If you go down to the woods tonight.... Mystery Cache
Edinburgh walker: Cache is too far gone to repair!
If you go down to the woods tonight....
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... You will be sure to find a big cache prize! This is a walk through the woods at Bonaly. The co-ordinates are not where the cache is - they are for the start of a trail. This must be done when dark, as the trail leading to the cache is marked by firetacks, which reflect when a torch is shone on them.
You MUST take a torch with you - it probably needs to be of reasonable strength. Park at the listed parking co-ordinates, go through the gate and take the main path straight up the hill. At the next co-ordinates, take the path to the right, and at the next co-ordinates take the path to the left. If you follow the paths, you will arrive at the trail start co-ordinates (as listed at the top of the cache page) - you do not need to leave the paths to get here.
As you approach the start, if you shine your torch around, you should see 1 yellow band and 1 white band up high in trees, and one red firetack on a tree straight in front of you. This is just to confirm you have got to the start point. The trail from here is marked only by firetacks - sometimes one, and sometimes 2. Firetacks can only be seen if your torch is close to your eyes - I have found that putting it in front of my nose or to the side of my head is a good way to do it. The firetacks are all about 7 feet (2m) off the ground (as high as I could reach), and as there is a slight hill, don't forget to shine your torch up as well as ahead. Some of the firetacks are white, and some are red (which don't glow as brightly)
When you reach a tree with a firetack on, you should be able to see the next one, but don't forget they may not be straight ahead (there is at least one switch back). You may not be able to see the next firetacks as they may be obscured by branches - so move around (and turn around), but you will never need to move more that 1.5 metre away from your tree. The firetacks are placed at intervals of anywhere between 10m and 40m. There are a couple of times that you may be able to see 2 sets of firetacks - choose the one that is shining more brightly even if it appears further away.
The final cache location is marked with 3 firetacks - 2 on one side of the tree, and 1 on the other. The cache is close by at ground level, also marked with firetacks. To find your way back to the car, retrace your steps to the previous firetacks, and continue left along the path in the same direction as before for about 50m. You will join another path which you can follow back to the car.
You will not need to do any 'bushwacking' - you will be following paths or fairly clear ground all the way. Please take care, and use sensible footware as the ground can be muddy in places, and wet exposed tree roots can be very slippery. There are also broken branches, tree stumps, and logs to trip you up, so use your torch to see what you are walking on! It should take no more than 30 minutes to do.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Hfr lbhe gbepu ng tebhaq yriry. Nobhg 2z evtug.
Treasures
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