Accident Mystery Cache
-
Difficulty:
-
-
Terrain:
-
Size: 
(regular)
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
*** The following story is pure fiction. It is intended to humor and I would in no way even think of doing such a thing. Mrs4bms ***
ACCIDENT
She lay there with a smug smile on her face, it was finally over. After 16 years of marriage Mrs. 4bms was finally rid of her obsessive Geocacher husband. He had gotten what he asked for.
As told by Mrs4bms.
Some years back he came home from work one day and was talking non-stop about Geo-something or other. The proper term is “Geocaching” which breaks down to geo for Earth and cache for container. He quickly became attached to this hobby/sport where people hide stuff and then you use a “GPS”, stands for Global Positioning System, to go out and find what they hid. It’s similar to a scavenger hunt but uses technology to guide you to its hiding spot. Satellites send signals down to earth and the GPS triangulates your position and tells you where you are located using coordinates. Once you find this container, which can be large as a 5 gallon bucket or as small as a pencil eraser, you open it up and sign a log to simply say, I was here. Then when you return home you write a little story about your adventure online for everyone to see.
It was kind of neat at first. We would go as a family of 4, even taking the dogs along sometimes, to take a walk at the local park or hike at State Game Lands. Usually the weather was nice with something interesting to see or do along the way. The kids would pack a backpack and we would spend quality time together just enjoying the outdoors. The kids would get away from the video games, dogs would get walks, and I would get out of the house. It was great at first.
These “Geocaches”, that is what the hidden containers are called, would give you coordinates that you simply download to your GPS. You then navigate towards the hiding spot following a little arrow on the display. The display will tell you how far and give you some important information about the container you are pursuing. “D/T” is what they use to rate or rank a cache. D stands for difficulty, how well hidden it is or complicated the puzzle can be, and T stands for terrain. Terrain can range from underwater to a parking lot. The scale goes from 1 to 5 in half increments. Sometimes a hint is included to make the search easier.
After a few months of this new activity we had found most of the local caches. So instead of a short drive to Middle Creek, or State Game Lands #220 or #225 we would end up in French Creek or Mount Gretna. These are not bad drives for a weekend daytrip but the trips were starting to be weekdays and even on school nights. This continued to get worse and worse and soon we would head up-state or even out of state to just grab a cache. Vacations were being planned around where large groups of caches were located. We would sightsee based on Geocaching.
He started to go after these puzzle style caches. The puzzles would mostly be simple codes or computer tricks. But that was not a challenge enough for him. He would seek out these impossible puzzles that would take hours upon hours to solve. He would sit at that computer and just waste night after night. Then when he would finally solve a puzzle he would drive all over just to grab it. He once made me go along to Delaware and New Jersey in the same day just to get a group of caches first. This “FTF”, which stands for first to find, is all the rage in the sport. You just throw work, family, and responsibilities aside and go for it regardless of weather or distance. Completely crazy!
The situation took a serious downhill direction when he was introduced to “Extreme” caching. This is where some idiots hide these containers in pipes or caves. They put them on the sides of shear rock cliffs or waaay up in trees. You go out and spend serious money on climbing gear and risk your safety just to get a smiley. It’s called a “Smiley” because that is what you get when you find the cache. This little smiley face appears on the computer screen and then you keep count of them. Sounds like macho BS to me.
So after a few years of this obsession I was getting sick of, I tried to reason with him. I tried to get him to walk away, tone it down, or even just do it in moderation. He flat out refused. He had the nerve to say I was not interested in his happiness and being selfish. I backed-off and the nightmare continued.
Then one day while he was working, most likely sitting at his computer desk looking for new Geocaching challenges, I noticed a prong on my wedding band was broken. I took it to the jeweler and had it cleaned and fixed. When the jeweler handed it back to me he said I think you might have a problem. I was not expecting what came next. It seems some how your diamond has been replaced with a fake, its cubic Zirconium. What, was my immediate response. He calmed me down but I was fairly certain I knew what had happened. A couple months ago the mister had taken it to get cleaned. That very next week he came home from a shopping trip and had all this new climbing and rapelling gear. My diamond for gear? That marked the last straw!
It was time to get this nut out of my life. I created a crazy cache that required some stupid puzzle solving site, Rumkin I believe, and then climbing gear to retrieve. It was close to home and I just knew he would dive right in. After a few days he solved the puzzle and made immediate plans to go after it.
The following morning before work he told me that after work he would not be coming straight home. He had solved this difficult puzzle and just had to go get it before anyone else. I wished him luck and told him to be careful. Out the door he went with climbing gear in tow. Kinda funny how he didn't even pack a lunch for work that day.
Now I knew he would lie, cheat, and steal to be the first person to grab this cache. I doubted seriously he would work a whole day and go after work to find it. He would go to work and leave early just to grab this stupid cache. I was absolutely correct! I was watching him hike up the trail that very same day just before noon.
The plan was simple, gear malfunction or climber stupidity, either would work. I was leaning towards the stupidity; I did know him after all. He wasted no time getting setup and was making good progress when the accident occurred. He was about 50’ up when I sneaked in and untied the rope from its anchor point. With all those branches and rocks below it was over as fast as it started. Problem solved.
I played the grieving wife to a tee and no one ever suspected little Mrs. 4bms. The husband was addicted to Geocaching and just got sloppy and careless in his quest to be first.
So who wants to be FTF??
Thank me now, the husband wanted to make this a lot harder.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Crevbqvpnyyl V nffvfg cybggvat bhe nqiragherf.