Quantum Leap Mystery Cache
Snoogans: This one will be back... Some day.
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THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE COORDINATES LISTED! THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE COORDINATES LISTED! Don't make me come over there!! THE CACHE IS NOT AT THE COORDINATES LISTED!
In honor of Geocaching's first Leap Year and my first Geocaching Anniversary, on 3/1/2004.....
This is IT! The Holy Grail of cache hunts and for many of you, it will be personal.
(Think Stars of S.E. Texas to the ultimate extreme.) Like ParkerPlus' Stars, you need not trade. The locations and caches (More than 40 so far. All approved.) are gifts to my geocaching family and friends. I never met a geocacher that I didn't like.
It has taken nearly a year to set this experience up. Plan on spending at least half a day completing each leg of it if you draw more than one leg and have all the recommended equipment and supplies. (Most of the final hunts do not have more than three redirects.) Some could actually take weeks if you drove.
Expect about a 2 to 3 hour car trip (depending on how fast you drive) from the first secret "Dead Drop" redirect. The drop itself is a 1.5/1. You can see where you're going then and make plans to get there when you have time. All of the final caches are 5/5, because the scale doesn't go any higher.
There are some EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS, at the "Dead Drop," That will make your preparations for your find MUCH easier. (If there is any confusion after reading these "Dead Drop" instructions, e-mail me with your phone number and I will call you back A.S.A.P. Likewise if you are coming form a great distance or need advice on preparations/accomodations.)
It all begins quite simply. It begins with a code. The "Leap Year" offset substitution code. Quite similar to the ROT 13 used to encode hints, the "Leap Year" offset substitution code is as follows: A=L while Z=Z. That's all you get.
Use the code to decrypt the following coordinates for the "Dead Drop" (UPDATED 4/4/11): JKOSCSVKJDJYSCOYYJRVFMKDJSZYOKKJYSCOYYVYQSZYOKJDJYRDUYJRVFZYOKMKDJSSVKYDBCSZYOK
The coordinates you get from the drop will lead you out past the "Boonies" and beyond the "Stix." When "B.F.E." is well behind you, the coords will lead you to a place to park, on very overgrown private property, that I own. The nearest neighbors that I know of are 4.5 miles away.
As with all of my rural caches, if you hear banjo music playing somewhere, it's not a good sign.
Follow the long flagstone walkway into the woods to a set of beautiful stone steps, leading nowhere, in front of a pit, in a largish clearing.
The pit is actually the basement of an old house that burned down in 1977.
In what was once the back yard you will find a tree stump that is like no other tree stump in Texas. Push the stump over, on its hinge, and you will find a locked submarine style hatch. You will already have the combination to the lock from the "Dead Drop." (Be sure to conceal the base of the stump again when you leave.)
After opening the hatch, look just inside for a button with 2 lights (Amber and Green) next to it. Push the button once and the amber light will indicate that the underground space is being ventilated. You might hear a wooshing noise in the nearby woods and a barely audible hum.
When the venting is complete (About 10 to 15 minutes. Much less if recently vented.) The green light will come on (for 1 minute) and it is safe to enter. THIS IS NOT THE CACHE!
You will find a 14 foot wide, by 9 foot high, by 29 foot long subterranean room. Think of this room as a museum of late 20th century survivalist paranoia. NO trading. (Only the outlines of the weapons remain and most everything else is old and worthless anyway. The couch is a bit musty, but quite comfy. Don't pull out the Murphy Bed. It's totally gross with stains and I haven't had time to hack it up and remove it.)
You will find what you are looking for in the filing cabinet next to the stainless steel chemical toilet. (DON'T use the toilet. Use the woods if you have to go.)
All the envelopes inside the filing cabinet are sealed. Do not take an envelope with an individual's name on it, unless it's yours. These will give you your final list of supplies/equipment needed to complete your hunt.
There are several generic envelopes as well, for people I don't know, or haven't assigned a specific hunt. These hunts each have an enigmatic title (I.E. Leap of Faith, Davy Jones Locker, Chunks of Meat, etc.) and the list of equipment/supplies and an estimate for completion time printed on the outside, so you can decide which you are more suited for and plan accordingly.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Offset code word spoiler: Yrnc Lrne. Qhu, unir lbh rira frra Wrbcneql? Jung qbrf "_" zrna?
Dead Drop Spoiler: Lbh pna cnex jvguva srrg bs gur qebc. Ybbx orybj jurer gur pbapergr naq envy zrrg.