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A Well-Preserved Cache Multi-Cache

Hidden : 11/22/2009
Difficulty:
3.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

A nice, scenic 2-stage multi located along the public walking trails of the Holly Gap Preserve in Mt. Holly Springs. I roughly estimated it to be a 3 mile round-trip hike, so give yourself plenty of time to not only retrieve the cache, but also to take in the beautiful surroundings contained here.

As my esteemed colleague, Seekers Four (who beat me to hiding one in here ), mentions in his cache that is within the preserve: It is located at the foot of South Mountain in Cumberland County, boasts seven miles of trails and fishing access to a nearby stream in addition to protecting a 200-acre wetland habitat.

The entire preserve covers 913 acres. I found this interesting tidbit about the area online: "A succession of dams built on Mountain Creek at Mount Holly Gap beginning in the 1850's trapped sediment until the millpond was nearly full and the dam was removed in 1985. Since that time Mountain Creek has carved a channel through the legacy sediments that are as much as 8 feet thick and cover approximately 25 acres of the former pond. An organic layer, including tree stumps, is exposed beneath the legacy sediments at approximately present water level. The sediments are actively being eroded during flood events and in winter by formation of needle ice."

To obtain the cache, please park at the provided parking coordinates and begin walking S, following the Blue (Marsh Loop) trail that winds along Mountain Creek, passing remnants of the old dam destroyed by the PA Fish & Boat Commission about 37 years ago so the artificial lake could revert to a wetland. You will then see the dried lakebed to your left - Soon after this, hang a left onto the Green (Spring) trail to get to the posted coords...which is stage 1.

Now, to make things a bit interesting, I decided that a plain old container with the next coords just would not do. Inside a familiar style container you will find another unique container that holds the key to the Final GZ.

PLEASE BE GENTLE with this container so that it will stand the test of time and continue to provide frustration (the good kind, heh) for many cachers to come...It WILL open with the right "combination" and does not require much force OR any special tools.

***UPDATE*** Apparently my request to be gentle with the puzzle box went unheeded within a couple months of placing the original cache - Now the stage 1 container is just a boring old lock & lock containing the coords to Stage 2. Thanks for ruining the fun for everyone else.

To get to the final, continue following the Green trail until it meets the Red (Creek) trail and bear left...the rest is up to you. Starting off inside this container is an assortment of random swag that has been clattering around in my caching bag for a while (including a TB), as well as a small prize for the FTF, STF, & TTF: 2 geo-pins and a geocaching patch.

I hope you have as much fun retrieving this cache as I did in placing it! Prost!

CONGRATS to geosnyder3 on your first FTF!

In addition, I can't believe I forgot to mention the fact that hunting is restricted to the more than 700 acres of upland wooded preserve where wild turkey and white-tailed deer thrive (gs3's log reminded me) - Please Be Careful and remember to wear orange during hunting season!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Svany TM = ybt(1/k) = -ybt(k)

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)