This is a two-step multi. Be not daunted! Though it is a drive from
part one to part two, you can ALMOST see part two from where you
stand at part one. Almost. Durn trees and buildings in the way.
First you will visit the time capsule site on the Johns Hopkins
University’s APL campus. Come in through the main gate, which are
unlocked most times unless the campus is shut down. Don’t park in
the visitor parking lot; you will not be able to easily get back
out again. As you are only going to be here briefly, park in the
regular areas, grab the information you need, then boogie-woogie on
your way to site two.
As a side note, you might be interested in knowing that APL has
hosted a couple of interplanetary space missions (NEAR and CONTOUR)
and is currently the operations center for two more: MESSENGER,
launched in August 2004, and New Horizons, launched in January
2006. On board New Horizons there is a digital time capsule put
together by the Planetary Society. The New Horizons spacecraft is
scheduled to do a fast fly-by of Pluto in 2015. MESSENGER will be
doing several fly-bys of Mercury in 2008 and 2009, then settle into
a highly elliptical orbit around Mercury in March 2011.
Now, to the cache at hand! Once parked, follow your GPSr to
ground zero. First thing you need is to note the number of flag
poles that are at the monument. Denote this number to be A.
Next, on the description plaque, you will need to find three
dates in years. One of those years is when this time capsule will
be opened (will you be around for it?). You also need to note the
name of the Director of APL when the time capsule was set into
place, as well as the month noted on this plaque. Have all this?
Good. Now it’s time for a little simple math.
First, add up the number of letters in the Director’s last name.
Assign this value to be B.
Now, take the year that this capsule will be opened. Add the
integers together and subtract 2. This value is C.
Now, add the integers of the first year together. If you
come up with a two-digit final result, add those digits together.
If you come up with a two-digit final result again, add those
digits together. Keep doing this until you have a single digit
value remaining. Now, subtract 2 from this value and assign it to
be D.
Next, take the year in which this time capsule was set and add
those digits together. As above, if you come up with a two-digit
result, add the digits together until you have a single digit
answer. Add 1 to this and assign it E.
Finally, you have the month. Decide what month number it is in
the year (i.e., June is month 6). Set this valueto be F. Now solve
for G: F-A = G. You know, "G", as in Go find the cache!
The final cache, a camo'd magnetic keyholder with only a
logsheet, is at:
N 39*09.CDG
W076*53.BAE
Due to the proximity of structures, your GPSr may get reflection
and push you off, and is the only reason I rated this a 2.5
difficulty. If you use the hint (applicable only for stage 2), the
challenge drops to 1.75.
This cache was placed out on CCCooperAgency's birthday. She's a
timeless cacher, all in her own right!