This is a puzzle multi-cache in which you will have to find answers to the clue questions below and use these answers to find the coords for the final physical cache location. The cache is located in the Big Woods Lake Recreation area in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Or as we locals affectionately refer to the area as....Big Woody. Hope you enjoy it!
The above coords take you to the parking lot of the Big Woods Lake Recreation Area. From there you will need to find the answers to the four following clue questions. Then take your answers and plug them into the formulas below to find the coords for the physical cache location.
The cache container is rather small, so bring appropriately small items to trade out. The original cache items include: A logbook (of course), a pack of red glow sticks, a 2 pack of punch balls, a brass match holder, and a WG$.
The clue questions:
1) Near the entrance to the parking lot is a large wooden sign with a year engraved on it. This four digit number we will call "A".
2) On the park shelter is a sign with a phone number for making shelter reservations. What are the last three numbers of this phone number? We will call this number "B".
3) About 100 feet or so EAST of the parking lot and a little bit SOUTH of the paved trail on a rocky point overlooking the lake is a bench with a plaque on it. The top line of this plaque reads "LIVE-LAUGH-LOVE". What is the last word on the bottom of the plaque? Use this chart to change the five letter word into a five digit number. a=1/b=2/c=3/d=4/e=5/f=6/g=7/h=8/i=9/j=0/k=1/l=2/ m=3/n=4/o=5/p=6/q=7/r=8/s=9/t=0/u=1/v=2/w=3/x=4/y=5/z=6.
This five digit number we will call "C".
4) A short distance further EAST of this bench is another bench with a plaque on it. This plaque/bench is dedicated to the Birdnow family in honor of a very special anniversary. How many years is the anniversary mentioned? We will call this number "D".
Now that you've answered the above clue questions, use the answers to find the final cache coords:
Latitude: N 42.(((AxD)-C)-(Bx2))+113
Longitude: W 092.(C+(B/2)+193)
This cache is kid friendly, although from mid-spring to mid-fall the undergrowth near the final cache may require an adult to blaze a trail. Also a high-DEET content bug repellent is highly recommended for as long as the little flying buggers are buzzing around. The winter months will be an easier time to go after the cache for these reasons.
Please take care in re-camoflagueing this cache, otherwise it may be pilfered. Also the final cache location has alot of year-round overhead canopy, so you may have to be patient with your GPSr while it tries to get a signal. [evil grin] Thanks and have fun!!!
3/22/05 Any "found it" logs without a logbook signature will be deleted. I do monitor my caches.