"Fit to be Found" is an easy puzzle cache that
my 9-year-old daughter and I walked in under an hour. It may take a
little longer if you prefer a liesurely stroll to a brisk walk. The
provided coordinates will take you over a picturesque covered
bridge to a parking lot near the Yellow Breeches creek. Here
you will find a sign describing the Stabler Fitness Trail.
Although the beginning of the trail is covered in packed stone
gravel, the majority of the trail is packed dirt, lightly mulched,
and is ideal for recreational hiking, biking, and nature
walks. Please, no motor vehicles of any kind are permitted on
the trail. If you enjoy a good workout, bring your jogging
suit...you won't be dissappointed.
Along the trail you will find twenty Fit Trail
stations describing various exercises that you can do along the
way. The exercises are numbered, and herein lies the key to
our puzzle. Find the numbers associated with the exercises
below, then use the key to determine the location of the hidden
cache. Whether you decide to walk the trail, bike it, or jog
it, cross back over the covered bridge to find the trail head or
follow the yellow breeches downstream to the Swinging Bridge, cross
over, then cut back along the trail to find any Fit Trail stations
you may have missed. Although you shouldn't need them (all
you really need is the starting coordinates for the puzzle cache),
I've provided waypoints to each of the Fit Trail stations for those
who like to track their progress as they go.
A = Hamstring Stretch
B = Leg Stretch
C = Side Lunge
D = Jumping Jacks
E = Vault Bar
The cache can be found near the following coordinates:
N 40° 9.ABC'
W 76° 58.DE'
At several places, the fitness trail will intersect with cross
trails. There is no need to turn left or right...please stay
on the main trail. Likewise, there is no need to crawl
through brush or climb up or down the slopes next to the
trail. The cache is easily accessible from the fitness trail
itself. While this makes the cache an easy find, it also
makes it more difficult to retrieve and re-hide the cache without
being seen. Watch out for Muggles traveling the trail and try
to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Please conceal the cache so
that it is not visible from the trail.
While the Stabler Fitness Trail is well suited for a family
outing, the trail is long enough that younger legs may tire and
portions of the trail have steeper slopes that will require less
experienced cyclists to walk their bikes. The easiest way to
return to your vehicle is to retrace your steps back the way you
came...but you may save some time if you work your way back to your
vehicle from the last Fit Trail station. Keep to the
sidewalks and parking lots and use your GPS to find your way back
to your vehicle. For those that are interested, I've provided
sidewalk waypoints marking the quickest return to your vehicle.
Enjoy the trail, keep safe, and have fun! And, as always,
if you take some swag, try to leave something of equal value.
For the first 8 finders: This
cache also serves as the launch point for a big cross-country
competition. Two teams have been training on the fitness
trail for a big race. Mario and Luigi (together with Princess
Peach and Daisy) have challenged Bowser and Donkey Kong (together
with Wario and Waluigi) to see which team can be the first to
collectively visit caches in all 50 states. Please assist one
of these eight characters to their next cache. Please leave
the remaining racers to be assisted by other geocachers. This
cache is packed to the brim, so please do not bring any large items
to leave until these travel bugs are out of the way!
Mario's Team
TB29WE7 - Mario
TB29WEM - Luigi
TB29WEG - Daisy
TB29WDT - Princess Peach
Bowser's Team
TB29WDM - Bowser
TB29WE2 - Wario
TB29WE8 - Waluigi
TB29WEH - Donkey Kong
For the first 4 finders: Four of
Mario's friends are also in the cache to see the teams off:
Toad, Toadette, Yoshi, and a second Mario. If you are one of
the first four finders, please feel free to take one of these
characters home with you as your FTF prize. Also in the cache
are a small assortment of other swag for those that follow.