Where is Fangorn Forest???
“Fangorn lies to
the northwest of the Tower of Men. Shaped like a quercus leaf,
there are many entrances but few exits for those unwise enough to
enter unprepared.”
“Set forth with
the south wind firm against your back. You seek one bent by
Saruman’s will. Look to the scaly one to guide
you...”
The above words were the opening lines of the decoded message in
The Two Towers - Fangorn Forest. These words and the 'maps'
provided were the only means of navigating to WP1 of St Ouens
epic.
Very few people ever learnt the secret of Fangorn Forest and
where it could be found. Prior to June 2009 its location was hidden
within this first puzzle of the cache ‘The Two Towers –
Fangorn Forest.’ After this time co-ordinates were added but
still few ventured into the forest’s depths.
We entered the forest on 8 August 2009 carrying our GPS turned
off in our pack determined to navigate through Fangorn using only
the clues and maps provided as had those who had gone before us.
That afternoon provided us with a great adventure and one of the
best caching days we have had.
We were sorry to see ‘The Two Towers’ had been
archived. We revisited Fangorn Forest recently for ZorkV’s
new ‘Bush Waterfall’ cache
GC2NA7P which is very close to the location of ‘The Two
Towers’ final. Having explored Fangorn again we can
understand the reason for the archiving. The city council has been
busy in the forest “Permanently “ closing many
secondary tracks. These include the one leading to WP1 and another
to the final hide, as well as other tracks that were important to
navigating your way around Fangorn Forest. WP3 was always in an
area of wilderness – if there ever were tracks here they are
long since overgrown.
The location of WP2 however remains easily accessible on the
side of a popular walking track. We have reused this hide for the
placement of our tribute to St Ouens epic cache. We are keeping the
same poetic hint as for the original:
“When down the
steps you do descend
Its time those knees to start to bend.
No need to cross the water here.
Turn back and spy the tree in fear.
Its mouth agape is worth a look.
For deep inside is what you seek.”