This is a sad story. I once had a trusty companion. Most people say these faithful creatures simply do as they are told, and aren’t very intelligent. I think this may have been the case in the distant past, but not today -- at least it was not true for Redfang.
Many of us have chosen to bond with our sidekicks, some from an early age, and some later in life. They say these guys can even help keep us sharp in old age, and give our younger relatives a certain sense of comfort knowing we are not alone. Some of us even talk to our faithful friends, treating them almost as human, dressing them up, and adding all kinds of accessories to make them our own. Red was especially decked out, and people would often comment how sleek he looked.
I lost Red one day. He just disappeared. I’m still not sure where he went, or why he chose to leave me. I was really devastated, as I’d really gotten used to always having him with me, and counted on his support when I really needed him. I called and called, but he never came back.
Red really loved geocaching. We would go out almost every weekend. I really liked puzzle caches back then, and he’d watch me solve them late into the night. The next morning we’d pile into the car and take off. I’d stop to grab a cup of joe at a local cafe on the way to a place friendly to his kind, and we’d “hunt for treasure.” It was a great time. He’d almost always lead me straight to the cache, as if he’d known where it was the whole time, and was just waiting for me to figure it out.
But now he’s gone, and I don’t do puzzles much these days -- just the occasional looking4thebroc park hide, or the odd dan.reilly series. Sometimes on travel I’ll stop for an interesting Moneydork drop, or a rediguana tale. Since the BaldEd multis usually took us to interesting places, I’ll sometimes stop with the family to do one of those. The Aslan* hides seem to be everywhere I go, as do the bitsprayer stashes, and the Hello Mrs ones are still good for some comfort too.
But the ones that really get me are the LittleG Magic puzzles. Those were our favorites. They always kept us up way too late, trying to work out just what that duo had pieced together while (I imagined) snickering all the time about the deviousness and trickery they were meting out. Red would always be close by during my ponderings, waiting for the signal to bolt out the door once the solution was in hand. At GZ the torture would continue, because the actual hides were often as cunning as the puzzles themselves. But Red never complained. He was always just happy we were out having fun. Together.
The only thing I found after Red left was a set of cryptic numbers. Without Red, I found it really hard, if not impossible, to make heads or tails of them. Maybe I was just too shattered to concentrate. Please help!
/7/555/33/2/7777/33//44/33/555/7//6/33////444//4/666/8//555/666/7777/8//2/66/3/
/222/2/66/66/666/8//333/444/66/3//6/999//22/33/7777/8//333/777/444/33/66/3/
/33/444/4/44/8/6/2/66/2/333/8/33/777//2/4/2/444/66////4/666//8/666//8/44/33/7777/33/
/222/666/666/777/3/7777//7777/666/88/8/44//333/666/88/777//8/44/777/33/33//8/44/777/33/33/
/666/66/33//3/666/8//8/44/777/33/33//8/44/777/33/33//33/444/4/44/8//33/2/7777/8/
/666/66/33//7777/33/888/33/66//8/9/666//8/44/777/33/33//333/444/888/33//3/666/8//9999/33/777/666/
/66/444/66/33//9999/33/777/666////8/44/33/777/33//444/333//999/666/88//555/444/7777/8/33/66/
/222/2/777/33/333/88/555/555/999//9/444/8/44//666/66/33//666/333//6/999/
/333/777/444/33/66/3/7777//999/666/88//9/444/555/555//22/33//7/777/666/6/7/8/33/3/
/333/666/777//8/44/33//333/666/555/555/666/9/444/66/4//66/88/6/22/33/777//2/7777//2/
/55/33/999//8/666//7/2/7777/7777//8/666//8/44/33//555/666/222/2/8/444/666/66/
/9/44/33/777/33//999/666/88//9/444/555/555//333/444/66/3//6/33//333/666/88/777/
/8/44/777/33/33//7777/33/888/33/66//7777/33/888/33/66//8/9/666//9999/33/777/666///
/666/66/33//6/666/777/33//8/44/444/66/4//444/7777//8/44/2/8//8/44/33/
/222/666/666/777/3/7777//333/666/777//6/999//333/444/66/2/555//777/33/7777/8/444/66/4/
/7/555/2/222/33//2/777/33//22/33/7777/8//888/444/7777/444/22/555/33//2/8/
/66/444/4/44/8//666/777//444/66//8/44/33//333/2/3/444/66/4//555/444/4/44/8/
/666/333//3/2/999////8/777/999/444/66/4//8/666//7777/33/33//8/44/33/6/
/444/66//3/2/999/555/444/4/44/8//9/444/555/555//22/33//66/33/2/777/555/999/
/444/6/7/666/7777/7777/444/22/555/33////8/44/33/777/33//6/2/999//22/33/
/2//22/444/8//666/333//22/666/88/66/222/33//2/7777//9/33/555/555///
/4/666/666/3//555/88/222/55//2/66/3//8/44/2/66/55/7777//333/666/777/
/44/33/555/7/444/66/4///
/999/666/88/777/7777//333/666/777/33/888/33/777//777/33/3/333/2/66/4///
There is absolutely NO need to move, open, dig, break, or disturb anything in any way to access the coords for the final. Finding Redfang at the final requires a standard search.
FTF prizes include a geocaching.com 10-year pin and a compass zip-pull.
As always, please put things back as you found them, so the cache doesn't get muggled. Bring your own pen.
Congrats to TikvaNZ and Team_Gaters for the joint FTF!