WINTER NOTE: The last 30 feet to locate the final is
hazardous with ice or snow present. During the winter, the terrain
rating will be adjusted to 4.0. (Normally 2.5) I would suggest
winter cachers not seek the final alone and be prepared for steep
terrain.
|
Keychain similar to missing keys
(emblem is same, keys are different) |
The keys have been found! (But you can still search for
the cache to record a find...)
Within less than one hour of the listing being posted,
cache_test_dummies found the missing keys! He not only found
the keys, but was First-To-Find on the cache as well! You can see
his log as the first entry, and you can read the full story of his
find. Congrats to cache_test_dummies! He'll soon be receiving
his key recovery prize of $50 geocache -- that is, geocaching.com gear!
For historical purposes, I'll leave the below listing
unmodified, even though the keys have been found.
Even if you don't find the keys, you have the opportunity to log
a find for the micro cache I've hidden. For more info, read
on...
On 31 August 2004, I made a quick visit to Mine Falls Park to
take some updated photos for my earlier log entry of the
locationless cache for
birdwatching towers around the world. However, what I had not
counted on was that my quick 15-minute visit would turn into a
multi-day saga of lost keys...
I had initially found and photographed the bird watching tower
on an earlier visit to Mine Falls Park to get the nearby
Mine Falls cache. As a result, I knew exactly where to park to
keep my walk short, at N 42° 45.476 W 071° 28.418. This was where
my lost keys adventure started, and where your adventure will start
as well!
I then walked down the double-track canalside path to the
birdwatching tower, took a few pictures of the tower from on the
canalside path, snapped a few shots of Oxbow Lake from on the
tower, and then went down below the tower to take a picture looking
up at it. In all, I was at the tower only a few minutes. Visit the
birdwatching tower log to see exactly where I stood to take the
pictures.
I then returned directly to my car, and found that I no longer
had my keychain, including the only key to my 1970 Triumph TR6!
Where could the keys have gone? I must have had the keys when I got
out of the car, as I drove the car here! I searched the car
quickly, and then hurried back to retrace my steps to figure out if
I had dropped the keys somewhere. I searched all the way along the
trail, at the birdwatching tower, and below the birdwatching tower,
but they were nowhere to be found! I returned to the car, looking
carefully all the way, just in case I hadn't searched the car
carefully enough. I tried to figure out how the keys could have
come out of my pocket. My best guess was that when I pulled my
digital camera out of my pocket to take photos at the birdwatching
tower, the keys must have caught on the lanyard of the camera and
were accidentally pulled (flung?) out of my pocket. I searched all
along my entire path carefully, but to no avail. I then backtracked
over my entire route two more times, searching carefully at car,
path, and near the birdwatching tower, but all the searches came up
empty. After an hour and a half of looking, I was chased away by a
combination of darkness and an incredible thunderstorm during which
lightning struck a house only a couple blocks away! I gave up for
the night and had my car towed home. The next morning, three of the
Solid-Rock-Seekers resumed the search, but we still couldn't find
the missing keys. I've even contacted the Nashua Police twice since
then to see if the keys were turned in.
This mystery cache will have you retrace my steps of that day.
You will visit two waypoints and then a final. I have hidden a
micro container at the final location. You can log this cache if
you find the micro container and sign the logbook. Hopefully, you
will also find my missing keys somewhere along the way. If you do
find my missing keys, you win the special FTF bonus prize upon
presentation of the keys to the Solid-Rock-Seekers!
Waypoint 1: N 42° 45.476 W 071° 28.418 This spot is right
in the center of where my car was parked. (i.e. the center of the
rectangle formed by the four wheels of my car.) Look for a small
marker (smaller than a bottlecap) with the last three digits of the
coords for the second waypoint. (North coords first, then West.)
You may want to look in this area very carefully for the missing
keys in case I dropped them here when I was getting out of the
car.
Waypoint 2: Walk to these coordinates down the
double-track canalside path. The mystery location of the missing
keys could be anywhere along this path, so keep your eyes peeled
for them! When you reach the waypoint, look carefully for the final
coords. They are written on a small laminated card attached to a
man-made object.
Final: From where the card is at
waypoint 2, proceed down to the front of the birdwatching
tower (down the little path that is there) and the very short
distance to the final location, where the micro cache is now
hidden. The flat-topped object at the final marks the furthest
extent of my walk when I lost my keys. You'll know you're in
the right spot if you find the micro cache. When I lost my
keys, I proceeded to this spot directly from waypoint 2. I
then stood on the flat-topped object and took a photo looking
back up at the birdwatching tower. (See the photo to the
left.) Don't forget to sign the log in the microcache before
you keep hunting for the keys! (You'll need to bring your own
writing implement, there's no way a pencil would fit in this
container!)
My speculation is
that my keys were most likely lost either between (or below)
Waypoint 2 and the final, or possibly on the opposite side of
the double-track path from where I took the photo to the
right. The vegetation in the area is starting to die off with
fall approaching, so there is a good chance somebody may find
the keys. I wish you the best on finding both the cache and
the keys!
If somebody succeeds in finding the keys, please remember
exactly where you found them. I would like to be able to
place a regular cache container there if the keys are
recovered.
Note that it's possible that an innocent bystander may happen
along while you're looking for the keys, and ask what in the world
you're doing. I would suggest telling them that you're looking for
an acquaintance's lost keys... 