If you like puzzles, this is a great place to spend some time. Inspired by Puzzle Street, this series was placed in recognition of the work by “islander 1988” on Puzzle Street. The series includes clues in the logbooks to find the coordinates of a final waypoint where the First to Find will find a tracking number to claim a hiking stick donated by “eastriver”. The hiking stick has a Puzzle Street theme and we hope everyone understands the intent is to promote that theme on behalf of those who enjoy puzzles.
The final way point to claim the hiking stick (not the caches) requires you to visit each of the first 10 caches in the series and record the value of the letter (A-J) recorded in each cache:
N44° AB.CDE W064 FG.HIJ
Congrats to Fundy & Valley (FundyRockHound and valley_girl_ns) for getting the FTF on (GC1HCQ5) NPT07: Bat Cave and being the first to complete the original ten puzzles.
This series of puzzle caches will not have any extra hints posted until an FTF is logged or it becomes obvious one is required by all. (Update: Hints posted for NPT01-NPT08, 4 Jan 09.) Some puzzles have hints and clues hidden/included that are not required to solve the puzzle but may be helpful if discovered. The posted coordinates for each cache are at the parking area. The number of coordinate digits hidden in each puzzle is not always 14 and the format could vary. Some of the caches are listed as micros but are hidden in more obvious larger items. Accuracy in tree cover is in the 30ft or 10m range in some cases. Most hides are easy with several being more difficult. Minimal bushwacking is required along the trail. The trail is multi-use and good for hiking, biking, skiing or snowshoeing. The bank along the east side can be steep in places so take care if out with small children. Good Luck!!!
Here is a short story to get you on your way:
As Treasure Hunter sat sipping his coffee and scanning the newspaper at the coffee shop, a stranger approached and passed him a CD. The stranger said, use your “puzzle street” experience on this and you’ll get along fine. Before he could ask any questions, the stranger slipped out the door and was gone. Treasure Hunter pocketed the disk and headed for home.
Once at home he stood at the desk and quickly placed the disk in his laptop. He found that it contained a picture and what appeared to be a cipher-coded message. Knowing it would take some time, he grabbed his stool and went to work in solving the first part of the puzzle.
Later, as he struggled with the cipher code, he heard a sound at the front door. Hoping that it was the stranger returning with a clue, he quickly went to check. But alas in his haste, he had forgotten to latch the door and the wind had blown it open. Taking this as a sign, he returned to work on the cipher with a fresh start.
You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.