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The Tortoise and the Hare Mystery Cache

Hidden : 1/8/2018
Difficulty:
4 out of 5
Terrain:
1 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:



This is a puzzle cache based on Aesop's fable about a steady tortoise and an impulsive hare. The given coordinates are not where you'll find the cache. To find the cache, you'll have to solve the following puzzle:

The Hare came upon the Tortoise one day and began to laugh at him for how slowly he moved.

"What a useless creature!" he said, "I think that we should have a race so that everyone can see what an embarrasment you are."

Nobody was more surprised or more pleased than the Hare when the Tortoise agreed to the challenge and said he would race against the Hare the next day.

The news spread quickly and at the appointed time a large crowd had gathered to see the Hare and Tortoise compete. The Fox said she would act as a judge, and soon started the runners off. Before the Tortoise had barely left the starting line, the Hare had already opened up a large lead

"What a ridiculous creature that Tortoise is" thought the Hare. "I will make him look even more of a fool by beating him despite having lain down here in the warm sun for a nap."

As the Hare lay asleep in the grass, the Tortoise kept on going slowly and steadily. Soon he passed the sleeping Hare and after a while he could see the finish line. With the Hare nowhere to be seen, his supporters began calling for him and hearing their cries the Hare woke. Up he sprang and raced as swiftly as he could but it was not fast enough to beat the Tortoise across the finish line.

Moral: the race is not always won by the swiftest.


You could express the headline of the newspaper article as the sum:

HARE = LOSES - RACE

After a little work you would find that there are six separate ways that the sum could be correct with the letters each representing a different digit from 0 to 9 (as the first letter of a word, H, R and L cannot be 0). Of these, however, only one agrees with the spectator at the race who said:

"TORTOISE is worth more than a thousand HARES!"

You will find the cache at N37 57.XXX E23 42.YYY where XXX is what results when 27 CATs and I lose ALL, and YYY is what happens when you take the SALT out of 10 SEAs.

The cache is a magnetic nano, and you will need to bring your own pencil for signing the logbook. As the cache is hidden in a public area which can be reasonably busy, please be discreet when locating the cache and when hiding it again.

W (a.k.a. DidianRay)


You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Gur Chmmyr: Gur fhz pbagnvaf whfg rvtug qvssrerag yrggref juvpu ercerfrag rvtug bs gur gra qvtvgf sebz 0 gb 9. Gur G naq gur V zhfg or gur erznvavat gjb. Gur Pnpur: (Uvag hcqngrq Znepu 2019) Haqre gur rqtr.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)