Permission for this cache has been obtained from the Quarry Hill Nature Center staff. Please note the below listed hours.
Nature Center Hours Summer June 1 – August 31 Weekdays: 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sunday & Holidays: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closed: July 4
Winter September 1 – May 31 Weekdays: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sunday & Holidays: 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Closed: Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 24, Dec. 25. Park and Trail Hours: Dawn to dusk.
The center is open to the public free of charge but donations are accepted.
This is a two stage multi. Stage one contains a field puzzle that you need to solve to get the coordinates to stage two, the final. Stage one is located INSIDE the nature center. When you walk in you will see the reception desk on your left. The friendly staff will direct you to the container. You will need ten to fifteen minutes to decode the message. You may use the library area if it is available or take it to the pavilion area just west of the center. Bring paper and a pen.
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, a primary author of the Declaration of Independence and, most importantly for this adventure, a pioneer in cryptology. He used a variation of the Vigenere cipher when sending messages to Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and also coded much of his correspondence while serving as George Washington's secretary of state (1790-1793). Thomas Jefferson devised an ingenious and secure method to encode and decode messages. This was known as the wheel cipher.
The wheel cipher or Jefferson Disk was invented by Thomas Jefferson in 1795 but did not become well known until it was independently invented by Commandant Etienne Bazeries, the conqueror of the Great Cipher, 100 years later. The system was used by the United States Army from 1923 until 1942 as the M-94.
Return everything as you found it before heading to the final which is within walking distance. Trust the trails. They will take you to within about 8 feet of the cache before you have to do some minor bushwhacking. There is a government issued portrait of Thomas Jefferson for the FTF as well as some other swag. Please take the time to totally cover the container. Have fun and be safe.