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My First iPhone Hide Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

jim_carson: After a 10 year run, and this is getting vandalized more, it's time to retire this one. I will retrieve what's left this weekend or after the river of rain passes, whichever comes last.

How to solve: As alluded to by the SMBC cartoon, background image and related web page, this is a trilateration problem. Each photo depicts a position -- New York Cupcakes, Starbucks, Blazing Bagels (clearly I am a cache-to-eat person) -- and a distance. If you draw a circle around each position, using the accuracy measurement as the radius, the intersection is the location of the cache.

There are a variety of ways to do the calculation including GSAK (RIP), Garmin Basecamp, Excel, online tools. Because each can result in rounding error, I had a pretty big range for the solution checker.

Thanks to folks for the wonderful comments and favorite points, and to Geocaching.Com for continuously improving (and at least two rewrites) of the phone app to make it indispensable. On a recent trip, I was able to accomplish a few hundred finds in eastern CO/western KS using my phone.

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Hidden : 06/25/2011
Difficulty:
3 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

I really like my new phone. With it, I can surf the Internet, play music, fling brightly colored birds at anthropomorphic pigs, and even make phone calls. I was especially excited to learn that I can use it geocaching.



Why would anyone need a dedicated GPS unit?



N 47 40.035 W 122 06.368 Accuracy 2.6 miles

 

Umm....


N 047 37.048 W 122 07.907 Accuracy 1.5 miles

 

 

Well, I was craving a bagel sandwich.


N 047 33.538 W 122 06.858 Accuracy 4.9 miles

 

 

... and some coffee.


 

 

 

The cache is available dawn to dusk. Not at night.
Parking waypoint is available in the geochecker. You will be looking for a 50 cal ammo box I recovered from lahontan's Logger's Loot.
 


Shortly after I worked out the cache, Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal ran this cartoon:

 

 

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Fznyy fche genvy gb gur jrfg, hcuvyy.  Cynfgvp nzzb pna onfr bs gur jrfgrea erq prqne. Frr cubgb

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)