Based upon Stephen King’s magnum opus, The Dark Tower, which tells the story of the last gunslinger: Roland Deschain. Roland is obsessed with finding a foreshadowed, skyscraping dark tower which represents the center of all universes. Along his journey he builds a ka-tet (a group drawn together by fate) of friends. Most of these waypoints are easy to find, but like Roland’s journey, you will encounter occasional obstacles.
This cache is not a quickie and you may prefer to break it up over time. Straight-through driving distance is about 40 miles. Time to complete this will be in the hours. You may need to visit one location between the hours of 8am and 5pm (any day of the week) if you cannot figure out the answer without entering the building. I have grouped the waypoints to minimize driving time/distance and I have provided checksums so that you can be relatively sure that you’ve solved each stage correctly before you move on. These checksums will equal the total of all of the digits in the coordinates of the waypoint. So this cache starts at a checksum of 52.
LOG REQUIREMENTS: You must sign the physical log. Any online log entries which do not have a corresponding physical log signature, or any which give away information about the final location or its puzzle will be deleted. Thanks for helping to keep this secret.
Supporting (and serving) the Dark Tower are six beams of energy. At opposite ends of each beam are a total of twelve, enormous guardian animals. These beams intersect each other at a central point where the Dark Tower is said to stand. In the book series, Roland and his ka-tet meet only one of the animals - the bear known as Shardik - along their journey to the tower. In this cache, you will aid his ka-tet and visit the locations of all twelve.
Beginning at the beam of Shardik, the bear, help Susannah find him either in a cave, or climbing a tree (probably wreaking havoc). There you'll also find A and B. [Eagle Waypoint is N 43 11.A W 70 52.B, Checksum=58]
Poor pedestrian sightlines. Please use sidewalks and crosswalks! The eagle flies both east and west and oversees the grassy lands surrounding his end of the beam. Eddie needs help searching each tree in this area (within 100' of the eagle) for a pillar of dedication to Army veteran Gorman. C is the sum of the first two digits you see. D is equal to the next two digits as they appear (do not add them). [Bat Waypoint is N 43 11.CD W 70 51.931, Checksum=50]
Oy has sniffed something out. Here the bat guardian hides amongst the bushes, perhaps with a mate? But it is the bat beside the hat who is the true protector. On the hat are four initials, the first three could also be read as a three-digit number. E is equal to this number plus 258. F is equal to the hat number plus 165. [Turtle Waypoint is N 43 11.E W 70 52.F, Checksum=52]
Maturin, the name of the turtle guardian, stands sentry over the beam, but also over the birthplace of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Jake points out that they were born in a home which stood in this narrow lot between public and private housing. (Yes. Now there's a dumpster here.) Discover the TMNT with the shortest name (from memory? from the interwebs?), then take the number of letters in his name and multiply it by 100. Add this total to F, then add 32 more to get G. [Lion Waypoint is N 43 13.654 W 70 52.G, Checksum=65]
The lion has a difficult and often busy beam to guard. Father Callahan says that the lion cannot be in two places at once, yet it seems that way. To stand guard against this busy road, the lion's days are long and he probably wishes he had more time. Multiply the hour by the minute, then subtract C to get H. [Horse Waypoint is N 43 12.896 W 70 54.H, Checksum=63]
Benny stares awestruck at this horse who stands tall, strong, and full of health. Near where he is on alert, a placard shows numerous digits, including a three-digit number which appears more than once. Double that three-digit number, then subtract from it double the value of C to get J. [Elephant Waypoint is N 43 15.J W 70 57.535, Checksum=53]
The elephant is hiding and even Alain and Cuthbert can't help you find it. How Do You Hide an Elephant? That's a good question AND it's a wonderful nearby cache by rjb43nh. I drew you to this location to point it out and strongly suggest it for it's cleverness. While you are here, K is the number of large stone "benches" in this immediate vicinity. L= J + B + K + K. [Dog Waypoint is N 43 12.L W 71 00.K72, Checksum=44]
Susan Delgado used to have a dog which she swore was the twin of this guardian. Ever silent. Ever vigilant. There is no guardian who takes his job more seriously. There is no need to touch him, nor anything he is wearing. Instead, he sits upon a three-digit clue. M = this clue + J - C - K. [Rat Waypoint is N 43 12.799 W 70 59.M, Checksum=67]
Here, the rat must avoid a very tempting trap or it could be the end of him. John Cullum visits this place regularly and recommends you go inside if necessary (to browse for the answer). Mayhap a shop proprietor can make your task easier? This location is famous for at least one particular product. Find the weight of a wheel associated with the product containing the guardian's name ("rat"). Add 9 to this weight to get P. Add 44 to the wheel weight to get Q. [Hare Waypoint is N 43 12.4P W 70 59.7Q, Checksum=67]
Calvin Tower asks, "Hares and rabbits are different. Hares live above ground, but rabbits live where?" It's important to find out because this hare seems to have taken guardianship of the beam and the rabbits' home. Perhaps the internet can help? Find the number in white next to the appropriate entrance. R = E + F + Q - K + the entrance number. [Fish Waypoint is N 43 07.300 W 70 49.R, Checksum=53]
Sheemie watches each night for the fish guardian, but he has never seen it. Yet watching still makes Sheemie happy, it does, say true. There are two interesting markers here, but one of them is certainly more fishy, and that's the true sign of the guardian. S = the more recent year - the earlier year - 6. T = B - P - K + C. [Wolf Waypoint is N 43 10.S W 70 51.T, Checksum=38]
You do not need to leave the pavement to visit this guardian. Stephen King was here. You can tell because he left a rose, mayhap, THE Rose, for Roland near this spot. As the wolf stands guard beneath another rose, regard how his forest brethren keep their distance, yet look on in admiration and respect. Your joyous journey is about to take one final turn. U is the last two digits of the second date on the second line. V is the last digit of the first date on the second line. [Final Location is N 43 09.U0 W 70 52.V41, Checksum=51]
Ka is like a wheel. The world is moving on, and you will someday reach the clearing at the end of the path. But long before you do, it is here that the Man in Black reveals himself to you and places a final, terrible obstacle in your path. Can you remember the face of your father when it has all come down to this? Be true, fellow cacher. Be true and draw fast. (Nothing I have said here is a hint. It will provide no help to you or your ka-tet. You are on your own to reach, well, whatever lies ahead.)
Congrats to rjb43nh and Serendipity12 for their co-FTF!