This cache complies with the geocaching policies for Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R) properties. Please respect park hours when caching.
The cache is not at the posted coordinates. Find the images and solve the puzzle to find the final location.
Congratulations to Wesser26 and gjhimages for shared FTF, and many thanks for their tips to improve the puzzle which they had to wrestle through on their own to make the first find!
General hints: All viewpoints and the final cache location are inside Laurelhurst Park (bounded by SE Cesar Chavez, SE Ankeny, SE 33rd, and SE Stark). Viewpoint A is at the posted coordinates near the Southeast corner of the park. The next 5 viewpoints are in the section of the park south of Oak street, not in any particular order (although as with the rest of the puzzle, no two consecutive viewpoints are more than 500 feet apart, and most are much closer). The rest follow a path that runs roughly counter-clockwise around the outside of the main park (North of Oak), and then again counter-clockwise around some of the inner paths. Note that although there are several photos of staircases in the image set, they are provided as waypoints only — we did not actually walk up or down any stairs while taking the pictures for this route, other than the short staircase at the entrance between viewpoints 1 & 2. You do not need to find all 35 viewpoints to solve the puzzle; only the 10 with black borders are required (1, 5, 7, 10, 15, 16, 18, 25, 26, 35); the in-between views are to help you find your way to the ones that matter. Some of the viewpoints are along unpaved paths and there is some elevation gain/loss during the walk, so we rated the terrain a little higher than other park caches in this series. If you find every viewpoint and the final location in order with no wrong turns, you would walk a little over 1.5 miles. Based on the experience of other finders of similar puzzles, you can expect to walk closer to 3 miles, accounting for backtracking.
A: Viewpoint 1 is at the posted coordinates. How many letters are in the word carved into the arch? That number minus 8 = A.
B: How many of the cloverleaf designs in viewpoint 5 are on the structure that encloses the North patio of this building? Count all the cloverleafs on the North, East, and West sides of the patio. That number minus 6 = B.
C: Near viewpoint 7, there is a sign with a list of rules for this area. How many bullet points are on this sign? That number minus 7 = C.
D: Just below viewpoint 10, find the 5-digit date stamped into the plaque. The second of those digits = D.
E: At viewpoint 15, count the decoratively-carved rafters (the guys with the curved ends and the notches on the bottom). This number minus 12 = E.
F: At viewpoint 16, there is a plaque on the ground below the tree. There are several years on the plaque. The fourth digit of the *earliest* year mentioned = F.
G: Which direction are you facing at viewpoint 18? (if you found this one out of order, make sure to orient yourself in the direction you would have been traveling if you found 17-18-19 in sequence)
NE: G = 4. NW: G = 5. SE: G = 6. SW: G = 7.
H: Find the year on the plaque under the sculpture at viewpoint 25. Third digit of the year minus 4 = H.
I: At viewpoint 26, not counting the pictured logo, how many illustrations (representing plants or animals) are on this sign? This number minus 1 = I. (note that there are two similar signs to choose from here, back-to-back on the same structure. You are looking for the one with the headline 'Outdoor Ethic')
J: About 50 feet from viewpoint 35 along the same fence is a hand-painted sign naming a nearby landform that begins with 'Boomerang'. How many letters are in the second word on the sign? This number minus 4 = J.
Cache location (Octopus hunt): For the final coordinates, solve for North 45 AB.CDE, West 122 FG.HIJ. This octopus is nestled in some tall weeds. A previous finder tells me it might be Honeysuckle or Lonicera pileata!
**UPDATE 7/30/2023** Due to damage at the original final location, I had to move the container slightly. I did not update the puzzle solution. So once you confirm the solution with the checker, start your search about 6 feet to the west (adding .004 to both the lat and long that you confirm with the checker should get you there too)
Checksum A through J = 27
Full-size images if you want to print from home: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1833oUcp_CSwA2tAWa7Oo7lcukQq63crn/view?usp=sharing
More Little Pictures!
