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The Staircase of Requirement ❦ Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Nomex: No response from owner. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the current guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.

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Hidden : 9/14/2013
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2 out of 5

Size: Size:   other (other)

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Geocache Description:

A cache on a beautiful, hidden staircase in North Berkeley that seems to appear only when you really need it.

(We normally don't write personal narratives in geocache descriptions, but we'll make an exception here.)

There used to be a geocache on this staircase -- I DNFed on it during my first nightcaching excursion back when I first started geocaching, but I fell in love with this very eerie spot. A few weeks later, I wanted to look for the cache again in the daylight, so I drove back to where I was sure it was -- except the staircase wasn't there. The cache listing must have been archived in the interim, because when I went back on the site, the listing had disappeared too. I asked around about a grand stone staircase with a lion's head in the wall a few blocks north of campus, but no one knew what I was talking about. Years went by, and I sometimes wondered whether the whole thing was a dream. One day recently, I was driving around North Berkeley with astroalee looking for a hidden, beautiful spot just screaming for a geocache to be placed there -- and I was startled to happen upon this staircase again. Hopefully your need for a geocache will be enough to summon the Staircase of Requirement for you.

Oh, and if you see a shirtless man sunbathing near GZ, tell him you're visiting "Hubert."

Congratulations to panda_ellie and N3urom4ncer for FTF!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Abg zntargvp, abg ba gur tebhaq, abg va n cynag

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)