Recommended parking is out near the intersection of Stunt Road,
Shueren Road, and Saddle Peak Roads. In the Summer (e.g., like the
day it was created), it's pretty hot out on the trail. Bring lots
of water! In the Winter, it can be cold here, especially when
there's a wind. It's not a good cache to do at night -- you'll need
to be able to see relatively distant objects to solve the puzzle.
There's some scrambling around on rocks, but nothing too scary.
It's suitable for adventurous kids. But, as always, use good
judgment!
Now, to start with, let's just get one thing clear. The ravens
you'll see playing at Raven's Roost are most likely actually crows
-- but hey, we're talking family Corvidae, and if we really mean
Corvus Brachyrynchos when we say Corvus Corax, who will hold it
against us? In any case, this adventure allows you to relive part
of the day spent by my friend Feathers T. Windlaugher.
Feathers started this day out, like every day, by flying around.
He had slept in the cedar-like tree up near the Topanga lookout,
breakfasted on half a sandwich the grafitti-spraying kids had left
at the lookout, then decided it was time to get flying. He caught a
few thermals, until he got bored, when he settled down at:
34N 05.555
118W 38.212
He looked around, and saw two rocks sticking up in the air
looking like two fingers.
Now you'll have to choose a number X based on the direction
Feathers was looking.
If he was looking exactly at one of the ordinal points of the
compass (North, South, East, or West), use X = 190.
If he was looking looking North-East, use X = 272.
If he was looking South-East, use X = 425.
If he was looking South-West, use X = 095.
If he was looking North-West, use X = 317.
Feathers thought the fingers were beckoning him, so he flew
around for a while, sitting on top of one, and admired the view.
But then he decided that they weren't beckoning after all, and the
wind might be better elsewhere. So he flew off, and flirted with
some of the other crows that were riding the thermals. After a
while, he settled down again at
34N 05.695
118W 38.X where X is the number from above.
From here, he looked again at the two finger rocks. To his
surprise, one looked like it had a frowny face on it.
Now you'll have to choose a number Y based on which rock has the
frowny face.
If it's the one to the right, use Y = 707. If it's the one to the
left, use Y = 741.
The frowny face made Feathers feel sad, and whenever Feathers
gets sad, he cheers himself up by thinking of the pleasant days he
spent in the nest when he was but a little baby crow. His nest had
been in a niche in a sandstone formation not far from here, and he
thought it might be nice to find a similar place to sit and regain
his good mood. So he flew off to
34N 05.Y (where Y is the number you chose above)
118W 38.351
where he could see a small cave in the nearest rock. He hopped
closer, only to retreat suddenly -- wild bees have a hive there!
(So be careful!)
Now you'll need to choose a number Z based on which way Feathers
was facing. From where he was standing, when he faced directly the
little hole / cave in the nearest rock, choose Z = -10 if his right
wing was pointing towards the ocean and the ridge with the antennas
on it, or choose Z = 10 if it was his left wing.
The bees made Feathers forget all about his bad mood, so he flew
off again. This time, there was a brisk breeze from the sea coming
over the ridge, so he practiced all sorts of acrobatic tricks:
Immelmans, barrel-rolls, Half-Cuban-Eights, and many others that
still lack a name.
Finally, he decided to land. And he landed where he keeps his
cache of shiny things. More specifically, he landed at:
34N 05.I
118W 38.J
Where I = 234 + X
and J = 224 + Z
Feathers' Cache started out with the logbook, pen,
glow-in-the-dark stars, an Aruba blinker, a pink ribbon pin, a
Starbuck's Gift Card, a Westinghouse Travel Bug, and possibly
various and sundry other shiny knickknacks that a crow might
gather.
