This caching adventure involves a 1.1 mile (round trip) hike on the State Parks trail system at Slikok Creek Park. You get to the park by turning on Endicott from Kalifornski Beach Road nearly across the street from the Cook Inlet Academy school.
The kids will also enjoy this hunt, but note that you’ll need someone “tall” in certain spots to get the game pieces.
When you’ve finished Stage 2 at the parking lot entrance, I recommend that you check the trail map posted near the trailhead before heading out to Stage 3 so you can get an overview of the trail system. It may come in helpful when planning your route between later stages of this course.
Most stages of this course require doing some simple problem solving. You will be asked to answer simple counting and math problems that reference objects in the park. You will need to be able to solve a couple very simple ciphers, but you will have all the information and keys laid out before you. It’s just a matter of feeding the code into the decoder using the proper key. The waypoints will almost magically appear before you. Note there are devices hidden out there that are essential to decoding the waypoints. Please reset/rehide them exactly as found when you're done as a courtesy to those who will work this cache after you.
The most difficult puzzle of the whole series is an easy Sudoku. A copy of this puzzle is attached below so you may complete this puzzle at your leisure before going out for the hunt. You do NOT have to complete this puzzle in advance as it is included on the instructions you’ll get at Stage 1.
Speaking of paper, once you have completed this cache, please properly dispose of the instruction sheet you picked up at Stage 1. Do not dispose of it at the Park where others may find the answers you wrote down along the way. I suggest keeping it as a memento of your accomplishment. At a bare minimum, sign it, fold it up and place it in the final cache container to become part of the cache history.
You MUST know how to operate your particular GPSr! To get the last waypoint of this series you will be asked to Project a Waypoint using a bearing and distance. You must understand how to create a waypoint by this method with your particular GPSr, so check the owner’s manual or ask a geocaching buddy if you are unfamiliar with this feature. (If neither of those methods work, shoot me an email with the make/model of your GPSr and I'll help you work through the process.)
Additionally, you need to understand magnetic declination and know what your GPSr uses to figure out directions. In the setup of the GPSr, you should find a means of selecting the Heading or Bearing method. You typically have the options of True North, Magnetic North, and User Defined. Magnetic North changes over time and as you change your location. Different maps and different GPSr’s will provide different automatically calculated magnetic declinations. So be sure to check your GPSr setup and see exactly what it is using for the declination. The bearing for this final cache was figured using 22° East declination.
While I used Feet for the distance measurement of the last stage, some GPSr's will not allow you to change the units (e.g. older eTrex series), so it might help to know that 1 foot = 0.000189 miles. Most newer GPSr's will allow you to change the distance units as you are entering them on the “Project Waypoint” screen. If you can't change the units away from miles, just multiply the above by the number of feet you need to go. The error factor at the final cache will be a little greater, but you will still be able to find it easy enough.
All pieces are well camo'd and/or tucked out of plain sight. Please be sure to return each piece exactly as found so those hunting after you will have the same experience. Some pieces have been secured in place so do not try to remove them, but perform whatever manipulations are needed right there. Even if you think you know where to go for the next stage due to the clues on the instruction sheet, you need to get the coordinates from each stage so you can be sure you are at the right places. The coordinates are all exact and have been verified several times by several different GPSr's. Travel between the stages is done entirely on established trails. Only once you get close to some of the stages will you need to take a couple steps off the trail.
Congrats to the Klondike Kid for FTF!
Please do NOT drop any Travel Bugs or Geo Coins in this cache!
Note that there is a brown bear that frequents Slikok Creek during salmon season. He can be spotted anywhere from the mouth of the creek all the way up to the K-Beach road crossing, especially in the early morning and late evening hours. So far, this bear has shown no interest in mixing with humans and runs away when people approach, but keep your head up and be bear aware while traveling in this park.
Caches placed under GeocacheAlaska! State Parks Use Permit #15-KA-1994.
Notice! A sign at Stage 2 was stolen. Here is an image of the sign so that you can answer the one question about it while completing Stage 2.
The "smaller green sign" at Stage 5 was removed, however there are several of these signs along the boardwalk leading to Stage 5. The closest one to Stage 5 is just a few yards back on the boardwalk by the stairs leading to the river.
This Cache is provided for your enjoyment by a Sourdough Member of:
GCAK! is working hard to promote Geocaching in Alaska! Please join us today!
If you solved the "Zoinks!" puzzle (GC1G984), you could log that one during the course of this multi-cache as it is very close to the final for this cache. You'll have to walk by it twice as you're completing the Slikok Cipher Project.