From the Mt. Soledad Veterans Memorial, 822 feet high above San Diego County, a 360-degree, awe-inspiring view stretches: South to panoramic views of San Diego, Coronado and beyond to Mexico, North to the University of California at San Diego and Torrey Pines cliffs and golf course, East to purple-hued mountains, and West to the Pacific waters at the shores of La Jolla. The Soledad Natural Park surrounds the memorial with wide-open grass areas, benches on which to rest and enjoy the sights.
One of the most interesting and disputed sites in San Diego is the Mt. Soledad Natural Park, located just East of La Jolla. The view is almost always spectacular. But for a number of years, the fate of the park has been tied up in the courts because there is a war memorial in the park that is shaped like a cross.
In 1989, in response to an atheist lawsuit filed against the City of San Diego, the various courts have ultimately ruled that the presence of the cross in Mt. Soledad Natural Park violates the no preference clause of the California Constitution. After years of litigation, appeals, property transfers, and ballot propositions, as of November 2004, the cross is set to be removed from its place on top of Mt. Soledad. It will leave behind 6 walls containing up to 3,200 black granite plaques honoring veterans who served our country in time of war. UPDATE: No longer updating the changes, see: "en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Soledad" for latest information on the history.
Partial timeline:: August 14, 2006, President Bush signs bill now making the land under the memorial, federal property. Federal park use fee may now apply ($3.00 parking?). UPDATE: August 1, 2006, Senate passes their bill, President Bush likely to sign it into federal ownership Monday, 8-14-2006 UPDATE: July 2006, US Supreme Court stays Federal Court's Order, Unknown if the Supremes will take up the case. US House passes bill to take over the park. UPDATE: May 2006, Federal Court has ordered the City of San Diego to remove the cross within 90 or pay fines of $5,000 per day. UPDATE October 2005: The Memorial was approved by the voters to be transferred to the Feds and that transfer has been ruled to be illegal.
NOTE: The cache is not at the published location.
Make a (way) point to come up to the memorial as soon as possible to enjoy this peaceful spot and a bit of history while the memorial is still intact. Logging the cache can be difficult due to limited parking and a sea of people. Hours are 7am - 10pm daily. Sunset is a very busy time. There are 20 parking spaces on top but if the memorial is busy, you will need to loop around and park in the 50 space lot down the hill about 600 feet away. All cache work will be within 550 feet of the cross and no bushwhacking is required. The theme is military and honor.
You must find 4 things at the memorial to be able to access this cache.
The first leg you are seeking was selected to provide you an overview of the memorial. There are a number of round concrete pedestals, each with a plaque set into the top which ring the entire memorial. How many pedestals are encircling the memorial steps? This number will be “a” in the formula.
The second leg provides you a close look at the granite plaques lining the memorial walls. In partiqular, the one in honor of Colonel Louis E. Shaw, USMC is your first to find. Find this plaque and touch the granite. Now touch each plaque going Northeast of Colonel Shaw’s plaque until you touch Captain Robert Harmon Frank’s plaque. Your touches equal “b” in the formula.
The third leg gives you an opportunity to read a little bit about how this memorial came about. As you walk up the stairs to the cross, count the large pedestals after you pass the flagpole. The result is “c”.
N32 50.[a+c+9]1
W117 14.[b-2]90
Before you go to the final location, be sure to make note of which American Legion Post of La Jolla founded the Mt. Soledad Memorial Association in 1952.
You can check your counts and math to confirm the final coordinates on GeoChecker.com.
The cache is currently a small container and no longer related to the military. Downsizing was necessary due to the many caches now in the vicinity and limited hidey hole options.
The encrypted hint is much a spoiler, so don't decode it before giving yourself a shot to find it. Without the various hints, this is a 2.5 to 3 in difficulty.
***** Historical information Only Below *****
NOTE: 2016: Muggled and replaced again. Now to the third leg, the cache itself. You are about 400 feet away at the moment and will be looking for a camo'ed "8x8x3 container" once you are VERY close. It should not be visible unless you are within a foot or two if it was re-hidden correctly. A walking or snake stick is helpful for this cache. The cache's location allows a reasonably muggle-free opportunity even on the busiest days but watch for folks coming up from the south. Highly suggest you take the cache away from the hide while you examine and log it. A concrete bench is close by but is in view of most of the visitors. There are areas south of the hide which provide better cover and access.
NOTE: The cache is close to another one, so it can be confusing.
***Note: Cache was muggled and MIA in the Summer of 2011 and also July 2006 as well as between March and April 2005 and replaced with only cache sheet and new logbook.*** Original cache was small cammo ammo can stocked with: 10-$1 bills for the donation boxes, Korean War bumper sticker, flag decals, USMC dress jacket brass buttons, key chains, military rank insignia, plastic clamps, and money clips.