-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(small)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
A 4-stage multi-cache in Santa Teresa Park, revealing some secret spots, but requiring little or no bushwhacking.
This 4-stage multi will take you for a short hike through some scenic parts of Santa Teresa Park and will reveal some hidden secrets. All of the caches are along a trail of one kind or another. Almost no bushwhacking (with your feet), back-tracking, or taking volunteer trails are required. All can be reached without taking more than a few steps off the trail or "trail." You can start at the park entrance by Heaton Moor if you want more exercise, otherwise, drive up Bernal Road. If you come up here by car, be sure to stop at 37 degrees, 12.869N, 121 degrees 47.347W first and pay your dues ($6). I was thinking of putting cache 1 there as a kind of statement, but decided against it. Do not bushwhack up to the top of the hill above the caches. It's a sheriff's office and mental health treatment facility. They won't appreciate people sneaking around outside their facility, and you could find yourself in hot water.
The first 3 stages contain coordinates for each successive cache. The purpose of the first stage is to make sure you start at the right place. Go to the trailhead nearby to plot your route. Stage 2 has the coordinates of the next cache. If you stop en route to the next stage, you might see a seasonal waterfall, which only occurs after a lot of rain. It looks like this: http://www.stpfriends.org/STP_News_1-03.html
Make sure you hide stage 2 so it is out of sight, but don't lose it. Cache 3 is a micro container containing the coordinates of cache 4. From there, don't backtrack or follow the straight line on your GPSr. Continue on down the trail until you reach a secret paved "trail," which leads down to the final cache. You should not have to worry about muggles here, though you are visible from the upper trail. You only have to take about 10 steps from the "trail" to reach it. There is actually a backup cache for the final. You can find either or both. After finding the final, then you can backtrack up to the main trail and either continue following it down to the source of its name or go back to the start. You can also continue on to the start of "O.W.L.1: The Hairy Plodder Trail" multi-cache (https://coord.info/GCQ7K7)
While the caches are not hidden in particularly hazardous locations, watch out for the usual hazards: poison oak, thorny plants, rattlesnakes, mosquitoes, spiders, bobcats, coyotes, wild pigs, mountain lions, etc., all of which are in this park. After scouting out the caches, I saw a snake on the main park access road (not a rattler, though). There were lizards and mosquitoes near stage 2. Stage 4 has some pokey plants in the area, but no poison oak (at the time). There are some steep drop-offs next to the trails, so don't let your kids go wandering off-trail. The main trail is popular, so watch out for muggles, particularly speeding mountain bikers.
Stage 1: clue-only, nano-size, backup clue location: 37 degrees 12.839N, 121 degrees 47.1704W. These may move somewhat. Stage 2: clue-only, cache 3 location Stage 3: clue-only, micro-size, small container with object with coordinates written on it. Stage 4: camouflaged decon container, backup: round container.
Update 7/30/24: Stage 2 had a rattlesnake in it. It was moved to a less snakey location.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Pyhrf:
1. Pyrnahc nsgre lbhe qbt (onpxhc: fvg naq rng)
2. Npbea-yvxr
3. Ohfu onfr
4. Unatvat bhg be va n uneq cynpr