In order to find this cache, you will first need to solve an easy field puzzle.
Find the wooden sign posts with three metal signs attached at the posted coordinates. Using the information on the three signs, substitute the equivalent number for each of the letters found on the signs, as specified in the clues below.
For your reference:
A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9, J=0, K=1, L=2, M=3,
N=4, O=5, P=6, Q=7, R=8, S=9, T=0, U=1, V=2, W=3, X=4, Y=5, Z=6
Final cache is at:
N 41° 27.ABC W 081° 13.DEF
A = value of second letter in the second word on the bottom sign MINUS 1
B = value of first letter in the second word on the middle sign
C = value of first letter in the first word on the middle sign
D = value of fourth letter in the first word on the top sign
E = value of sixth letter in the first word on the bottom sign MINUS 1
F = value of fourth letter in the second word on the top sign
The total checksum for all numbers in the north and west coordinates is 58.
I discovered the object at the final location several years ago when I was looking for hiding spots for a previous Poker Run event, and I thought it was kind of funny, so I decided to put a cache there this year. It's probably been there for many years, and it may have actually been useful in the past, but it's now long forgotten and has been reclaimed by the woods. You may have to bushwhack just a bit, but the cache should be an easy find.
To quote the Bard:
“To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep;
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub;
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.”
- Hamlet
Act 3: Scene 1: 56-69
If the mood strikes you, try and write your find log using a Shakespearean style, either in language or structure. Bonus points if you can do it in iambic pentameter!
(Okay, we’re all aware that there’s no such thing as bonus points in geocaching, but surely thou knowest what I meaneth!)
Don't forget to check the inside of the cache lid for the coordinates to the Joker Micro cache (GC6TPK8)!
Punderson State Park is open to the public from 6 am to 11 pm. While caching after dark is allowed, please be sure to exit Punderson by 11 pm when the park closes.