This is Vermont: Middletown Springs Mystery Cache
Hidden : 8/23/2009
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:


Please note that the cache is not located at the posted coordinates. The posted coordiantes will lead you to the middle of Middletown Springs, VT; at the intersection of North Street, South Street (VT-133), East Street (VT-140), and West Street (VT-133 & VT-140).

THIS CACHE WAS PLACED AS PART OF THE Vermont 251 Plus 4 Geocaching Club, BRINGING CACHES TO EVERY TOWN, CITY, AND GORE IN THE STATE OF VERMONT!

Middletown Springs Facts

Chartered: October 28, 1784 (Vermont Act of Incorporation)
Area: 14,639 Acres = 22.87 Square Miles [ Size Rank: 216* ]
Population (US Census, 2000): 823 [ Population Rank: 179* ]
Population Density (persons per square mile): 36 [ Density Rank: 121* ]

Middletown Springs History

Middletown was created by taking acreage from Tinmouth, Wells, Poultney and Ira. Originally Middletown, changed to Middletown Springs in 1884.

In February 1784 fifty inhabitants from the particular sections of the four towns concerned petitioned the legislature to create a separate town, principally because "the mountains around them are so impracticable to pass it is with great trouble and difficulty that they can meet with the towns they belong to for public worship and town business." A committee was appointed to confer with the petitioners and their surveyor, Joseph Spaulding. The report was favorable and the town was created. Spaulding was declared to have done the surveys so well that there never has been any fault found with any of the property lines or town boundaries.

Locally they say that Spaulding was allowed to choose the name for the new town because everyone was so pleased with his work. He had moved to Vermont from Middletown, Connecticut, and felt this name particularly well suited to this new town that had been carved out of the corners of four others, hence being in fact the "middle town".

Long before the area was settled, natives and a few wilderness pioneers knew about the mineral springs on the bank of the Poultney River. Later, residents of the area found the water healthful and named the village after the springs. When the post office was established at the village in 1808, it was given just Middletown for a name, but in 1875 (during one of the Post Office Department's periodic attempts to conform to local usage), it was renamed Middletown Springs; finally, in 1884, the legislature officially changed the name of the entire town to match that of the village.

The Springs at Middletown have had a bizarre history. In 1811 a great flood tore out the banks of the Poultney River and dug a new channel for the stream, burying the springs under tons of dirt. That seemed to be the end of the springs, but in 1868 another freak flood burst the new river channel, returned the stream to its original course, uncovering the springs again. As a result, the village became a popular health spa during the late l9th and early 20th centuries.

The only other village of any consequence was Burnham Hollow, which does not appear on modern maps. It grew up around the sawmill and forge of John Burnham (sometimes Burnam). The town history implies that he was one of the early settlers, stating that he already was an old man when the freshet of 1811 destroyed his businesses along with the springs.

Source: http://www.virtualvermont.com/towns/middletownsprings.html

 So, how do I find the cache?

Excellent question. Please do not look for the cache at the posted coordinates or you may get run over! Those coordinates are meant to bring you to the center of town. There should be a dirt parking area between Grant's Village Store and the town intersection, I would recommend parking there. From wherever you park, your task is to locate a large, white sign which should be staring at you and be extremely obvious. This sign will show you which towns you can get to from Middletown Springs - this town really is in the middle of everything! Take a look at a map of this intersection; North Street really does go north, South Street goes south, and so on.

Finding the large white sign should be easy. The next step is to solve the puzzle below. All of the cities, towns, and lakes listed on the sign have numbers next to them indicating how many miles away they are as well as their cardinal direction. Both of these pieces of information will be important. I guess you can get there from here!

Once you solve the puzzle, the coordinates should take you to a somewhat easy and boring hiding place for a cache. I tried to place this one in the nearby Mineral Springs Park, but another cache was too close by for that to happen. The short drive down the road to the cache should be scenic; you will be driving past the large hills which caused this town to be formed in the first place! Finding the cache once you have the coordinates should not be too difficult.

Usually I do not include FTF prizes, but I did for this one. It isn't much, but there should be enough money in the cache to buy yourself a small ice cream (depends on where you go, some places are expensive). As the sign by the intersection says, "rest awhile with us". Well, prehaps in this case it ought to be "cache awhile with us". I hope you enjoy this puzzle. Happy caching! =)

The Puzzle

* WEST: (Distance to Lake St. Catherine) + (Distance to Whitehall, NY) = AB

* EAST: [(Distance to Burlington) - (Distance to Rutland) - (Distance to West Rutland) - (Distance to Wallingford)] + 1 = CD

* SOUTH: [(Distance to Bennington) - (Distance to Manchester) - (Distance to Granville, NY) - (Distance to Pawlet)] + (Distance to Wells) = E

* This major city is located 230 miles due south. How many letters are in this city's name? Numbers of letters + 1 = FG

* [(WEST to Poultney - EAST to Tinmouth) + (WEST to Lake Bomoseen - WEST to Fair Haven)] - (SOUTH to Lake St. Catherine - 7) = H

The Coordinates

N 43° A (B-1) . (H+8) (C+5) (D-4)
W 73° H (E-2) . (H+3) (F+7) (G-2)

You can check your answers for this puzzle on Geochecker.com.

Additional Hints ()

[Puzzle] Fbyir jung vf va oenpxrgf svefg orsber zbivat qbja gur yvar. [Cache] Frr pnpur qrfpevcgvba; rnfl gb svaq bapr lbh unir pb-beqvangrf.

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)

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