Highbanks Hidden Trail Multi-Cache
Hidden : 6/23/2012
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
3 out of 5

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

Welcome to Highbanks Metro Park. This cache will take you to a hidden trail that few visitors know about. You should be able to complete it in about an hour, but take your time and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. The cache was placed with the permission of the park management under Permit #04-002-13.



ABOUT HIGHBANKS METRO PARK
This is my favorite park among the many wonderful parks in the Metro Parks system. I have been a volunteer here for many years. Allow me to share some of my photos of the park and some of my experiences volunteering. (All photos copyrighted by me).

Highbanks is named for the 110 foot cliffs overlooking the Olentangy river and for the many ravines that feed into it.

Highbanks has many beautiful trails over rugged ravines like this one on the Dripping Rock trail. The cache is in a flatter wooded area of the park.


The park is beautiful in all seasons.

For a few weeks every autumn the park is ablaze with color.


The nature center has: informative displays, a wild bird feeder observation area, a well-stocked library, and a team of very helpful staff who organize lots of fun programs and hikes.

This pileated woodpecker was about 18 inches tall. I saw two of them on the hidden trail when setting up this cache.


There are lots of picnic areas. The trails vary in difficulty (the River trails and the Big Meadows are the easiest). There is a dog-friendly Coyote Run trail. (Sorry, no dogs allowed at this cache location).

Since 2010, the park has had a resident pair of nesting bald eagles.

In the spring the eagles and nest can be viewed from the deck at the end of the Overlook trail. I was standing on the deck when this eagle flew about thirty feet over my head. Thrilling!!!


A few years ago we got to observe the fascinating if gruesome spectacle of several acres of forest being stripped bare by Spongy Moth (formerly Gypsy Moth) caterpillars.

Millions of caterpillars formed a creepy wiggling carpet across the forest floor and tree trunks. Fortunately, the forest recovered the next year. You will walk by the recovered area going to the mound.


At the park I have had the opportunity to lead hikes; survey birds, butterflies, flowers, and salamanders for national databases; care for bluebird boxes; and help hundreds of people see and learn about the bald eagles. Probably my favorite time as a volunteer was demonstrating primitive fire making to a group of children. You should have seen their eyes light up when they saw that you really can start a fire by rubbing sticks together.

Flora and fauna both large and small are constantly changing at the park.


And, yes, there are several geocaches in the park.

If you have the time, visit other areas of the park and come back in all seasons. This is where I go to refresh my spirit.

HOW TO WORK THE STAGES OF THIS MULTI-MULTI-CACHE

STAGE 1. Park at the Nature Center. Pick up a park map and follow the official trails SOUTH to the Adena Mound. There are two such mounds marked on the map. Be sure to go to the south one at the posted coordinates. Near the mound you will see a commemorative plaque on a rock. There are two date ranges on the plaque: A00-B00 b.c. and 19CD-19EF. Enter the digits into N 40 08.FCD W 83 01.[A-2][B+2]E to get the coordinates for stage 2.

STAGE 2. The entrance to the hidden trail is between the bench and the rock. The trail will take you close to this stage. Here you will find six hidden metal plates. That is why I call this a multi-multi-cache. They are all within 20 feet of the very long horizontal log. Each metal plate has a letter and a digit. Find all six and enter the digits into N 40 08.GHI W 83 01.JKL to get the coordinates for stage 3.

Go back to the hidden trail and follow it to the final stage. Note: if you reach a footbridge that is missing planks, you have gone too far. No need to cross that bridge.

STAGE 3. The final is a large plastic camo-taped jar. It should not be too hard to find. Sit a while, sign the log, trade swag, and generally enjoy your surroundings. Please re-hide well to prevent it being muggled. While you are there, consider going for the Bonus hide.

BONUS. Within 20 feet of the final hide, I have hidden one more metal plate as a bonus. The plate has a well-known symbol on it. Find the plate and send me a private message with a description of the symbol to get your name added to the Bonus Hall of Fame.

Finally, return by retracing your steps on the hidden trail.

 The First To Find this cache was: blandestk

Bonus Hall of Fame. The following have found the bonus hide: blandestk, msmandi, namaste98, andros333, duffyed4, dalvabaird, enajsenrap, hikerbabe n thebirdr, Fat Chuck, TheChad23, EmileeAnn, Treelimb, larryc43230, tdulrich, LHExplorers, anbengle, kihap, bth8503, gocornet, WVHiker222, Ms.Katy, Chief_Osceola, Tye_Dye(+4 Junior Girl Scouts), yardbird6669(+7 Cub Scouts), upbed, warriorteacher, SapovalDO, Team MidwestHaunters, krugerc, Bbjones41, minifig1, Wirthless31, thehobbit21, Team BJKB, brycat25, acremeans, kathysgeek, Limont, hlemont, cwhoneybee, Sharks-N-Beans, baldy246, gohangasalami, 2McDs, LOST_Team, PLMerry, NDbaseball2, Buckeyefan1930, PowellFamily42, weciii, plasmafamily, pcc.cmpbll, Lobomalo, Jaimeg12, BigDog927, hankpixie, akeffer, CanAmGuy, Chief Angel Michael, DRILL86, Syracuse Buckeye, asuka0278, mikelietz, McNooblet, TropicalHeritage, peace love pi, momcat61, Cub Scout Pack 138 Chapman Elementary, VaguelyRandom, bhob12, TheArtOfCaching, KingFish, GeocacheRon, chessczar1, tomturtle, DLiming, Obieone, KDJ5H2O, CC Land Pirates, Kottley (Kipp, Kara, Kaden & Kole), RigbyandLilly, jcannarino, rebamay, VPPlayer, poundsignjoe, #Dave, PathwaysH, KatIzzy, Pepperznitro, KingFisher77, MTMAN2, tjlpayne, heymanhomesteader, georealtor1, wayupnorth907, Tissemonk, baronvonben, The Nerd Herd*, PrincessPi42, 3beaglenite, wanderw0man, 4 boys explore, Robbins Family, escondidas, Lighthouse Nut, oO_KorenAdventure_Oo, Geocrewzerz, SyGuy&Lyds, purpletrumpet, purpleweasel, rcollins0618, angiekpangie, jeb3, OHsongbird, geobeach18, miatabug, MermaidTracker, GeoSteezy, KimboDad, soccerocks318, hockeydaze, AReml, JourneyDreamTeam, parkviewpirates, cd1265, g3n3th3r4py, The1adydeath, spacehootz, DublinCachers, Team JNLE4, ImpossibleClue, kllongacre02, SRDobb, JEMtime, skipper_dan, WaggingPup, MadCacheDash. danthedude666, TreasureRaider23, RainbowRubix, DrCBMartin, NDubRunners, tennismom29, doyouplayjacks, MightyMullets, maccrazie, ktolle19, abbs0308, LochCacheMonster, heliogabulous, SeekandFindKids, eatonet, MrsLadyVader, King_Rizzard, cache_rizzler18, lakers937, RenPickles, TheTiefenator, Iculas, tessacubed, meganens, lemmyvv, ...

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

- ng fgntr 2, ybbx uvTu naq Ybj. - gur svany vf va n gerr

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)

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