Pat Garrett's Ghost Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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A hunt steeped in Old West History.
Patrick Floyd Jarvis Garrett has one angry ghost. Your ghost would be too, if you were shot in the back while attempting to void your bladder. For over a quarter of a century Pat Garrett was a major player in the local history of the area. Best known as the nemesis of Billy the Kid, he figured in two of the greatest mysteries of the Southwest. The disappearance of Albert Fountain and who was behind the killing of Pat Garrett, to this day, are two very big questions.
Come along with us on this cache adventure and see some of Pat Garrett’s country.
Plan at least two hours for this hunt. Home construction in the area adds a challenge to the search. The last section requires about a mile, one way, hike along a powerline road. (See hint for recommended parking. As of 9/1/08 there was lots of erosion in the area.) The road is not suitable for two wheel drive vehicles.
The desert will be full of things that will sting, scrape, stab, strike, or bite, so please be careful. We carry hiking poles to fish caches out from the bushes, crevices, or from under rocks ourselves.
The search starts in a Las Cruces Cemetery. Where else to best look for a ghost than a cemetery. Pat, his wife Apolinaria, and seven of their eight children are buried in the shadow of the GARRETT tombstone. Also buried there are a daughter-in-law, Olga, and what we suspect to be Apolinaria’s sister Feliciana.
Using the co-ordinates at the top of the page you need to do some math dealing with dates on the tombstones of the siblings. Each year is equal to one thousandth of a minute. We are dealing with the eleven graves in the area of the GARRETT headstone.
Add the death dates of the last two sisters to die to the latitude reading.
Add the birth date of the first born son to the birth date of the last born son along with three hundred and fifteen years to the longitude number. Now is that pesky longitude number positive or negative?
The last section of the cache requires that you visit the co-ordinates calculated in the last paragraph and use the encrypted clue. The area visited is the location where Pat was gunned down. Bladder voiding is discouraged at this location, or you may meet Pat’s fate. If you do encounter his ghost you may void your bladder anyway.
In the cache, an ammo can, the First Finders will find a copy of Leon Metz’s book, Pat Garrett – The Story of a Western Lawman along with a GeoMouse #35 and the usual goodies.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pbbeqvangrf ner gur ybpngvba bs n fznyy fgbar naq przrag znexre jvgu n Sro avargrra uhaqerq naq rvtug qngr naq C. TNEERGG vafpevorq ba vg. Gur pnpur vf bar uhaqerq guvegl-bar srrg ba n ornevat bs guerr uhaqerq naq gjragl qrterrf, aba-zntargvp, sebz gur znexre. Erpbzzraqrq cnexvat vf ng A 32 22.795, J 106 43.020 ba n aba-fpubby qnl. Sbyybj gur fznyyre cbjre yvar fbhgu.
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
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