JCAT-81: 3.5/4.0 - Why Did the Chicken Cross... Mystery Cache

Official Stuff

This cache is located in Sandy Creek Park.  As of 5/1/21, there is current a $2/person fee to enter the park.  Please obey posted park hours (They vary by season and are available online or posted at the gate).  DO NOT HUNT OUTSIDE OF POSTED HOURS.  Additionally, please make sure we follow all park rules, including:

• Please respect the property and Leave No Trace. 
• Park only in designated areas.  Do NOT park on the sides of roads or in non-designated parking.
• Please do not park on the dam. 
• Please do not enter the water at the dam. 
• Please don’t climb on the rocks at the bottom of the dam or enter dangerous areas. 
• Please do not dig in the park as no caches are buried.
• Please respect the property and Leave No Trace (Yes-- we said this twice).

Thank you for being respectful of this beautiful park!

The Series

Do you love mystery caches?  Do you love D/T (Difficulty/Terrain) ratings?  if so, we have a GREAT series for you!!!

The Jackson County Agritourism Geo-Trail 81 series (JCAT-81) has been placed for YOU! We do have to fess up that the series isn’t actually in Jackson County, but it’s a stone’s throw away and an awesome set of caches.  If you complete all 81, you will have completed an entire D/T grid. Total fizzy awesomeness!

The majority of the caches are hidden in Sandy Creek Park.  There is an entrance fee of $2 per person to enter.  Current park hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM, closed on Mondays. (Note: Hours can change-- please check with the park before making your trip plans)

The caches are hidden in a variety of containers and styles.  The puzzles will help build your puzzle-solving skills.  Be on the lookout for some JCAT-81 Puzzle-Solving events where we will help you solve some of the tougher ones.

This series is a collaborative effort of “The Puzzle Posse”!  The Puzzle Posse consists of Bragger407, GeoMonkeyTiger!, LaFavorite Cacher, and poeanne.

This Cache

This cache is rated a 3.5/4.0.  This puzzle might be challengeing for some, but it will come together quickly once you get it.  You are looking for a small lock and lock.  To reach the cache, follow the white-blazed trail until you get close.  A short bit off the trail, watch out for thorns, poisonous plants, and ticks!!  Be sure to be aware of private property markers and fences.  This will be a bit of a hike to get to!

Edit 6/16/23: Original cache host destroyed.  New host found at coords.  Hint and Certitude updated...

This Puzzle

(This puzzle brought to you by GeoMonkeyTiger!)

The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates!

Why?  

That was the question the Jackson County Agricultural Center had for us??

Why were these chickens choosing to cross this road in these places??  They couldn't figure it out, so they brought us in!

Of course, the first thing we did was attach a GPS locator to the chickens.  We wanted to know exactly where they were going.  Perhaps if we knew that, we could ascertain the purpose of their wanderings??

We decided to watch the chickens for two straight weeks.  Interestingly, we noticed that the chickens made precisely 10 stops each day!  What an odd curiosity.  We applied some analytics to the situation (I won't bore you with the details of specific trigonometry funtions, differential equations, and linear algebra), and soon we realized that the chickens may be trying to tell us something!

Can you figure it out?  Here are the readings we took:

Solution Checker

You can validate your solution with the Certitude checker below!