This puzzle is due to Richard Hess.
A perfect square is a number that is the square of an integer. For example, 4 is a perfect square (because 2 times 2 equals 4) as is 36 (because 6 times 6 equals 36).
There are 22 perfect squares that contain three digits. The smallest is 100 (10 times 10) and the largest is 961 (31 times 31).
Your job is to fill in the grid below, crossword style, with 13 different three-digit perfect squares. There is only one way to do this.
When you have found the solution, put the 25 digits it contains into the checker below. Enter the eight digits from the first row, followed by the nine digits from the second row, followed by the eight digits from the third row.
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
The cache container is a peanut butter jar. The posted coordinates, which are about 100 feet west of the Desolation Trail, are a good gateway from which to begin your search for the cache. An easy to follow but somewhat overgrown trail leads from the gateway (which will be the highlight of your hike) to within a few feet of the cache.
Congratulations to GeoPooch Sobachka for being first to find.