Infinity Tor
The cache is not at the posted coordinates. Please solve the puzzle described below to get the coordinates of the cache.
Isn't it nice to be somewhere
In places you've dreamed that you've seen
Isn't it such a nice feeling
Being where you've never been
The Hollies
A series of hiking caches for 2014 and beyond. This time, there are 15 in all, this cache being the 15th, and final, of the series.
Looking up the definition of tor will yield a range of results:
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A high craggy hill (Webster online)
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A high rock or pile of rocks on the top of a hill (American Heritage Dictionary print)
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A hill or rocky peak (Google)
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A rocky pinnacle; a peak of a bare or rocky mountain or hill (Dictionary.com)
An interesting background on tors can be found here. Of all the tors, Glastonbury Tor is certainly one of the most famous and legendary.
While a cache series on the tors of the British Isles would certainly be the ultimate experience, we Wasatchers are limited to the local offerings for our cache hiking, of which there are some excellent choices, hopefully highlighted by this series. My goal was to focus on some of the lesser-known and often unnamed summits of our nearby mountains and hills. There are no Olympuses, Grandeurs or Wires here. No crowds, either. You won't encounter the usual spring hiking hordes as you would on the more famous local summits. Count on some spectacular views, though.
I have dedicated each of the 14 tors leading up to this final to a member of our small but hearty group of local geocache hikers. All those park-and-grabbers out there don't know what they are missing! Here are the tor hikes, sorted by (approximate terrain difficulty):
Duchess Tor (2)
WindWings Not-A-Tor (2)
Dapht Seal Tor (2.5)
The Tor of the Deep South (2.5)
Dalmatia Tor (2.5)
Barnoble Tor (3)
93-Zeeger Tor (3)
Moun10 Hiker's Tor (3)
Leszeedujaybois Tor (3)
Night of the Fox Tor Archived. Clue: red eleve
Goa Tor Archived. Clue: three hund
Asymptote Tor (3.5) Archived. Clue: four hundr
Tor Two Thousand (4)
Infinity Tor (This cache) (4)
Tor Proxima (4.5)
And some bonus Tors, added later and not part of this puzzle:
Tetrahedron Tor
Hound Dog Tor
The 5/5 rating awarded to this cache is due to the fact that a significant number of cache hikes must be completed to find it. The rating for this final hike alone would be Difficulty 2.5 and Terrain 4.
The hikes can be done in any order, and each contains a clue to be used in solving an easy puzzle. The solution to the puzzle will provide the coordinates for Infinity Tor. Speaking from experience, I can unequivocally state that solving the puzzle will require the vast majority, if not all, of the clues.
Note that Tor Proxima relies on information found in two of the above caches, so you may want to read its listing before heading to the first cache.
Prizes! Prizes! Prizes! Prizes!
This series contains some great prizes! Scattered more-or-less randomly amongst the caches in the series are:
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Several $1 bills
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One $5 bill
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One $20 bill
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A can of boot waterproofing spray (you'll need it!)
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A "signed" photo of Matia Geodog who accompanied me on every one of the 40 or so hikes I took in setting up this series
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A $10 certificate to a local cafe popular with hikers
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A pebble taken from the summit of Infinity Tor
In addition, inside the Infinity Tor cache, you will find a code phrase good for the grand prize. The first cacher to email me this phrase will receive a one-year Groundspeak Premium Gift Membership renewal ($30 value). To spare you a few hours of poking around Google Earth, the photo above is of Saddle Mountain in Oregon and NOT the Infinity Tor you will be seeking for this cache!
Other than the grand prize, please do not mention in your logs that you have found a particular prize. This will keep everyone else in suspense!
To keep the series fun on an ongoing basis, I plan to occasionally restock caches with new prizes, so you can still go for the gold if you aren't FTF!
Several Tors in the series are in wilderness areas and off limits to geocaches. Others have existing geocaches too close to place a new one. Therefore, a few of these caches are puzzles that require visiting the tor, then finding the cache outside the wilderness area and not too close to other caches. Hopefully, the puzzles will be easy and enjoyable. I didn't put much effort into precluding "armchair" solutions (Google Earth, guessing or just being too smart for your own good). Therefore, please keep in mind that the goal of these puzzles is not so much the puzzle as the hikes. I think you will have fun!
Enjoy the hikes, the tors, pretend you are in 7th century Glastonbury and above all, be safe!
