Skip to content

Venona's Box Mystery Cache

Hidden : 11/8/2009
Difficulty:
5 out of 5
Terrain:
4 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:

The cache is NOT at the listed coordinates. Solve the following puzzle to determine the cache location.

Venona taunted us with a box from which we needed to figure out the location of one of his clues. His box was pretty cool. Here's my box. I think it's pretty cool, too.

You may find the Venona 2009 For Dummies thread on the Geocachers of the Bay Area forums to be a great help. However, you will still have plenty of work to do.

One implementation detail may be significant. In the color model used to generate this image, 32-bit colors are encoded as 0xAARRGGBB. In other environments, these may be encoded as 0xRRGGBBAA. This difference is significant. The puzzle will make more sense if you ensure the color model used to solve is the same as that which was used for the puzzle creation.

The initial contents of this cache include:
  • Unactivated 2009 Lackeys Geocoin, acquired as a trade for my 100th find.
  • Unactivated Sfodoug Personal Geocoin #27. Email me for activation code if you acquire this
  • Seven different US$1 coins: John Adams, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Sacagawea, Thomas Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony, and James Madison
Please only take one coin when you visit.

NOTE: You may notice the image change from time to time. This will not impact the solution, but only some ancillary information that is revealed as part of the solution.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

1. Guvf chmmyr vf frys-irevslvat. Vs lbh unir fbyirq vg cebcreyl, cyhttvat va lbhe nafjre vagb lbhe fbyhgvba trarengbe jvyy cebcreyl bevrag zl obk. 2. Lbh, bs pbhefr, jvyy arrq gb erirefr gur fgrcf V hfrq gb perngr gur vzntr. V hfrq gur yngvghqr svefg, naq gura gur ybatvghqr. Lbh jvyy arrq gb vaireg gung cebprff. 3. Erzrzore, lbh'er ybbxvat ng n obk. Obkrf unir zhygvcyr fvqrf. 4. Zl obk vf qvssrerag guna Iraban'f, rira vs vg jnf vafcverq ol gur qnfgneqyl pbzzvr. 5. Vs nyy ryfr snvyf, ybbx urer (fcbvyre nyreg): uggc://trbpnpuvat.ovggvatpyna.pbz/tp20cje/ns79s9s867n0q0nrs6455488spp912p3.ugzy

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)