GCVN5T History Loves the Shade (Multi-cache) in California, United States created by Gitonyerhorse

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GCVN5T ▼

A cache by Gitonyerhorse Message this owner

Hidden : 4/25/2006

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This is an easy multicache that will provide a pleasant hike on a little used trail, beginning and ending with a marvelous view. Watch out for poison oak!

In 1913 Edgar Randolph Parker, aka "Painless" Parker (yes, he really had his name legally changed to avoid penalties over the advertising laws of the time) bought 300 acres of land in Saratoga and moved his family there. He rode the train from his own private depot (now gone) at the corner of Prospect and Rainbow.

The 14 room, 3 story mansion that once stood on the property had also belonged to another shady character in California history - Peter Hardeman Burnett, elected governor of California in 1849 and promptly resigned one year later, soon after California gained official statehood.

Parker's flamboyant and shameless self-promotion gained him much notoriety at the time, and his infamous "bucket of teeth" is part of an historical exhibit at the Philadelphia Dental College. He would practice extractions on the streets of New York and San Francisco with a brass band to accompany him, and would cue the band to play loudly at the moment the "patient" began to moan, then give the person whiskey to dull the pain. However, to give him some credit, he was the first advertised dentist, and he was the first, supposedly, to use hydrocaine, a predecessor to novocaine.

Peter Burnett came originally from Tennessee and became a lawyer, defending Joseph Smith and other Mormons who came under indictment. However, he was also a noted segregationist, and as a legislator in Oregon, proposed that all "free Negroes" be forced to leave Oregon, and if they did not, they would be flogged until they did.
Peter Burnett also wrote in his inaugural address: "Either a brilliant destiny awaits California, or one the most sordid and degraded. She will be marked by strong and decided characteristics."

But I, as a teenager, gave no thought to these two rather shady residents of the hill upon which I rode my horse. The mansion, long fallen into ruin, became a tack room, and was just part of base for a horseback game of hide and seek.

You are only walking into history as far as my own. From Stage One, the trailhead at the posted coordinates, you can park your car and stroll down a hill, past an oak tree where my first horse once, in a fit of pique, galloped madly under a low hanging branch, nearly ending my history and all possible futures at that point.
To reach Stage 2, check out the sign posted at the trailhead, and observe a ten digit number. Easy math (the only kind I know) will give you the coordinates for Stage 2.
Add the third digit to the seventh digit to get A.
Add the ninth digit to the tenth digit to get B.
Subtract the seventh digit from the eighth digit to get C.
Add the third digit to the ninth digit to get D.
Add the sixth digit to the tenth digit to get E.
Divide the fourth digit by the sixth digit to get F.
Proceed to N 37° 16.ABC W 122° 02.DEF

As you continue down the hill, you'll spot a nice place to sit and ponder and feel the shady past surround you. We called this spot "The Pit" and often rode here to escape the heat of the summer sun.

At Stage 2, you will see a signpost nearby with a yellow sign and a brown sign.
The total number of letters on the yellow sign plus 2 = VW.
Multiply the total number of words on the yellow sign by 30 to get LMN.
Subtract LMN from DEF to get XYZ.
The final is located at N 37° 17.0VW W 122° 02.XYZ
You are looking for a camo'd coffee container.