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RASH #8: Spring is in the Air Mystery Cache

Hidden : 3/30/2011
Difficulty:
2 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   small (small)

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Geocache Description:

This is a mystery RASH, multi-cache with 5 stages. The theme should be easy to determine. To lure more cachers into RASH puzzles, this one is composed of only 40 elements AND two sets of clues that result in the same set of answers. You need to solve the puzzle below to determine the starting coordinates which are within 2 miles of the posted coordinates. All stages should be findable under most winter conditions. Parking is a few hundred yards southwest of stage 1.

RASH Puzzle Rules: The clues are mixtures of components (words or syllables) that, when verbally replaced with appropriate counterparts, will integrate into answers that correspond to the puzzle’s theme.


  1. Relatives are like things. Apples and oranges are relatives in the fruit family; Cupid and Blitzen are relatives in Santa’s reindeer; Mars and Jupiter are relatives in the family of planets.
  2. Antonyms are opposites: black and white, will and won’t, now and then.
  3. Synonyms are different words with similar meanings: yellow and amber, cold and brisk, trash and rubbish, near and close.
  4. Homophones/homonyms. Homophones are pronounced the same, have different meanings, and may or may not have the same spelling: merry, marry and Mary. Homonyms have the same spelling and pronunciation but different meanings: bank (edge of a river, carom, or depository).

Here are a few explanatory notes to help you solve:


  • If you can get a part of a clue, you can usually reason through the twisted combination of “nyms” to get the whole answer.
  • Italicized words identify homonyms that are not exact, but close. For example, Won't-sweetpotatos might translate into Will (antonym of won't)- yams (synonym for sweetpotatos) resulting in Williams after translating the rough homonym. Such rough homonyms are denoted in italics to alert the solver to beware.
  • Hyphens separate partial word (usually a syllable) clues. For example, Grass-peacesign-gassy could translate to Hay (synonym for grass) - vee (synonym for peacesign) - airy (synonym of gassy) resultinfg in Aviary.
  • Multiple words with no spaces or hyphens constitute a single syllable or word. For example, dopeslap could be replaced by duh.
  • Underlined words or letters are not replaced; they are left as-is. For example, the remains untranslated as the in the answer.




Determine the coordinates from the following observations about the correct answers to the 40 RASH elements.


A = How many times the letter "J" occurs in all 40 elements.
B = How many times the letter "W" occurs in all 40 elements.
C = How many times the letter "C" occurs in all 40 elements.
D = How many of the 40 elements include a color.
E = How many of the 40 elements refer to a major US city or state.
F = How many of the 40 elements contain a geographic reference to a country or a continent.
G = How many times the letter sequence "apr" or "may" or "jun" occurs in the 40 elements.

North:
42
C + F - E
(B + D - A) * (E + F)

West:
071
C + D
(A + G) * D * (B + F - E)

A map of the area is provided at the trailhead in a can on the back of the conservation land sign.

You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.


Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gurer vf n uvag sbe guvf chmmyr va gur Genvavat Jurryf pnpur-- TP2M75R. Chmmyr: Ryrzragf #30 naq 31 ner ABG ersrerapvat n pbhagel. Pnpurf: Abg zhpu ohfujunpxvat vf erdhverq. Rnpu bs gur fgntrf vf orfg ernpurq ol fgnlvat ba gur genvyf hagvy lbh trg pybfr.

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)