The posted coordinates are only for parking - read the description for details.
I was looking over all the non-traditionals in the area for the anOTHER challenge nearby and noticed something shocking; there are no active multi-caches in Kalamazoo! Sure, there's a couple in Portage and Texas Twp, but not a single multi within the bounds of Kalamazoo city limits. And so, I aim to rectify this little situation by placing a couple of multis in and around Kzoo, as I find multis are very fun and interesting.
This cache will take you on a little tour around Goldsworth Valley Pond on Western's campus. You will have to gather intel from multiple locations in order to obtain the coordinates for the well-hidden final cache. It is my hope you will enjoy this little fact-finding exercise and maybe learn a thing or two while you're at it.
I recommend you park for this one by the posted coordinates, if possible - it will cut down on your walking. You can complete the stages in any order you like, but if you're in a hurry, the listed order will suffice. Here is the information you will need:
At Sculpture #1, write down the name of the sculpture. Using A=1,B=2,...Z=26, add up the lettters. This will be A1.
At the Rocks, note how many painted rocks there are here. This will be R.
At Memorial #1, write down the last name of the person being honored here. Do the same thing you did for A1 and this will be M1.
At Sculpture #2, write down the one word name of this sculpture. Add the letters like before and this will be A2. (ignore any diacritics)
At Sign #1, note the number of letters in the second word in the title of the sign. This will be S1.
At Memorial #2, note how many letters appear in the full name of the person remembered here. This will be M2.
At Memorial #3, note the last digit of the year this memorial was placed on. This will be M3.
At Sculpture #3, write down the name of the sculpture and add the letters. This will be A3.
At Sign #2, note how many acres are drained and how many stormwater drains there are. These will be S2 and S3.
At Memorial #4, write down the name of the person whom the swan sanctuary was named after. Add up the letters and this will be M4.
At Sign #3, note the last two digits of the year the pond was constructed (yes, this pond is manmade!) This will be S4.
And finally, at Sculpture #4, note the number of letters in the last name of either sculptor. This will be A4.
Once you have all of the info, it's just a little bit of math!* First, you add up each of the like numbers, like so:
A1 + A2 + A3 + A4 = A (digit checksum: 14)
M1 + M2 + M3 + M4 = M (digit checksum: 5)
S1 + S2 + S3 + S4 = S (digit checksum: 13)
The coords for the final are:
N42 17.X
W085 3Y
Where X = S + S3 + (S2 + M3) / A3 + (A - M) - M3 - sqrt(M4) / A4 and Y = S4 / S1 + (A2 - A1) / (A3 + R). X is a three-digit number and Y should be a mixed number you round to the third decimal place. Simple, right? Then go get it!
Note: the difficulty on this cache is mostly for the time investment... if you're looking for a P&G, this ain't it. You should anticipate spending around an hour or more on this, as there are also a number of places the cache could be hidden, but use your geosenses and you should be able to find it. Also, be aware that muggle activity can be very high at times, so plan accordingly for that.
Congrats to BryantsofTR on (yet another) FTF!
* Okay, maybe quite a bit of math...