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GCQ840

Unknown CacheBack-words at the Top of the Hill

A cache by Lovejoy     Hidden: 8/21/2005

Size: Size: Small (Small)     Difficulty: 3 out of 5     Terrain: 1.5 out of 5 (1 is easiest, 5 is hardest)


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N/S ? ??.??? W/E ??? ??.??? 
In Washington, United States

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I am sure that I will be repaid for this bit of evil, but I couldn't resist on my puzzle cache debut. Go ahead and take a stab at it, but don't say that I didn't warn you before you stew over this word sleuthing challenge.
EraSeek created a palindrome cache for words that spell themselves both backwards and forwards (like racecar or FTF), and Grossi (that word diva) created an anagram cache. Camp Latona has 2 Scrabble caches. I even saw an archived cache titled 'Damon, a Nomad' that caught my attention. However, I have not yet seen a cache that incorporates one of my word fascinations - English words that spell OTHER English words in reverse - such as raw, stop or bonk. So far, I have a list of 116 of these 'back-words', and after many an edit, I have placed several of them here for you.

To find the coordinates for this cache, you will have to count the number of back-words in this listing. Here are the guidelines:
1) Each word only counts once, even if it is spelled forwards in another spot or repeated.
2) True palindromes do not count - if the word spelled in reverse spells itself - it will not be used in the count.
3) In order to simplify, I am not counting proper nouns that spell other words (such as Liam, Ned, Pam, or Wes), or acronyms (like DNA.)
4) I only count words that are greater than 2 letters in length (so 'no' does not count.)
5) I avoided any questionable words that while valid, are not common.
6) Only my portion of the listing counts.

If you get too stressed, remember to reward yourself later by taking pictures of the view. Note that the posted coordinates are not for the place where this cache is hiding, but rather a nearby stellar Seattle viewpoint (and while you're there, you might as well get credit for the virtual cache: GC62C8.)

The original cache is full of loot, such as a 2005 Alaska Geocoin (for FTF), a Gecocaching.com decal, and lots of small polished stones, so that may help to motivate you. Oh, and the tip may need to be decoded after it's decrypted. Get mad, yap all you want - I'm not changing it. I will however retool the cache coordinates as necessary based upon your feedback.

Coordinate Clues:
A) What is the most common word length?
BC) How many backwords are there according to the rules above?
DEF) How many total letters are in the backwords list?
G) How many letters are in the longest backword listed here?
H) How many letters are in the shortest backword listed here?

I = B plus C
J = A times H
K = G minus F
L = C plus D

The cache is hidden here:
N 47 HI.JAD W 122 BB.EKL

The cache is located less than a mile away in Queen Anne, and while there are (amazing) houses around, it is not on private property, does not require digging, bushwacking, playing in the street, taking candy from strangers, or roof exploration. If you would like to confirm your coordinates with me, simply send an alphabetized list of the words that you have found (as they appear in the listing - forwards) with one word on each line.

 


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Additional Hints (Decrypt)

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)

chmmyr: yvfgvat vapyhqrf gvgyr, fubeg qrfpevcgvba, naq ybat qrfpevcgvba.

pnpur: qangf av gabes sb ggbpf qan upnre erib.(Decrypted Hints)

Find...

Logged Visits (80 total. )

Found it61     Didn't find it5     Write note9     Temporarily Disable Listing2     Enable Listing2     Publish Listing1     

Warning. Spoilers may be included in the descriptions or links.
Cache find counts are based on the last time the page generated.

 January 26 by gandsbr (242 found)
I missed a couple of them on the first and second perusals; it's easy to do, at least for me. Fun puzzle. Always great views up there. tftc!

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 January 21 by PetePulliam (185 found)
SL, left dice and TB. TFTC

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 December 10, 2009 by dkpatterson (72 found)
Great puzzle, thanks! The sunrise was also great this morning! TFTC!

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 December 7, 2009 by Red Blackberries (267 found)
Great puzzle. I found the correct coords even though my list was one word short no matter how many times I counted...then I looked at the hint. Aaahhh.

On a clear December day, the hide was a chance to enjoy the sun on the water and the Christmas decorations on the posh Queen Anne houses nearby. I should have brought a regal lager while I checked out the view! Instead all I had was a, um, faced decaf.

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 November 8, 2009 by duckstar2000 (139 found)
Good puzzle. Thanks for the hide! Took Whistler Tbug.

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Current Time: 2/10/2010 12:40:32 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (8:40 AM GMT)
Last Updated: 1/26/2010 11:57:12 AM (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (7:57 PM GMT)
Rendered: From Database
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum


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