Welcome to the 2nd Annual Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission's Geocaching Adventure! This is one of a series of 10 geocaches hidden throughout our parks and preserves system. Whether you find one or find them all, we hope you enjoy your visit!
The 2012 Geocaching Adventure is a high-tech, hide-and-seek game played in 10 different Washtenaw County parks and preserves. Visit each of the 10 locations and find the geocache hidden on the grounds! All 10 geocaches are hidden with varying degrees of difficulty to make the Adventure both fun and challenging. We hope that, in addition to geocaching, you will take a moment to enjoy the offerings at these properties, which include nature trails, bike paths, perennial gardens, lakeshore beaches, and much, much more.
There is no need to register with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission in order to participate in the 2012 Geocaching Adventure. All you need is a sense of adventure, a GPS or a Smart Phone equipped with a geocaching application, and some form of transportation to each of the different parks and preserves. All set? Then let's begin! There are 10 caches total in our 2012 Geocaching Adventure, each hidden in a different Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission property. The caches for this year's event are listed as follows:
WCP12 - Rolling Hills (small entrance fee)
WCP12 - County Farm
WCP12 - Independence Lake (small entrance fee)
WCP12 - Burns-Stokes Preserve
WCP12 - Sharon Mills
WCP12 - Leonard Preserve
WCP12 - Sharon Short Hills Preserve
WCP12 - Park Lyndon
WCP12 - Miller-Smith Preserve
WCP12 - West Lake Preserve
You may wish to do only one or all ten. If you choose to complete the entire 2012 Geocaching Adventure, you'll need to bring along a notebook, as on the inside of each cache's logbook are code words that directly refer to an aspect of that particular property. To complete the 2012 Geocaching Adventure, you will need to collect all of the code words and phrases and email them to us along with your Geocaching.com user name, your real name, your email address, and your mailing address. Those geocachers who correctly complete the 2012 Geocaching Adventure will receive a Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission 2012 Geocaching Adventure tag. In addition, a special prize awaits the first geocacher to correctly complete the entire 2012 Geocaching Adventure. The 2012 Geocaching Adventure kicks off on June 15, so get ready to cache!
All 10 geocaches are either regular or small plastic containers with locking lids, labelled and hidden within a short distance from the main trails so relatively little bushwhacking is required, if any. As with any geocache, our 2012 Geocaching Adventure caches are loaded with all sorts of swag and goodies. You may wish to simply sign the log but, if you do choose to take something, please be sure to leave something in its place. Trackables are welcome guests! Please take care to carefully seal our cache containers and to return them to their original location (and keep them well concealed) in order to prevent the caches from being muggled. Should you find a cache that has been muggled or damaged, please do let us know!
The 363-acre Rolling Hills Park is a one-stop shop for year-round recreation and outdoor fun! Come splash in the waves, float the lazy river, or ride the slides in the Water Park. Take in nature on the trails, try your luck at the fishing pond, or enjoy a quiet picnic beneath stately oaks and let the kids discover the playground. Challenge yourself to 18 holes of disc golf or a game of softball or horseshoes. There’s plenty to do in winter, too. Head out to the park for sledding and cross-country skiing on the rolling hills, then warm up by the fireplace in The Lodge at the end of the day. Open year-round...come visit soon!
You may have noticed that this geocache is a little different from the other 2012 Geocaching Adventure placements. We hope you're ready for some puzzling fun! The geocache is not at the posted coordinates. Instead, these coordinates should bring you relatively close to the entrance of Rolling Hills Park. The entrance gate should be considered Stage One (yes, this is a multi-stage puzzle!). Please ask the park entrance attendant for any information on hand regarding the park's many hiking and nature trails. This may come in handy!
To reach Stage 2, please solve the following equation:
(The # president Franklin Pierce was) times (which # state Massachusetts was when it became joined the Union) times (# of years Edsel Ford served on the Board of Directors of the Henry Ford Hospital)
divided by (which # state is featured on the second commemorative quarter-dollar coin in the United States Mint's 50 State Quarters®, released in 2007)
divided by (which # child was the only son born to Charles and Caroline Ingalls)
The resulting number will be the number of the trailhead you'll want to go to. This will be Stage 2.
At Stage 2, follow the trail listed as (9 minus 6.3) miles in length until you reach a triple stand of conifers (evergreen trees planted in three distinct rows). Follow the row of trees that corresponds to the birth order of Abraham Lincoln and you'll find the Final Stage and the geocache in the tree that corresponds to the number of geocaches placed by Washtenaw County Parks for 2012.
Good luck, geocachers, and enjoy the 2012 Geocaching Adventure!