Background: I came up with this idea while trying to solve another cipher. It was kind of a random idea and didn't pan out for the puzzle I was working on. I thought it would be a novel idea for a cipher. I put in the back burner and thought I would do a puzzle like this some day. Recently I hosted my first event at the NY Beer Project. Someone made a comment regarding the event that you can “get a Borst find without solving a cipher that no one has ever heard of...”. Now all my cipher caches in the past were from known ciphers. Sure, I might throw in my own twist but they were all known ciphers. I took this comment as a challenge to deploy the cipher you have never heard of.
Yes, you heard right. A cipher no one has ever heard of. You will have to solve this on your own. Rumkin will not decode it for you. No other web site or decryption software package will decode it. You can page through the ACA handbook. Its not in there. Its up to you to figure it out. It is totally unique.
Because of its uniqueness, I am rating the difficulty at 5. The cache involves two legs. I reserve the right to have some fun with leg 1 but the final should not be too hard. Initially there are no hints but I will release some as time goes by. Terrain is a 2.5. Some days it may be tougher, other days it may be easier.
The cache is on public land. The posted coords are meaningless but the cache is within two miles. Beware of mosquitoes and ticks. Bring lots of bug spray. Dawn to dusk only. BYOP. Please replace the cache as found. As always, a coordinate checker is supplied for your convenience and my entertainment. The coordinate checker will also provide you with parking coordinates.
Coords at leg one were very bouncy. I tried to get good coords. Be sure to let your GPSr settle for a minute or two. Coords at the final should be spot on.
The cipher below does not use the number "0". All the round characters are the letter "O". The cipher does use both the number 1 and the letter I.
Without further adieu, I give you the Borst Cipher.
K1HT4AE5MN3ZE1DE5FO2BO2GG2RE3OX4WI5KO3CE4IE2UO4YW1EN3E V5ES4US3VH2XE2NT5GR1GG4EN1AI3LD2PI4QY2JT4SI5DR2MI4ZT5BD4H T2WO3QZ3GP4XI1BT2IH4PF2FW5HC1CE4MN5JS3KT2DE2TE4CS3TH4FR3I V3XO1FP3BR4KR4RR2YN2AN5LR2HS4NI3DZ3NR2SF5CS2VT4OR2CI4VT2K T3FW3RE3WE2ZT4GX3ME2OT3UY4TO3JN5AE4LE2QY4BE3YE3HG4JH2EE3S O5IR3PH2LI4DE3A
The first to find is entitled to a special gift, a hand made pen from me. Be sure to grab it when you sign the log!
Congrats to Spooko13 on the FTF/FTS. Well done!
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.