Whose Side Are You On? Mystery Cache
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Difficulty:
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Size: 
(regular)
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THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN at the posted coordinates. Just off of Exit 15 on Route 128, this 2-stage multi-cache loops around Dexter Pond. The final container is a 7”x7”x2.5” Lock ‘n’ Lock, be prepared for some thorns and bugs galore. Might also get muddy with recent rain.
More than a century ago, Philip Dexter, a Boston businessman who had been summering in Beverly Farms, bought 250 woodland acres in the Manchester area from John Silva. That part of town was known at the time as "Portugee Village." By 1907, Mr. Dexter and his wife began building a large house on the property, which they called "Boulderwood." They had many carriage roads built on their new estate. They used one, which led across the railroad tracks to Magnolia Avenue, to visit their friend Thomas Jefferson Coolidge at the seashore.
In 1973, Mr. and Mrs. I.W. Colburn bought the property and donated 9.4 acres to the town of Manchester. The following year the Colburns donated another 10 acres to the town.
The Dexter Pond Conservation Area itself now comprises approximately 30 acres of forested uplands, bordering wetlands and a large open pond surrounded by a perimeter trail. It is managed by the folks over at Manchester-Essex Conservation Trust (MECT). Dexter Pond has a surface area of approximately 2.8 acres and an average depth of only 3-4 feet. The pond is fed from both groundwater flow and a surface stream that enters along its eastern shore. The pond freezes over in the winter months providing recreation for ice skaters. In my childhood, Dexter Pond and nearby Chebacco Lake were the two places locals could find a game of “pickup” hockey.
As the trail goes all the way around Dexter Pond, you'll notice several residences a stone's throw from the footpath. Please stick to the trail, and please NO NIGHT CACHING.
The new theme and puzzle for this cache are a tip of the hat to ol' buddy Johnny M., whose home on nearby Harold Street was host to many a late-night gaming session. Very much like the gaming depicted at the beginning of "Stranger Things." Please feel free to bring your leftover dice and small puzzle swag here.
THE PUZZLE (for Stage 1, from there you will get Final Stage coordinates):
N AB° CD.EFG W HIJ° KL.MPQ
Subtract one from D, add four to I, add two to L, subtract two from M, add one to P, and subtract one from Q before running it through the geochecker: (visit link) Stage 1 is "different," Stage 2 is a medium-sized tupperware Lock 'n' Lock. Enjoy!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Chmmyr: Vg vf nobhg gur fvqrf. Gurer ner gjb erq ureevatf, obgu ner va gur cubgb tnyyrel.
Fgntr 1: Nobhg 3' (1z) bss gur tebhaq, nobhg n 10' ohfujunpx.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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