GC4XD80 135/180 (Letterbox Hybrid) in California, United States created by geodarts

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GC4XD80 ▼

A cache by geodarts Message this owner

Hidden : 1/22/2014

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: small (small)

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Geocache Description:

A good place to think about the state of the post-apocalyptic world of professional darts.

Professional darts is widely recognized to be the height of sporting drama and a metaphor for human experience. For those who play on the televised stage, with thousands of fans in the arena, success is often defined in terms of millimeters. There are some players who will put the first arrow into the treble twenty, and you know that the next two will follow across the bed for a 180. But it can also happen that the third dart will be deflected, and what will look like a perfect throw will end up in the triple five - 135. This years world championship showed how such a difference can lead to a rise and fall, heartbreak and glory that became a roller coaster of emotion, with only millimeters between the players.

Phil Taylor, 16 times world champion, came into the tournament looking for his 17th. He had already won the British Open, the World Matchplay, and the Grand Prix. The latter tournament featured one of the best finals in the history of the sport, with Phil and Adrian Lewis matching dart for dart in an incredible display. It was the highest combined average ever recorded and it seemed certain to set the stage for the upcoming world championship.

In the Tournaments Players final, however, Phil lost to Michael van Gerwin -- a 24 year old player from Holland. Van Gerwin then stormed through his matches at the Worlds and went into the finals as the favorite. Taylor, Lewis, Wade, van Barneveld, and Anderson all went home, leaving the Scottish player Peter Wright to play van Gerwin. Wright was in his first major final, his hair was glowing like a snake ready to strike, but he soon found himself 4-0 down in sets. Somehow he came back, and at 4-5 he had the opportunity to break van Gerwin's throw, going into the decider with the darts.

Millimeters.

In the end, the apocalypse happened. Van Gerwin took the final and displaced Phil as the world's top ranked player. Nothing will ever be the same.

The Letterbox Clue

As I was walking a trail above Alpine Lake, I came across three poles. They reminded me of darts that could have been lined up for a 180, or perhaps the third just missed for the 135. From the given coordinates, look East and imagine the darts landing across the board.

Go to the pole that might have ended up as a 15 score. Follow the guide wire from the pole that is in the general direction of the line of flight. Before your way is blocked by brush, take about seven of my steps towards an old large tree. In the direction of the doubles. Look down to the right. If a dart had been thrown there it might have ended up as a 12 or 9.

There are two ways to get to the site. I prefer to walk from Sky Oaks. When the water is low, as it is during this drought, you can can shortcut across the lake bed, following the old stage route to the trail. Since this option requires a yearly pass or a fee, you can also start from the other end of the trail. Just before mileage marker 4.18 (coming from Fairfax), there is a pull out on the lake side of the road. Find the trail head. Either way, it is an easy walk to the cache location.

Other Information

This is a letterbox hybrid and it is not meant for trading, except perhaps to move the occasional travel bug or trackable..

There is a separate stamp and book for letterboxing. Bring your own ink pad and stamp if you play that game in addition to caching. It is cross-listed on Atlas Quest.

With the geocache log, there is a dart-related geocoin that should remain with this cache. Please do not move it. As usual, take care to ensure that the container will stay hidden.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

trbcvyr

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)