I was introduced to this part of Pleasanton by Marky's Mars
Cope Rift cache and was immediately struck by how beautiful it
is up here. Since Marky archived his cache, I placed one up here to
encourage others to visit the area. Because the local (teen)
population has taken to littering in the area, CITO is encouraged,
and I've left a few bags at the first stage for your use.
Reaching the first stage requires a short hike with a decent
elevation change for the length of the hike, hence the terrain
rating. Gaiters are recommended in the dry season. If you attempt
this cache at night, please be careful as the terrain can be
tricky.
When you find the first stage, you will have to recover the
combination to a Master Lock. There are no clues to the
combination. Instead, detailed directions are provided here on how
to recover a Master Lock combination. Also, videos and instructions
are available via the internet; you may want to watch one of the
videos and/or practice at home before heading out into the field. I
have reconstructed the instructions here for your benefit (with
thanks and credit to jasond). Once you have the combination, the
first stage has further instructions.
Step 1: Print this page and bring it with you. You will also
want to bring a pencil.
Step 2: Locate the cache and retrieve the Master Lock.
Step 3: Pull the "U" part of the combination lock away from
the dial and try to turn the dial in both directions. There should
be a little play in the lock, but it will stick between two
positions. Take note of the positions where the dial gets stuck,
and write down the average of the play. For example, if the dial
sticks on 19 and 20, you would write down "19.5"; if the dial
sticks on 6.5 (i.e., between 6 and 7) and 7.5, then you would write
down "7." Each time you write down a number, let the dial past the
catch point to the next catch point and repeat until you've gone
all the way around the dial. When you have gone all the way around
the dial, you should have written 12 numbers, exactly 5 of which
are whole numbers. Of these whole numbers, exactly 1 will be unique
in the 1's place. This number is the third number in the
combination.
Step 4: Divide the number from step 3 by four and write down
the remainder. Starting with this computed remainder, write down a
sequence of 10 numbers, each 4 greater than the previous (e.g., 0,
4, 8, ..., 36). This set of numbers includes the first number of
the combination.
Step 5: You will again write down ten numbers. To see which
number begins your series, look again at your remainder from the
division in step 4.
If your remainder was 0, start with 2.
If your remainder was 1, start with 3.
If your remainder was 2, start with 0.
If your remainder was 3, start with 1.
Just as in step 4, you will write a series of 10 numbers, each 4
greater than the previous number. This set of ten numbers will
include the second number of the combination.
You have now been left with 100 possible combinations. Don't
complain. Without these directions, you would have been left with
64,000 possible combinations.
N.B. The rated size refers to the first stage. The final is
a micro. Please be aware that the coordinates on the final might be
a tad loose (not intentionally). Despite open sky, I had trouble
getting a good signal and when I placed the cache I found the
coordinates may be as much as 20' off. The hide is fairly
traditional, no need to trespass.