The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates! In order to discover the location of this cache, you will need to go to the posted coordinates and complete an easy six-zone Wherigo cartridge. At the final zone of this cartridge, you will find the cache itself. All zones and the cache itself are located along paved pathways on the Western side of Lake Kittamaqundi.
A Brief Reflection on Community (& Geocaching)
Community is a vital and important component of our lives. It can take the form of an organization trying to help others in need, something to foster a sense of belonging, or even simply a mechanism to meet up with other people to have some fun in the midst of life's chaos. Whatever it may be, it is something I have come to increasingly appreciate as I have gotten older.
Perhaps one of the most unexpected (to me, anyway) places that I have developed a sense of community is through geocaching. Spawned by curiosity I attended my first event, and I never would have expected that the people I met would become folks I spend time with on a monthly and even weekly basis. Through this local geocaching community I have been on many adventures both big and small, traveled across and met in other U.S. states, and even shared life events and milestones. There are also many times that involve simply farting around and having a good time - something we all should take the time to do every now and then!
Recently, a fellow geocacher (in fact, the person who got the whole monthly FTIC events started) mentioned to me in passing that it might be nice to have a Wherigo cache publish with my next-hosted FTIC event. I saw this as maybe a chance to give back - just a little - to this awesome local community of geocachers. It's not much, but I hope you all enjoy.
...enough of these rambling reflections and trying to sound much deeper and self-aware than I really am. Onto the cache!
Completing the Wheirgo Cartridge & Finding the Geocache
In order to find the coordinates of this geocache, you will first need to install the Wherigo app (or a Wherigo compatable app) on your smartphone. After its installation you will then need to download the Wherigo cartridge titled "XOXO, Community." The button below will take you to the website where this cartridge can be downloaded.
Next, upload and open this cartridge in the Wherigo app and proceed to the posted coordinates where you will find the first "zone" of this cartridge. Upon your arrival, the cartridge will show you a phrase with a missing word. You'll notice you are standing on a paved walkway, on a rectangular section of red bricks surrounded by grey cement pavers (NOT in the large plaza of bricks). On some of the bricks in this section there are names and messages from community members of the city of Columbia. These folks gave to their community by donating a little of their resources to help install the walkway you are standing on. You will need to search these names/messages to "fill in the blank" in the phrase dispalyed in the Wherigo cartridge. Ensure you use ALL CAPITAL LETTERS when submitting your answers in the cartridge.
Once you complete the first phrase, walk north to the next "zone," which is the next rectangular section of red bricks, and use the names/messages in this subsequent section to "fill in the blank" of the next phrase. Do you see the pattern here? You will need to continue in a northward direction until you have successfully visited all five sections of bricks, and completed all five phrases. Note that each "fill in the blank" phrase corresponds to a name/message in a different section. In other words, no rectangular section of bricks will be used more than once! By successfully completing all five "fill in the blank" phrases you will be given directions to the final "zone" where the cache is hidden.
The D/T rating takes into consideration both completing the Wherigo cartridge and the hide. The cache itself is hidden off the paved pathway around Lake Kittamaqundi. You will not need to backtrack between the posted coordinates and the location of the cache. The entire route is paved, with scenic views of Lake Kittamaqundi abound. All that was left in the cache for the FTF was bragging rights.
As always: Don't be that guy! Please leave the cache as good as or better than you found it.