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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(micro)
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in our disclaimer.
PLEASE DISREGARD THE POSTED COORDINATES, they have nothing to do with the actual location of this cache.
I thought I’d be the first to put a puzzle cache together in Anchorage, but it looks like I was a few days too late, Bilder already beat me to it (see Bilder’s Mind Bender). So, for all of you who like a challenge….this one’s for you. This is a backwards puzzle/multi-cache. Instead of me giving you the coordinates, I want you to give me the coordinates of the cache. There is an actual micro-cache (altoids tin) at the final cache spot. An Andrew Jackson dollar bill goes to the first time finder.
Below are 5 clues to different places/things in the Anchorage area. Once you are at these locations, mark your GPS, and using the hints in the clues, determine the location of the actual cache.
With a little thought, it is possible to narrow this cache location down by using any two of the clues below. If you use any three of the clues, you can actually pinpoint the location of this cache. If you decide to mathematically solve for the coordinates rather than use other methods, use 6083 ft/min latitude and 2932 ft/minute longitude (WGS84). Also, please note that all the coordinates begin with N 61° and W 149°.
These locations are in easy spots, if you find yourself needing to bushwhack, you are in the wrong spot. Read the clues carefully, read between the lines, and analyze every word. In order to log this cache, you must sign the log book and email me the coordinates of the cache. Also, let me know what method you used to find this cache and which clues you used.
PLEASE DO NOT POST ANY COORDINATES, PICTURES OF THE CACHE, OR PICTURES OF THE WAYPOINT CLUE LOCATIONS IN YOUR RESPONSES, THIS WOULD DEFEAT THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THIS CACHE.
On with the clues…………
Waypoint Clue Location #1:
This fearless soldier is armed and ready and will lead you into combat. Follow his lead, but you might want to let him know that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, and if you don’t veer off the straightaway course, you may end up crossing some rice paddies and traveling more than the 3595 feet needed to reach combat. Make sure you stay on your toes, but be sure to mark your first step so you can find your way back.
Waypoint Clue Location #2:
This Alaskan icon used to roam quite a distance from home, but now he doesn't roam very far. He’d love it if you would take him fishing with you, but a distance of 4082 feet is a little too far for this 80 year old friend, besides, he’s kind of attached to his present home, so you might want to visit him yourself.
Waypoint Clue Location #3:
This monument is dedicated to the organization started by William Booth in 1852 that rapidly expanded across the globe and finally made it up to Anchorage in 1941. General Booth was on a mission to bring the mis-led people of the world to Christianity. His work focused primarily on thieves, prostitutes, gamblers, and drunkards. You couldn’t find a more appropriate place for this monument. While there, be careful when looking across the street to the NW, as you might get sore-eyes. This monument is located 4018 feet from the cache. Rest your GPS on the emblem while you read the plaque.
Waypoint Clue Location #4:
Back in August 1943 during WWII, this stout worker was born in Eddystone, PA. He inherited his good looks from his founder Matthias Baldwin. He started in the Steel Industry in Pennsylvania and then entered the US army in Marietta, Georgia, and worked off and on until he was transferred to Fort Eustis, Virginia. In 1945, he moved to Alaska and joined the workforce with the Alaska Railroad. He worked for 12 more years until he ran out of steam and retired in July 1957. He was known as a loud and boisterous worker, and people from miles around could always hear him coming. On a nice sunny day, 68°F and 50.1% relative humidity, if you are standing at the cache site and you listen closely, even you, might still hear his call. Although, due to the distance between the two of you, there is a 2.22 second delay between his call and the time it takes to reach your ear.
Waypoint Clue Location #5:
Courtney Ford was the proud owner of this item and even took it with her to her grave in September 1902. In the 1960’s, Mike Uttecht Sr. went to her grave on Glen Island near Izembek Bay on the Bering Sea side of the Aleutian Islands and went to great depths to retrieve this item. Afterwards, it somehow ended up in the hands of Bob and Janice M. “Tilly” Reeve. In 1993, they donated it to the MOA. It is now on display 0.5698 nautical miles from the cache. Rest your GPS atop the plaque and take a stroll southwestward to get a history lesson. You may want to average a few readings, as almost 270 degrees of your horizon is inaccessible. P.S., don’t forget to stop in at the best fish house in Anchorage, or is it a meat market?
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Unira’g V tvira lbh rabhtu? V’ir pbhagrq bire 30 uvagf fb sne, ohg sbe gubfr bs lbh jub jbhyq yvxr bar zber……jryy, urer’f bar zber: “Lbh oevat gur qevaxf, jr’yy fhccyl gur trne—yrg’f qb fbzr pbzong svfuvat...V trg gb svfu va gur zvqqyr.” Abj lbh unir nyy lbh arrq gb svaq guvf pnpur.