Bring Your Own Binoculars - Dry Creek
This is a puzzle cache, so you won't find it at the posted coordinates. However, those coordinates are the location of the beginning of a hike up Dry Creek Gulch.
Finding the cache will involve solving a puzzle of observation following the very easy trail up Dry Creek Gulch. Unless you possess miraculous visual acuity, you will need to bring a pair of binoculars. While creating the puzzle, I used a pair of 10 X 25 binoculars, which did a superb job. However, I am reasonably confident that a set with a magnification of 8 (such as 8 X 25) would also work.
Parking is no longer available behind the Jewish Community Center (unless you have a parking permit there)! You can park at the Hospital and walk over to the trailhead, though. For much easier parking with a slightly longer walk, try Popperton Park on Virginia Street and 11th Avenue.
For easiest viewing, plan to take the hike during good lighting conditions, such as midday or afternoon. Round trip hiking distance is about 2 miles, including the walk from the parking area.
All clues and the cache have been selected with snowy conditions in mind. You should be able to solve and find the cache in all but heavy and fresh snow conditions. When dry, the trail is great for mountain bikes.
To solve the puzzle, visit each of the three waypoints identified below. The coordinates of each waypoint are included in the Additional Waypoints section of this listing for easy transfer to your GPS receiver. They are named "Dry Creek 1" through "Dry Creek 3". They are also listed below and can be manually entered if necessary.
At each of the three sites, stand as indicated in the list below, and use your binoculars to solve the problem. As this is a busy trail, I have attempted to ensure a place to stand out of the way of traffic as you search. Solving each problem will provide a digit, and the three digits together will complete the coordinates needed. If you don't spot what you need after a few minutes of searching, check the Additional Hints section. It may also help to move around a few feet to get a better angle. Have at it!
Dry Creek 1
Location: N 40 46.673 W 111 50.233
Stand: Between the two concrete structures.
Problem: Spot a single digit.
A = ___
Dry Creek 2
Location: N 40 46.750 W 111 50.134
Stand: Near the rock just off the trail.
Problem: Spot a single digit.
B = ___
Dry Creek 3
Location: N 40 47.140 W 111 50.017
Stand: In clearing about 20 feet from trail.
Problem: Which holiday is being celebrated here?
Arbor Day (C = 5)
Christmas (C = 0)
Halloween (C = 1)
Independence Day (C = 7)
New Year's Eve (C = 9)
St. Patrick's Day (C = 2)
Valentine's Day (C = 8)
C = ___
Got all three? Use your three answers to find the coordinates of the geocache:
N 40 46.AB0
W 111 50.C33
The cache is a camouflage green match tube. Again, check the hint if needed.
The inspiration for this puzzle originated with How far can you see???, a very memorable binoculars cache.