This is a mystery cache. The listed coordinates are NOT for the
final cache. You must solve the puzzle below to determine the final
coordinates. You need to make some keen observations outside your
normal frame of reference to decipher the coordinates. The cache is
hidden within 2 miles of the listed coordinates. The best parking
is north of the cache, but there is other parking. In heavy snow,
you may have to park on a side street a little west of the
trailhead.
This Eureka puzzle consists of a list of five sentences. Each
sentence contains multiple hidden elements. Each element is a
proper English word, no abbreviations are used. The elements of
each sentence form an obvious pattern and connection to a common
subtheme. The subtheme of each sentence is different and the number
of unique elements hidden in each sentence is identified by the
italicized number used in that sentence. All the hidden elements
and subthemes relate to a cohesive and broader overall
theme.
- “Tonight’s program will be a dramatic,
seven round boxing milestone,” announced the
overweight car attendant in a grainy voice.
- “Oh, my!” Henry swatted five revolting
termites in the damp wood by the electric panel.
- At a quarter past seven, I'll slip into the bar, relax
with some literature, bounce up the volume of the stereo, and have
a cordial.
- This time, by early in the weeklong effort, nightly
headquarters inspections by Second brigade cadets found
eight minute issues like gum on the floor.
- Many ardent rodeo families dressed in chaps became terribly
annoyed when the eight-foot clown smiled at length to the
sparse crowd.
To log this cache, you need to complete 4 parts:
- The easy part: Solve the Eureka puzzle and determine all
35 hidden elements.
- The fun part: Alphabetize these elements and determine A
through G as defined below to decode the coordinates.
- The tricky part: Determine a hidden number encoded in
the five sentences of the puzzle.
- The challenging part: When you log your find
electronically, make a reference in some obscure way to an author
or a subject represented by one of the hieroglyphics on the cache
container.
The cache container is adorned with 11 sets of
“hieroglyphics” that represent subjects relevant to the
overall theme. Several of these have a distinct author. Be creative
when you log your find so as not to give away too much of the
theme, but obvious enough for someone who has solved the puzzle and
seen the cache container to identify your reference. Each
successive logger should attempt to add one new reference so that
over time the successive logs cover all the hieroglyphics and
authors. Bring a camera or notepad when you go out in the field.
You may have to do some research after you get home before you can
make a log that meets this challenge. If you decide not to meet
this final challenge, just say so in your log.
A = The only number that can be formed out of
the letters of the 17th alphabetically ordered element.
B = The only number that can be formed out of the
letters of the 20th (or 21st) alphabetically ordered element.
C = The sum of the two different numbers that can
be formed out of the letters of the 29th alphabetically ordered
element.
D = The largest number that can be formed out of
the combined letters of the 31st and 33rd elements.
E = The number of elements that can be formed from
the letters: "DRFEYNMAN".
F = the alphabetical order of the one element that
when spelled backward could also have been used as an element of
this puzzle.
G = The hidden number encoded in the
sentences.
North: 42
C + F - E
(D * F) + (A + B + C + D) + (G * G)
West: 071
A + C + D
(G * G) + E - D
The answer to the question: "What’s new?" is one of the
adornments on the cache and is explained in the cache
logbook.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.