very difficult. It is intended that each stage be an easy one in order to ensure that those who do the whole hike will be able to finish. The final stage, stage 13, is a Tupperware container that holds the logbook. We did our best to make the minimum distance between any two stages at least half a mile, but less than 1.5 miles. However, there are two sections of the trail during which there is about a 2.5-3 mile stretch with no stages because the areas were already too dense with caches. None of the stages are more than about 400 feet from the Bull Run/Occoquan Trail.

Once you have arrived at Bull Run Regional Park to start your journey along the Occoquan, head to the start of the trail at N 38 48.186 W077 28.533. The trail is marked by blue blazes of paint. Please note there may be a small water crossing between Stage 1 and Stage 2 - depending on how much rain has taken place dictates the size of the crossing. Along the way you'll be sure to see plenty of wildlife.

As a final note, if you are planning on making a serious attempt to find this cache in one day and hike the full 18 miles, feel free to send us an email and we'll send you a word document that contains the coordinates of all 13 stages. We just think it would be terrible for you to get 10 miles down the trail only to discover a stage has been muggled and then have to finish the hike without finding the cache. We'll be going on the honor system that you actually visit all 13 stages if we send you the coordinates, but we feel we can trust geocachers. Enjoy!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fgntr 1 - Abg ba gur Tebhaq Abgr: Znl or n jngre pebffvat orgjrra Fgntr 1 naq 2 Fgntr 6 - sbyybj gur ynetr ybt hc gb gur fgntr Fgntr 11 - nobir dhnegm Svany: HCF

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)