Why does this cache start with an X? Well, three reasons really. One, X is the Roman numeral for ten, and until 2011 I had ten Portland High Schools to choose from when I finish eighth grade. Two, I thought it was a nice play on words. And, above all, three: everything that starts with an X sounds cooler.
My list of Schools I had to choose from until 2011 was:
1) Benson
2) Cleveland
3) Franklin
4) Grant
5) Jefferson
6) Lincoln
7) Madison
8) Marshall
9) Roosevelt
10) Wilson
A lot of thought needs to go into choosing a school. The involvement of the principal, the enthusiasm of the teachers, the funding for the school, graduation rates, class schedules, what’s available to eat, sports offered, etc. To keep you off school grounds, but still get you out to the area of these schools, I decided to focus on the lunch fare available. To solve this cache you will need to go to a popular lunch time destination for the students of each of the schools. There you will find a clue to help you on the way to the final. I’ve given this a tough rating to respect the time and travel needed to get it accomplished. Please don’t share the final with anyone.
Now, let’s have some fun. The numbering below corresponds to the numbering above.
1) You will find this popular place at N45 31.460 W122 39.042. Underneath “PERF 561” is a series of six numbers; let C equal the fourth number.
2) You will find this popular place at N45 29.872 W122 38.145. At these coordinates you will see a yellow circle; let the number of feet mentioned in the circle equal I.
3) You will find this popular place at N45 30.333 W122 36.360. Here you will see “MrSlim.” Below him is an alpha numeric sequence; take the first number, then subtract the second, then subtract the third, and that will give you A.
4) You will find this popular place at N45 32.103 W122 37.638. At these coordinates is a wooden pole with an inventory number on it. Take the last digit and subtract the first number and that will give you G.
5) You will find this popular place at N45 33.484 W122 40.504. In between the Oregon Sunshine and the Pearl Everlasting lies a plant; let the position value of the first letter of its Genus equal J (A=1, B=2, C=3, …). If you get stuck here, look for some sort of sign.
6) You will find this popular place at N45 31.071 W122 41.545. Here you will find three rows of alpha numeric characters. The first row says: COP, the second row starts with: D11-…; to get the value of D, take the second number from the third row and subtract the first number from the same row. Here's a hint due to the number of poles here, there's no zero in the number.
7) You will find this popular place at N45 32.707 W122 34.719. Here you will find a sign; on the bottom of the sign it says ORS…; let H equal the second digit minus the forth.
8) This one’s a little different since this school is no longer with us. At N45 29.643 W122 34.412 you will see a billboard on the wall. Below that billboard is written: Class of ____. Let E equal the fourth number minus the third number.
9) You will find this popular place at N45 35.213 W122 44.315. At this location you will see a wooden pole with an inventory number; let F equal the last digit minus the first digit.
10) You will find this popular place at N45 28.678 W122 41.766. Let B equal one quarter of the number of solid green tiles.
The coordinates for the final are:
N45 AB.CDE W122 FG.HIJ