This cache is inspired by Shakespeare's tragedy
Macbeth. As I was exploring these woods, I came
across some very dense patches of pine trees. These immediately
made me think of Birnam Wood near Dunsinane - where Malcolm and the
other enemies of Macbeth gathered before the final battle to defeat
the tyrant. A synopsis of the play as well as the full text can be
found here. There have been many television adaptations and
even a few movie adaptations of Macbeth, but none have really been
noteworthy.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire
burn, and cauldron bubble."
(Act I, Scene I)
"Out, damned spot! out, I
say!"
(Act V, Scene I)
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a
walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon
the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot,
full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
(Act V, Scene V)
Like all my other Shakespeare caches, you do not have to read
the play to find the cache. But you will have to do a little
research on the web and a little calculating. Google Earth
and Geocalc will be very helpful in finding this cache.
The Puzzle
To find the cache, you'll have to find the original coordinates
of three locations mentioned in the play: Macbeth's castle in
Inverness, Macduff's castle in Fife, and Dunsinane. There is a
Google Earth placemarks file that shows you Shakepeare's Europe.
Let's say that locations in Macbeth were moved from old England to
New England. Now, if Macduff's castle was moved to N 42 35.214,
W 71 40.128, Macbeth's castle was moved to N 43 49.896, W 72
29.177, the cache would be found at the gathering place -
Dunsinane. Remember, you can use the cache coordinates for
parking.
I am always willing to give as much help as
needed to solve my puzzles. Puzzles are meant to be solved, caches
are meant to be found.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
Geochecker.com.
Please Note
- There are several ways to solve this puzzle and they may yield
several slightly different final coordinates. However, they should
all be close enough to find this easy hide.
- Although night caching is not prohibited, parking and much of
the trail is visible from private residences. So I don't recommend
night caching.
- Please stay on the logging road until you come to the second
barrier (several tree trunks) across the road to avoid trespassing
on private property.
- There are closer parking places, but you will either cross
private property or get very wet if you try to approach the cache
from anywhere else.
- The cache is a short, easy bushwhack from the trail.