Park City was founded originally as Parley's Park then became Park City in 1872, finally incorporating under that name in 1884 as a mining town after the discovery of a large vein of silver ore. For many years it was a mining boomtown. For entertainment, the miners would ski down the snow-laden hills. In 1947, the first ski lift was installed. As more mines closed and a large fire destroyed much of Main Street, the boomtown became a ghost town. In 1958 one of the mining companies opened Treasure Mountain as the first ski resort. It took many years for skiing to catch on and become a destination ski town and Olympic venue. You'll get to stroll through a bit of that history while doing this cache.
This cache follows the tradition of a fun style of cache begun in San Jose, CA with GCX3NT. I greatly enjoy this type of cache and wanted to create one of my own.
The posted coordinates are your starting point and the location of the parking. As of Fall 2017, they have started charging for parking. They are trying to keep cars out of the downtown area. The cost varies depending on events (e.g. Sundance). The recommendation is to park elsewhere and take the transit system which is free. Go here for more information. If you take the gree city bus into town, the transit center is about a block north of these coordinates.
The idea is to follow the pictures below like a series of breadcrumbs to the cache. The first picture is at the posted coordinates. You can see where I stood to take each picture from the previous. Many times you can actually see the object in the next picture from the previous spot. Of course, because the pictures are extreme close-ups, you may not know it until you get closer. Other times the picture may be of something on the face of the building, so you will have to look on it rather than just at the objects sticking out from it as you walk down the sidewalk. The pictured objects can be up, down, or way up. There are also enough pictures that you can safely miss finding some and still follow the path.
Completion of this cache should be about 30-45 minutes absolute max, if you are focused on the cache. If you get distracted by all the shops, restaurants, historic sites, star watching, etc., you better plan a day. Either way, have fun and enjoy your tour of Park City's Main Street.
The pictures under "Photos" in the Official Geocaching app. It and most other caching apps usually display the pictures in order. I have had a couple of reports of that not being the case. Could have been a glitch; could have been user error. Just to be safe keep an eye on the image name. They are named Main St and numbered 00-49. 00 = staring location 49 = the cache
When you get to the final, release the latches and keep a hand on the lid. Please be sure to get everything back inside and the latches are secure as you close it. If it's not closing, don't force it. Rearrange the contents and try again. Every cacher deserves to have the same experience from the FTF to the thousandth to find. It's up to you what kind of experience the cacher that follows you will have.
SUNDANCE CAUTION: If you attempt this cache during Sundance Film Festival, please be aware that many of the buildings are given false facades and signs are covered with banners. Because I provided many more pictures than needed to follow the path, I think it could still be done. The difficulty may go up a star.
HAVE FUN!!!
Congratulations to rerb on the FTF!!!
Main St. Park City is a historic district. It took a considerable discussion with members of the city's government to place a regular sized cache here in a manner that would not harm the historic look and feel of the area. Many thanks to all who were involved in that process.