Historic Trail to the Top of the Rock Multi-cache
Historic Trail to the Top of the Rock
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A big congratulations to sigmanu1896 for the FTF! I am extremely happy you enjoyed the cache and thanks for the great log entry.
If you ever wanted or even needed another excuse to hike the trail to and from the top of Stone Mountain, this cache is for you. It may look like there are a lot of stages, but don't think of them as hard work. Instead, think of them as resting spots along your way to answer a simple question about each area..
The final cache container is located somewhere on Stone Mountain not far from your travels along this historic trail. You will be visiting a few areas with historical significance.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THE TRAIL IS SLIPPERY WHEN WET ESPECIALLY ON THE UPPER HALF OF THE HIKE!
You can start your journey either at the top of the Mountain, or at the bottom near the start of the trail. The choice is yours. I have placed the stages in the order of starting at the top of Stone Mountain for "Iconic" purposes. If you would like to start at the bottom, WHICH I WOULD RECOMMEND DOING, just reverse the order of the stages.
STAGE 1
The posted coordinates will place you at the WGTV TV tower on the top of the BIG ROCK.
NOTE: You no longer have to visit this spot. The FCC License number for the tower can no longer be found since the old analog TV signals have been shut down. Therefore, variables A,B, and C are no longer needed to find this cache.
STAGE 2
Now walk over to the covered viewing area at N 33 48.330 W 084 08.763. This was once the site of a tall 8 level research tower that was used by the local universities and A NOAA weather station radio transmitter. That transmitter is now located on the main WGTV transmission tower. It broadcasts on a frequency of 162.55 MHz. The structure was taken down when the entire facility up here went through a massive redesign and rebuilding in time for the 1996 Olympics. A new skylift was also installed. At the same time, the reflection pool was removed along with the old theater. At this stage, walk over to one of the distance viewing devices. You will find a small plate on this object that contains some information on where it was manufactured. Take the last 3 digits of the ZIP Code and place then into the variables D E F.
D E F = last 3 digits of the zip code.
STAGE 3
Move on to N 33 48.375 W 084 08.871 where you will find a power pole. Since the power poles up here are somewhat close together, you are looking for the one down hill from the pole with some large metal boxes mounted on it. The equipment in those boxes use to be housed in the research tower that once stood on top of the mountain. I am told that they house monitoring equipment for Georgia State University. The other box I am told contains a radio repeater that local authorities use to keep in communications with each other. On the power pole, you will find a 5 digit number. Take the last 3 digits and place them into the variables G H I. G H I = last 3 digits found on the power pole.
STAGE 4
At the next stop, located at: N 33 48.433 W 084 08.996, you will find handrails used to give hikers a place to grip on this fairly steep climb on the mountain. Count the number of VERTICAL poles on both sides. You will come up with a 2 digit number. Place the numbers into the variables J K. J K = total number of vertical poles on both hand rails.
STAGE 5
The coordinates, N 33 48.448 W 084 09.067 will take you to a mysterious object close to the half way point on the trail. I have climbed on and all around this rusting object. My guess is that this large gray object is either an old water pumping station used in granite mining back in the day, or was used as a water filtering station. You will see a 6 inch water pipe leading from the pavilion/rest area to the West side of the object. It leads into an 'L' shaped pipe fitting that converts the water line from a 6 inch to a 12 inch fitting. You must count the bolts that hold the pipe fitting into place at the 12 inch side of the fitting. Place that number into the variable L L = Number of bolts used to connect the 12 inch side of the fitting.
STAGE 6
The next stage located at: N 33 48.613 W 084 09.481 will take you to a date and names carved into the granite. Look for H C Haynie who most likely was the person that carved his name here back in the 1800's. The year can be found to the left of H C. Below his name, you will find B H Yeal. Many granite miners over the years used their mining equipment to etch their mark into history on this trail. As you walk along the trail, keep an eye out for the many names and graphics that appear here. Some of them are quite elaborate! Take the last 2 digits of the year that H C Haynie carved in the granite and place them into the variables M N
M N = Last 2 digits of the year found to the left of H C Haynie.
STAGE 7
Elias Nour was somewhat nuts in my opinion. I can say this because from what I read about this amazing man, I think that I am related to him because he sounds as crazy as me.
He was also a local hero back in the 1940's and 1950's. Elias was a rescuer of many people that got stuck or got hurt on Stone Mountain. He was also a stuntman that attracted many people to this large chunk of granite. He was responsible for performing climbing stunts and also put on shows by rolling off burning cars from the top of the mountain in front of where the carving is today. Elias Nour even has a street named after him here in the city of Stone Mountain. The street can be found starting at the West entry gate of the park. Old Highway 78 once ran right in front of where the carving is today, before the area became a State park. At the coordinates: N 33 48.610 W 084 09.498, look for the spot that Elias Nour carved his name into the granite. Below his name, you will find 2 letters. Take the first letter and covert it into a 2 digit number by counting what place in the alphabet it is located in(a=1, b=2, c=3,...z=26), and place the 2 digit number into the variables P Q
P Q = the 2 digit number converted from the first initial/letter found under Elias Nour's name.
STAGE 8
Walk over to the coordinates: N 33 48.625 W 084 09.548 where you will find an emergency call box. What call box number is this. Now Subtract 2 from that number and place it into the variable R
STAGE 9
At the next coordinates: N 33 48.607 W 084 09.587, how many flag poles do you see? Place that number into the variable S.
S = Number of flagpoles found at this stage.
STAGE 10
If you start your journey at the bottom of the rock, you might want to think about using these facilities located at, N 33 48.634 W 084 09.707, as it is a long walk to the next closest one. In front of this building, you will see some water fountains. How many water fountains do you see? Place that number into the variable T. T = Number of water fountains found at location.
STAGE 11
Here at: N 33 48.672 W 084 09.710, you will see a marker telling you a little bit about the Blue Star Highway. Both sides of the marker are identical. Count the total number of words found on this marker on ONE SIDE ONLY. Count every word, including the ones not in the main context of the document. Place the 2 digit number into the variables V W
V W = 2 digit number of the total words found on the marker.
Now that you have collected all the information along the many resting spots, use the following to calculate the location of the final container.
Final is Located at
North 33 48.(R)(G)(T+K)
West 084 0(L).(M-P)(V)(S+E)
PLEASE REPLACE THE CACHE IN THE SAME SPOT YOU FOUND IT IN AND COVER IT UP BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ng gur onfr bs n fznyy cbvagl yrns cynag.