There are several other caches in this area, some or all of which you may already have found. If you've already found them you may have a bit of an advantage, but not much as you probably neglected to note the number and the clue written on the inside back cover of the log book. That number is the distance to this cache. Now maybe the advantage goes to those who haven't found the other caches - they get to log multiple smiley faces on this hunt!
Alright, think about this: You find one of the other caches and it says ".75 mile" inside the back cover of the log book. Well, you could theoretically walk a three quarter mile radius circle around that cache and find the "More the Merrier" cache. That wouldn't be very efficient though, would it? And if you missed it you'd have to keep going around and around without much of an idea of where to look. The clue provided with the distance spec may help a bit, but it's only one of five clues.
Find a second cache, note the distance and clue in it's log book, and you'd theoretically have two places where the two circles intersect. (Now you know how your GPS feels when it can only lock into a couple of satellites!) Find a third cache and you should be able to figure out where the cache is. However if you're working with half mile (and larger) diameter circles the position error won't be favorable. Find more of the other caches and you should do pretty well as you fine tune the cache location.
So how do you fine tune the location? You could do some triangulation calculations at home and return. Or you could switch the "Go To" on your GPS from cache to cache and try to get all the distances to equal the distances you noted from the log books as you hike around. If all the distances match up and the clues make sense too you should be at the cache.
I guess doing it the mathematical way the number of stars for difficulty goes up, the other way the terrain difficulty goes up as you may be doing some bushwacking. I'd suggest marking the caches on the trail map as you find them, drawing intersecting arcs to find roughly where the "More the Merrier" cache is, then going to that area and doing the "Go-To" thing mentioned above. Or perhaps you could project an arc of waypoints on your GPS and look for intersections of these arcs? Just so there won't be any unpleasant surprises I rated both terrain and difficulty on the high end. Be sure to bring plenty of water!
So what are the other area caches? Here you go, click on these links:
HI EPE
Doggie's Day Out
Phileas Fogg Cache
Kid's Cache
invisible cache
Some of these caches are easier to find than others but several of them are so obtuse that their posted coords don't even show up as being close to the others - but they are. My thanks to the other cache owners for unwittingly participating in this. They may have a slight advantage in this quest, but they'll need it.
Hehehehe
have fun
Note: This cache location has been graciously approved by the Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve. As the Preserve has limited the number and the location of geocaches please do not place your own cache here without first contacting me for further details. Thanks.
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