This cache is NOT located at the posted coordinates
A Tale of Two Bridges
Sister Spans; Side-by-Side for Almost a Century
One to carry the mighty smoke-belching engines of commerce; moving the "Stuff" of American life: the RAILROAD
Soaring across the sky 212 feet over the equally impressive, glacially-gouged North-South maritime byway known as "The River that Flows Both Ways", this is the East-West person-made conduit of industrial distribution bringing the effluence of New England manufacturing to....EVERYWHERE and returning with the Pennsylvania and Ohio coal that made it all possible.
A fiery shutdown in 1974 led to it being a dark hazard to navigation for thirty-five years ... then REBORN in 2009 as the venerable "Walkway Over the Hudson".
One to carry the everyday epitome of the American Dream: the AUTOMOBILE
In the 1920s, the only Hudson River crossings for automobile traffic south of Albany were the Bear Mountain Bridge and the Holland Tunnel, both still under construction.
Freedom of movement; diminishing the boundaries of distance! "AUTO" meaning self-actuated, "MOBILE" meaning, uh, "MOBILE".
Sister Spans; Side-by-Side for Almost a Century
The Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge; the Sister older by more than forty years and now New York's most oddly-shaped State Park. Once, the exclusive home of the biggest of conveyances; now, foot-traffic, bicycles and kids’ scooters. And dogs. With booties, cause, you know, that deck gets HOT in the summer.
The Mid-Hudson Bridge; once evaluated for a vertically-enhanced second traffic deck; a plan abandoned for an alternately-directional white-knuckle Rush Hour center lane to alleviate drive-time traffic congestion! At its opening in 1930 it was the sixth-longest suspension bridge in the world.
Partners in crossing the mighty Hudson River, serving two classes of mission.
"Tools of the Trade"
"TOTTs" are items that you MUST, SHOULD or MIGHT bring with you to hunt a geocache. For this one, there are three; one in each category:
- YOU MUST BRING a device to narrow your vision. In creating this cache, we used a simple soda straw. Our advice - bring a few different sizes and see what works best for you. We used the SMALLER of the two sizes featured in a nearby coffee/doughnut franchise.
- YOU SHOULD BRING a serious pair of binoculars. You don't HAVE TO, but it's a very strong recommendation.
- YOU MIGHT BE HAPPIER IF YOU BRING something like a small piece of cardboard or a pot holder or a towel, etc., no smaller than 6" x 6". What's this for? .......Can't tell you. Just picture hard, rough concrete, blisteringly hot in the summer .... and your knee.
Your search for this cache begins…
.......on both Sisters. Simultaneously.
Solving the Puzzle
At the posted coordinates, place your cachesight (Get it? I just made that up!) FIRMLY up against the “right side of the middle of three.”
IN THE SPIRIT OF THE CACHE, place a compatriot in the field of view. Yup, over there.
- If you came in from the West by car, bike or hiking the Rail Trail, go out to the road entrance for the Walkway's Pavilion and go DOWNHILL to Johnson-Iorio Park.
- If you came in from the East, look for directions to the “Loop Trail”. You can drive there, too, but watch out for Paid Parking Spots.
That other, younger Sister has two hundred and ninety-eight steel vertical support pillars connecting the deck to the suspension cables. Each of these pillars is numbered in pairs so there are two of each, and they're not all labeled. Strangely enough, the numbering starts at “0”, not “1”. That’s a hint, probably the only one you’ll get!
Your compatriot must find the NUMBER of the northern pillar in the center of your cachesight. This is your “TARGETED PILLAR NUMBER”.
Once again, in the spirit of the era of these sisters, we encourage you to resist the urge to use your cell phone. Set up Hand-Signals BEFORE you deploy!
- Your partner, on the Southern Bridge should:
- Bring a serious pair of binoculars to see your hand-signals. Make sure they use a neck strap! SPLASH!
- Wear EXTREMELY bright clothing to be seen by YOU; have them keep moving against the background of the bridge!
- Make sure they can be seen over the four-and-a-half-foot high railing.
- STAY ON THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY!!!! If you didn’t know there WAS a pedestrian walkway, now you do!
- YOU, on the NORTHERN bridge:
- Should ALSO be wearing bright, easily spotted clothing. If the Walkway is crowded, you need to stand out!
- Won’t be able to use binoculars at the same time you’re using the cachesight!
- Need to make sure that YOUR hand signals will also have to be seen above YOUR railing! Hmmm, maybe a flag of some kind? Now, THAT'S interesting!
See the illustration below: "A Guide to Accurate Pillar Selection".
(For those of you reading this on a GPS receiver or with no live connection to the web and the illustration, the vertical beam or 'pillar' must be CENTERED in your sights and must have its adjacent diagonals connect at the beam's apex.)
MAKE SURE you’re sighting down the CENTER of the cachesight! Signal them to go left, go right, THERE!
So where do they find the number? Have them gaze across the roadway and figure it out.
Once you have the vertical support's Pillar Number:
Meet back up to adjust the Posted Coordinates thusly:
- Longitude: Adjust ONLY the posted MINUTES: 56.717
- Multiply by 1000
- Add the Targeted Pillar Number
- Add the Highest Pillar Number on the bridge (Remember that hint?)
- Add 808
- Divide by 1000
- Latitude: Adjust ONLY the posted DECIMAL portion of the MINUTES: 638
- Subtract the Highest Pillar Number on the bridge (Again, remember that hint?)
- Add the Targeted Pillar Number, Twice
- Add 15
Use the "Solution Checker" below for verification.
And in the ultimate Spirit of this Cache, how cool would it be if you and your partner are Sisters?
Cautions & Warnings
- Remember, both bridges have visitation windows. DO NOT attempt this cache before 7:00 AM or after dusk.
- Also, some common sense MUST be applied here! Bad weather? NO! High winds? NO!
- Keep in mind that you'll be 135 feet up in the air on the LOW bridge, and I'D HATE TO READ LOGS ABOUT DROPPED CELL PHONES, GPS RECEIVERS OR BINOCULARS!!!!!
- The 'Difficulty' rating for this cache is based not only on the nature of the puzzle solution, but the high-muggle exposure of the final.
- PLEASE MAKE SURE TO RE-HIDE THE CACHE ADEQUATELY. HAVE YOUR PARTNER BE YOUR LOOKOUT!!!
An Important Note About the Coordinates
- The coordinates for this cache were obtained over multiple visits with multiple devices.
- Because of the conditions at both the posted & final locations, all measurements were collected and ‘averaged’; a common method of ensuring accuracy.
- What this means is that YOUR readings may be slightly different. It doesn’t matter! Use your Geo-Senses on both ends and you’ll have it in hand.
SPOILER LOGS or PHOTOS WILL BE SUMMARILY DELETED.
AFTERWARD, WE’LL INVITE YOU TO PLEASE RE-LOG YOUR VISIT.
