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April Fool Virtual Cache

Hidden : 2/9/2003
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   not chosen (not chosen)

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Geocache Description:

This is a historical, multi virtual cache. Take your time and enjoy the area. Be careful and park well off the road.

An awesome event started on April Fools day in 1946 with an earthquake at about 1:30 A.M. on the ocean floor off Alaska. Twenty-seven minutes later nearly 18,000 feet beneath the Pacific, a huge segment of the steep Aleutian Trench wall collapsed producing a Tsunami. At 2:18 a.m. the Scotch Cap Lighthouse, a 60-foot tall reinforced concrete structure, 92 feet above the sea, collapsed and slid into the raging ocean when tons of water swept over it, taking five Coast Guardsmen with it.

It wouldn’t be until just before 7:00 A.M. that a beautiful place in Hawaii would realize the effects of that event many miles away.

To better understand the magnitude of this day, start at the above coordinates and look for a yellow item of safety with a raised date on it. Now, lets do some homework for school. Add 5 to the two middle numbers of the date you just discovered and subtract your answer from the last three numbers of your present north latitude. Next multiply the two middle numbers of the date by 5 and add the sum of the first and last digits of the date to your answer. Place a decimal point to the left of your answer and subtract it from your present west longitude. Congratulations! You now have your the new coordinates to your next stop.

As you proceed to your next location, drive slowly and enjoy the magnificent vistas. Your new coordinates should take you to the top of a set of stairs, where you would normally hand your homework to your teacher. But, where is the teacher and the school? Look to the ocean and just in front of you is the foundation of your teacher’s cottage and to the left the remains of the restrooms. Now might be a good time to take a seat on those steps and ponder what happened at this place and who has walked these steps. Take your time and try your best to create in your mind the events of that morning so long ago.

From where you are, look easterly or take a compass heading of 100 degrees and walk the about193 yards across the grass to a small hill. This is your final destination. Look at an item that reflects the memory of that day and note the name and age of the youngest person recorded. To verify your successful history lesson, E-mail me your findings. Unfortunately, many people who were told of what happened that morning, perceived the story to be an April Fool trick.

Stay a little longer and enjoy the rugged beauty of this place and reflect on its tragic history. For more information, visit the Tsunami Museum in Hilo, or pick up the book “Tsunami!” by Walter C. Dudley & Min Lee.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ynhcnubrubr Cbvag Uneobe

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)