This is a very popular recreation area in Bolton and Harvard. There
are a lot of nicely maintained trails, meadows, woods, an old
orchard, two ponds (skating allowed, but no swimming). Parking is
in a large lot at the end of Flanagan Road in Bolton (a dead-end
off of Harvard Road). You are likely to see non-geocachers out
walking their dogs, horseback riding, birdwatching, or picnicking
by the pond.
There's a trail map at the bottom of this page.
There are several possible ways to go about searching for this
cache:
(1) Four-stage multi method: The first waypoint is at
N 42° 28.016 W 71° 36.364. (For the most scenic walk to
waypoint 1, follow the main path around the larger pond, and then
follow your GPS. There is a slightly shorter more direct route
through the meadow, but it is much less picturesque.) Waypoints 1-3
each contain the coordinates for the subsequent waypoint. Hints for
each waypoint are given below. Total walk is about 2.3 miles with
this method. Please note: there are
several birdhouses throughout the conservation area, many with
numbers written on them. None of the waypoints
are in or on any birdhouses.
(2) One-stage puzzle method: You can skip the first three
steps of the multi and go straight to the cache. To determine the
coordinates, you'll have to solve the puzzle below. (This method
results in a much shorter walk, and the terrain rating drops to
1.5.)
(3) Easy kid method: If you're just out taking your kids
caching, and they don't like multi-stage caches or puzzles, the
first waypoint of the multi is a full-sized cache container and
will be set up as a kiddie trading post, stocked with kid-friendly
stuff. (It doesn’t have a log book. Doing just stage 1 and then
going home doesn't count as a loggable find, but if all that the
kids care about is finding treasure, they should be happy.)
(4) Other: "I don't like long multi-caches. I don't like
puzzles. I don't want a toy. I don't like searching for a cache if
I'm likely to be seen by dog-walkers, hikers, or bird-watchers.
Just give me the coordinates to an ammo can hidden in a chunk of
woods that no one ever goes to." Does this sound like you? If so,
you might want to skip this one entirely and head on over to
The Crabby Hermit, just a few miles away.
========================================================
The Puzzle (for option 2)
For the puzzle method, you'll need to solve the following series
of cryptic-crossword-style clues. Cryptics can be a bit baffling to
those unfamiliar with them. If you've never tried them, here are
links to a couple of sites with instructions and tips for solving
them:
Serge
Elnitsky's cryptic page
The
Atlantic Monthly's guide to solving cryptics
The "surfaces" of these cryptics are all somewhat
geocaching-related, although the answers may not have anything to
do with caching at all.
The coordinates of the final cache are N 42°
ab.cde W 71° fg.hij. The solution to each of the
following cryptics contains one letter that must be
translated to a number. (A-Z = 1-26; for values greater than
9, keep only the rightmost digit.) See conversion chart:
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
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
The ten letters whose positions are indicated by red boxes below
correspond to the ten unknown digits for the coordinates, in order.
(For example, the third letter of the first cyptic (cryptic
"a") will replace the "a" in the North coordinate, after it is translated to
a digit.)
a. Peaceful feeling found in
topographical maps (4) 
b. Still quite confused (5)
c. Clan hid bone in hollowed tree
(5)
d. Snags last of multicaches after
role reversal (5)
e. Cache with missing lid is a pain
(4)
f. Abused trade items were ruined
(10)
g. Onsets of FTF races involve
exploring nocturnally, defeating sleeping pals (7)
h. Broken eTrex put to use (5)
i. Sounds of shock as GPS goes
haywire (5)
j. Hits hills after trail head (6)
========================================================
Click thumbnail for larger trail map.
Congrats to GO$Rs for his speedy
FTF!