Power. Wisdom. Courage. These are the three attributes held in perfect balance in the Triforce, the ultimate source of power in the Legend of Zelda video game series and has thus become its most recognized symbol. It recently dawned on me that it could be argued that these three attributes need to be held by geocachers (although sometimes power may need to be replaced with stealth.) For this reason I decided to create a geocaching homage to my favorite of the Zelda series, The Ocarina of Time. The Triforce Challenge contains seven individual caches, the first six of which can be obtained as their own finds. However, like the hero of the Zelda series, Link, you will need the treasure found within each temple to find your way to the seventh and final cache of the series, Ganon’s Tower.
With the Gorons safe and a third sage medallion in his possession, Link set out for the fourth temple, the Water Temple. To gain entry, however, he first had to travel to Zora’s Domain. The Zora were a mysterious aquatic race living in Hyrule, so imagine Link’s surprise when he returned to their territory just to find it completely frozen over. After thawing out the Zora king, Link learned that a curse was emanating from the Water Temple and this was the cause of the unnatural winter. Newly equipped with Iron Boots that let him walk on the lakebed and a blue tunic that allowed him to breath underwater, Link set off to investigate the Water Temple. The Water Temple was located at the bottom of Lake Hylia and contained a maze of challenging, puzzling rooms. To make matters more confusing, the water level inside the temple would change constantly, making rooms available at different times. After an arduous journey through the temple, in which he had to overcome countless obstacles and even his dark reflection, Link was at last rewarded with an upgrade to his hookshot, the longshot, and used this to defeat the giant amoeba, Morpha. Free of its curse, Zora’s Domain returned to normal and the king’s daughter, Ruto, awoke as the Sage of Water. After apologizing to Link for not being able to marry him, much to his relief, Ruto instead bestowed Link with the Water Medallion.
It is generally agreed upon that the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time is the most challenging and time consuming dungeon in the game. This is not the orginal Water Temple hide location, but this cache has been placed to help landlocked adventurers complete the challenge. To fit in the hide location, this container is slightly different in size and shape from the rest of the series, but the golden triforce is still emblazened upon its lid. Inside, you will find the medallion of the temple, marked with a single piece of the coordinates you will need to obtain the cache at Ganon’s Tower. Enjoy your journey, and may the goddesses watch over you!
Next on your adventure is GC3V7T1, the Shadow Temple.