spiromania #87
This is a mystery cache. The physical cache is within two miles of the posted coordinates and about a tenth of a mile away from the listed waypoint at the cemetery.
Merton Cemetery is in Merton Township. The township was formed in 1858 and named Merton four years later. Although Merton is not a very common name, there is a tombstone in this restful, out of the way, beautifully maintained cemetery with the name Merton on it. Was Merton, who was born many years later, kindred to whomever the town was named for, or was he just named after the town? In either case, isn't it wonderful to have a resident interrelated to their land in this matter? Most of the 'ABCDEFGHIJ' needed to solve the puzzle will be available in the vicinity of his resting place.
- Let A = the number of letters in Merton's last name.
- How many years did he live? (Deathyear - Birthyear)? That's BC.
- Let D = the number of letters in each of his wives' first names.
- How many years did his first wife live? (Deathyear - Birthyear)? That's EF.
- What's the difference between his birth year and hers. That's G.
- How many years did his second wife live? That's BH.
- How many letters in each of his wives' names are the same and in the same position? That' I.
- J is the number of letters in his first wife's maiden name. You may have to Hunt for it.
There's another tombstone, in the southwest corner of the cemetery, with the same last name on it, probably for Merton's son and daughter-in-law Elaine, who was born in 19J9.
- ABCDEFGHIJ is a permutation of 0123456789, i.e. each digit occurs once.
So, where's the cache?
VJ BGHAD BGGIJ
which is short for UTM: 15T E 4BGHAD N 48BGGIJ. Enter VJ BGHAD BGGIJ (spaces optional) into the coordinate checker. If correct, you'll receive the corresponding lat/lon coords and a hint on the placement of the cache.
You can validate your puzzle solution with
certitude.
Congrats to the first ten solvers:
1. MIKEY MAC Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 14:21:39
2. LydiaSimmons Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 14:22:02
3. christopherascot Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 14:29:05
4. rehobch Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 14:44:39
5. Boreal Walker Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 14:59:06
6. NYWanderer Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 15:28:30
7. waterfan5 Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 15:37:05
8. lmt000 Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 16:33:17
9. Hal-oween Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 18:13:02
10. toolrep1 Mon, 23 Jun 2025, 19:39:14