GCYV08 I'll Have the Herring (Unknown Cache) in Oregon, United States created by ftzgrldjh (Adopted by GPT)

This cache has been archived.

GeoPreservationTeam: It is with sadness we archive this cache and the bonus, it's had a great run. Thank you to today's finders for retrieving the container, and for all who have found it over the years.

GCYV08 ▼

A cache by ftzgrldjh (Adopted by GPT) Message this owner

Hidden : 12/1/2006

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

The posted coordinates are not the location of the cache (but it's just a couple of minutes away). This cache is inspired by the great puzzle caches in the Portland area. Not only will you need to find a hidden set of coordinates, you'll need to distinguish the real deal from the red herring. Bonne chance!

Note: There are five red herrings plus the real solution. So, you will find six sets of coordinates.

Darned, if I don’t have one of these relatives, too. Every cacher seems to. Coming with thousands of other Irishmen, my great-uncle Jamey McNorth emigrated to the United States after his parents died during the potato famine. Uncle Jamey was 12 at the time.

Paulus Hook is a section of Jersey City, New Jersey where most of my family settled when they reached the New World. Leaving the family behind, Uncle Jamey struck out for the open spaces of the west. Beginning in the early spring, Jamey decided to seek his fortune in Oregon. Danger followed him every step of the way. Six months later he found himself on the banks of the Willamette River. Jamey had arrived.

I know all this from letters Great Uncle Jamey left behind and a musty old journal of his I found in the attic. It’s hard to convey the sense of accomplishment he felt the day he arrived in Portland. His prospects, however, were not good. He’d worked his way across the country doing odd jobs but had little in the way of education and experience. But a fateful accident changed his life and his luck.

Jamey was walking in town one day when a strong gust of wind blew the hat from his head. That hat being one of his few earthly possessions, Jamey was eager not to lose it and ran into the muddy streets. He was nearly run down by a farmer’s wagon. The farmer was in a fit over the near miss and gave young Jamey a tongue-lashing that was not soon forgotten. But as the farmer started to calm down, he began to realize the straits Uncle Jamey was in and brought him home to live with him.

And that’s how my Uncle Jamey began his long association with Franz Muller. Franz was born in Germany but had lived in the States for some time. He owned a successful farm in the Tualatin Valley and brought my Uncle Jamey home to live with him. Franz tutored my uncle in the classics, German, Latin, and especially Mathematics (although from the journal, it’s clear my uncle preferred a good adventure story to doing his sums). And, of course, Uncle Jamey had a full slate of chores to do around the farm. The years went by and Muller prospered. Profits on the farm were carefully invested and it was said that Franz amassed a large fortune. All the while Jamie stayed with him, eventually becoming a sort of business manager.

After a long and happy life, Franz took ill and the doctors didn’t give him long. Everyone expected his fortune to go to Jamey. He lived a comfortable life, my Uncle Jamey did, but never saw the fortune. In fact, no one did and people began to wonder if it existed at all.

Before he passed, Franz Muller assigned a number of strange tasks to my Uncle Jamey. First, he was told to saddle a horse and ride an equal distance west, south, east, and north and naturally found himself right back at home. He found a strange square of paper tacked to the door when he returned.

square

Then Muller asked Uncle Jamey to collect some debts and handed him a note with the names and amounts. Jamey found the addresses in the ledger book but, when he went calling, he couldn’t find any of the people he was looking for. He suspected these names were perhaps some sort of fictional identity.

stationary

The last assignment, just before Muller died, was the strangest of all. Muller handed Jamey a blank piece of paper.

white

N 45°28.080' W122°43.097'

The bulk of Muller’s estate was never found. Makes you kinda wonder what became of that loot.

P.S. Don't forget the bonus for this cache"I'll Have the Herring (Bonus Cache)."

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ng n oraq va gur genvy. Gur pnpur vf haqre n 5" qvnzrgre ba gur hcfvqr bs gur genvy arne n 3 gehaxrq gerr. Bar ovt fgrc naq n ybat ernpu fubhyq ybpngr gur pnpur. Cyrnfr xrrc vg pbirerq jvgu yrnirf.

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)

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

Note: There are five red herrings plus the real solution. So, you will find six sets of coordinates.

N 45°28.080' W122°43.097'

Attributes

Inventory

Bookmark Lists

I'll Have the Herring Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Watch

Geocache Description:

Note: There are five red herrings plus the real solution. So, you will find six sets of coordinates.

N 45°28.080' W122°43.097'

Attributes

Inventory

Bookmark Lists

Treasures