SC County Puzzle Cache Challenge Mystery Cache
SC County Puzzle Cache Challenge
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A simple twist on the SC County Challenge we all know and love. This challenge requires you to find a Mystery / Unknown cache in every county in South Carolina!!!
When I first started geocaching my first find was a puzzle cache. Now that I'm several years and more than 1,200 finds in, my favorite caches as I look back were the puzzles and challenges. Problem is, there are not enough of them!!!
This challenge hopes to introduce other cachers to the fun of puzzle and mystery caches. After completing the SC County Challenge, I started looking to do the same thing with the puzzle caches. Unfortunately there were many counties that had no puzzle caches! I know, after 13 years of geocaching being around, how could there not be puzzles in every county?
So before I could create the challenge, I had to make it possible to do the challenge. That meant several months of work placing puzzle caches in counties around the state, which I finally finished. As of 2:45pm, May 24th, 2013, there is a puzzle cache in every county in South Carolina for the first time in history!!!
So, the challenge is simple - find a mystery / puzzle / challenge cache in all 46 counties in the state. Sounds easy, right? All caches in the state of South Carolina with the magic blue question mark icon count. Yes, this challenge cache will count for Orangeburg County once you have met the requirements for all other counties.
Of course, challenges need rules, so here they are:
Rule #1. PRIOR FINDS COUNT. The idea of this challenge is to get people to find more puzzle caches, and hopefully to encourage more placement of puzzle caches. It is not meant to give you credit for your past history of finds so you can get a quick smiley - where is the challenge in that? However, since it has never been possible to complete this challenge previously, I feel fairly certain that no one already qualifies. That said, special recognition will be made on this listing page for cachers who submit lists with only finds after the May 24th, 2013 start date.
Rule #2. I'm only one geocacher, and it is not possible for me to keep an eye on every puzzle cache in SC. If there is a county that loses its only geocache (assuming it is not one I placed, which I intend to maintain) please let me know. IF you are only missing that county's puzzle to complete the challenge, and there are no longer any puzzles in the county, then we'll substitute out a normal ol' traditional so at least you have a smiley in the county.
Rule #3. The listed coordinates of the puzzle cache are the coordinates to be used for determining the county for which the puzzle counts. The location of the final of the puzzle does not matter for this challenge.
Rule #4. Puzzles listed off the coastal waters of SC will be considered in the county with shortest straight line distance to the listed coordinates. For example, the SC Delorme Challenge (GCVG6Y) will be considered to be in Charleston County.
The tie breaker, if any is needed, will be the county line as shown in the South Carolina Delorme Atlas.
Geocachers that are willing to take this challenge on should post a challenge accepted note once they begin. Once you have your completed list you need to post it with your found log (or leave a note until you can do the search). Premium and Charter members should create a public bookmark list of their finds and post a link to it in their find log. Other members should list each county, the GC code and title of the puzzle cache, and the date found in their found log. The final is a large AMMO CAN located in Santee State Park and placed with permission of Brad Lane, Assistant Park Manager. The search for the final location would be a difficulty 1.5 / terrain 1.5 if listed normally - the above difficult and terrain ratings are reflective of the difficult logging requirements. The ammo can is full of puzzle related SWAG, so please bring your puzzle themed items to trade.
Last but not least, the FTF prize for this challenge is an unactivated Geocaching Puzzle Geocoin.
Good luck and start working on those puzzles!!!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Onfr bs n snyyra gerr haqre n trb-cvyr.