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Island Hopping in Stone Mountain Park Multi-Cache

Hidden : 8/12/2009
Difficulty:
1.5 out of 5
Terrain:
5 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

A boat or Personal Water Craft (PWC) is required to complete this cache. That is why I marked the terrain as a 5. You will also have to know how to shoot a bearing with a compass to find the final cache container.

PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE CACHE PAGE! OR YOU WILL BE LOGGING A DNF!
YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!


This cache hide is designed for the adventurous type of cache hunter. And as with a few of my other cache hides, this one can also be completed in more than one way. So if you are a clever cacher, you will be able to complete this cache by using an alternate method. The only thing is that you will have to figure that one out yourself without any help from me. So please do not post anything in your log that would expose the method to others.

BUT FIRST, SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND RULES ON PRIVATE BOAT USE ON THIS LAKE:

Private boats are allowed on the lake from May 1st - September 30th on Mondays through Fridays (excluding holidays) during daylight hours and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays between the hours of 6 a.m. to 11 a.m.

From October 1st - April 30th, private boats are allowed to use the lake each day of the week during daylight hours. Boats must be launched from the Public Boat Ramp located near the Evergreen Pavilion at:N 33 47.762 W 084 07.663. Outboard motors in excess of 10 hp are not allowed on the lake. Alcoholic beverages are not allowed on any privately-owned boat.

All motorized boats must be registered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

Boats must be equipped with U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation devices for each person on-board and at least one (1) throwable device.

Boats may only be launched from the Private Boat Ramp on Stonewall Jackson Drive (near the entrance to Evergreen).

Park-owned boats have right-of-way over all other boats.

You must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved flotation device while operating a Kayak, Canoe, or any other Personal Water Craft (PWC).

The above information was found at the following link: http://www.stonemountainpark.com/outdoors-recreation/outdoor-detail.aspx?AttractionID=397

THE CACHE!

You are looking for a tall clear Lock-N-Lock container. Please replace and cover it back up so that it won't be muggled.

At the posted coordinates, you will find a sign mounted on a medium to large size pine on the SW side of the island. This sign posts rules you MUST follow, written in 2.5 inch lettering. You will only be using the 1st four letters in the 2nd word. You will be converting the letters to numbers by using a simple key. A=1, B=2, C=3......Y=25, Z=26

STAGE 3 North Coordinates are:
N 33 4 (2ndLETTER-10) . (3rdLETTER+1) (1stLETTER+4) (4thLETTER+5)

Stage 2 is located on an island that you can drive on to. I have seen many people use a small area near the parking lot to carry their light weight non-motorized PWC such as a kayak or canoe into the water. This is a good place for you to start if you have such a vessel.
Stage 2 is located at: N 33 48.138 W 084 07.860.
There you will find a piece of farming equipment used on the fields once located here before the lake was created. The metal object looks to be the reel of an early generation steam engine driven combine harvester. Locate the end of the object that points towards the mountain. You will need three things from this object.

1> Take a look at the shaft coming out of the object on the mountain side. Notches were put into shafts like this to keep attached pulleys and/or gears from spinning freely. Count the number of notches you find on the end of this shaft.
(NOTCHES = ?)

2> Around the base of the shaft, you will find some Square Head screws used to hold an over torque spring into place inside the housing. Count the number of Square Head screws you find.
(SCREWS = ?)

3> Now look for the number of cross bars that look like 'L' shaped bars that run the length of the object. You can see the weld points of each bar at the same shaft end of the object. Count the number of 'L' bars that run along the length of the object. Don't forget to count the ones on the ground side of the object as well.
(BARS = ?)

STAGE 3 West Coordinates are:
W 084 0 (BARS) . (NOTCHES-1) (SCREWS-4) (NOTCHES+1)

================

Finding the final gets a little tricky. You will see what I mean when you reach the calculated coordinates.
PLEASE DO NOT POST ANYTHING IN YOUR LOG AS TO HOW AND WHY THIS STAGE MIGHT BE TRICKY!
The cache is located at 241 feet at a bearing of 231 degrees from the calculated coordinates above.

HINT THAT YOU MUST DECRYPT MANUALLY:
rfnoenraravcaryynserqah

Don't bother decrypting the hint below. It only states that you were given the hint above.

I wonder how many of the Free Hit Counter people that have viewed this page have placed this cache on their ignore lists.


Additional Hints (Decrypt)

V gbyq lbh gung V nyernql tnir lbh gur uvag. Fbzr crbcyr whfg pna'g ernq.

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)