Skip to content

The Bleeding Fish - a night odyssey Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

koikeeper: Thanks to all who visited!

I am archiving due to the area being a maintenance nightmare with too many downed trees, deer trails overgrown and some turning into large gullies and many tacks & fish missing.

More
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

A night time cache on State Game Lands 234. There will be a mixture of clear wide paths and tighter wooded areas.
Generally, there is no need for bushwhacking although you may need to duck under a branch or two or straddle a log or so.

The Bleeding Fish is a Greek mythological creature. In the days of chariots and arena games, the citizens of Rome engaged in a treasure hunt similar to Geocaching. They called it parsnoofling. Using the suns rays and the shadows cast against the landscape they found their way through labyrinths in fields, deserts and bodies of water.

While their searches yielded little in the way of treasure, the reward itself wasn't the goal so much as the search itself.

It was told in many villages that the searches in waters were sometimes graced with the guide of the Bleeding Fish. It was said that a seekers quest aided by the Bleeding Fish was a gift from the gods.

The gift soon became tarnished by the ungrateful seekers and the Bleeding Fish disappeared, aiding the seekers no more.

Recently, the Bleeding Fish has been spotted again... in State Game Land 234. The Bleeding Fish now only reveals itself on land and only in the darkness of NIGHT!

Welcome to State Game Lands 234. This cache is a night time adventure. Your journey will begin at the given coordinates where you will find The Bleeding Fish pointing you in the direction you are to embark. The path you will follow will be made up of ORANGE reflectors. The trail could have some muddy spots, whether it has rained or not. You will be following some deer trails and the underbrush will probably be covering or reclaiming the trails. It might be a good idea to take clippers with you to cut it back (I'd appreciate that). This is hunting ground so you may see other white reflectors. You will ONLY be following the ORANGE reflectors. ORANGE, ORANGE... and only ORANGE. Sometimes (when the cover is somewhat dense) the reflectors will be close enough to see more than one. When the path is in more open areas, the reflectors are spread a bit further and in most cases not visible from one to another. The Bleeding Fish will point you in the direction you should go. If the Bleeding Fish is pointing in the left direction, you will need to go in that direction and so on and so forth. Once you find a red plastic fish with 3 orange tacks on it, you are within 35 - 40 feet of the cache.

The cache is a large 50cal. ammo can. Please rehide the cache as good as or better than you find it. Exiting the cache site you will find two orange reflectors on a few trees to help you get back to a service road trail. That service road trail will go back to the parking area. If for some reason, you miss the turn to get to that trail and end up by the road, DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT WALK BACK ON THE ROAD!!!!! It might be a good idea to have your gps with you to know where your car is parked.

Be mindful of the Big Hairy Creature known to roam these woods in the twilight.

Parking for this cache is at N 40º 15.264 W 075º 30.710.

Once again, this is on State Game Lands and there are hunters using this land, although, generally not while you are here for this cache. Regardless, treat the area and the inhabitants appropriately.

Permission for this cache placement was given by Doug Killough, Southeast PA Regional Director of the PA Game Commission.

Have fun and may the Bleeding Fish be with you!

5/2/10: Please note the Bleeding Fishes will either be a red plastic fish with an orange tack on it (at the beginning) or orange tacks shaped like a fish. Originally the fishes were all orange tacks. But for some unknown reason, the ones at the beginning kept disappearing. If the orange tack fishes go missing, they will be replaced with a red plastic fish. Hopefully the new ones will stay in place. Sorry for any confusion.

3/28/11: The Final Fish is now a red plastic fish with 3 orange tacks on it!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Qbjarq Gerr

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)