Leonid "the Lefty" or Mission Valley Views
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A short story about a spy who made his escape along the hills above Mission Valley, San Diego.
NOTE: THE COORDINATES ARE TO THE "RED SKIES AND SPIES" CACHE. THE STORY (AND YOUR INGENUITY) WILL ALLOW YOU TO FIND THE 1ST WAYPOINT (which is VERY nearby) OF 4 TO COMPLETE THIS PUZZLE.
It is NOT necessary to visit the "Red Skies and Spies" cache to complete the puzzle. However, you must, at least, know "where" it is located...
With the fall of the Soviet Union, many KGB documents have become open to the public. Only now are we able to see how our former enemy was able to secure secret information about our military and who was responsible for such exploitations. Recently, from one such KGB annal, came the increble story of Leonid "The Lefty" Leonidivich (pronounced, "Lay-o-knee-di-vich").
Labled a "Hero of the Soviet Union", Leonid, incredibly, constantly confused his left from his right. It is told his analytical mind quickly discerned complicated problems, but his brain never quite immediately seemed to be able to coordinate his directions. Numerous times, when he was ordered to go right, somehow or other he always ended up left and was successful at the venture. Indeed, it seemed, Leonid did everything at first, opposite of the way he was suppose to.
Late last year, during my research in Moscow, the last mission of Leonid's, in particular, came to my attention. Apparently, on long assignment in San Diego, CA, (his original orders had been to cover Cape Canaveral, FL, but yet again, he ended up on the wrong (left) side of the country), Lenny was discovered and almost taken into custody. According to his logs, he was correctly heading east on North Harbor Drive. But, when he reached his destination, instead of turning right onto Nimitz and setting up an observation post across the street from the Anti Submarine Warfare facility there, he turned left and quickly made an unwanted acquaintance with the guard at the security post. Hastily, turning left and then left again, he made his escape. In Lenny's journals, he laments that in his state of confusion and subsequent rapid retreat, he does not consciously recall how he ended up near his emergency extraction point or with whom he communicated that he needed help. The American authorities arduously assailed his trail, but alas, Leonid the Lefty had already disappeared.
The details of Lenny's efficient evasion took quite a lengthy investigation and for all that could be found, it seems that one particular comrade liaison, who knew of Leonid's limits, had previously prepared the perfect plan. Being also indoctrinated into the secrets of escape and evade, the liaison knew that, in an emergency, Lenny would go directly to the 1st pre-planned emergency location point. Knowing the best of Lenny's secured drop sites and, more importantly, the way that Lenny would initially approach it, the liaison placed the 1st of the flight coordinates near the drop site they used and codedly called, "Red Skies". Knowing also, that the Mission Hills of San Diego and the sights there were favorites of Leonid's to visit, they would, in all likelihood, keep him and his spirit, quiet and calm during his search and evade.
It is written that "Lefty" Leonid did find his first coordinates fix not far from his reliable "Red Skies" dead drop, and that he retrieved the micro-transmitter at the 3rd location to call for his 4th point extraction, but not much, unfortunately, is recollected after that. Perhaps, after retracing the famous escape for yourself, you can discern what happened to Lenny and let the rest of the world know, how, Leonid "the Lefty" Leonidivich lived out the rest of his life.
NOTE: Leonid's escape was due to previously well-concealed locations that went undetected by looming FBI agents around the sites. PRESERVE the historical aspects of Lenny's locations by properly keeping them EXACT and WELL CAMOUFLAGED points and not being discovered yourself while exploring them!
Total distance from waypoint 1 to 4 is just under a mile and should relatively take you anywhere from 30-45 min to complete if walking. Of course, this depends on how long you stay at each point. Best to do this multicache on a nice day and is a good one for tourists.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur arvtuobe fnlf, "Fgnl bhg bs zl cynagf!" naq ybbx sbe gung juvpu vf bhg bs gur beqvanel ng cbvag 1. Guvax yvxr n fcl ng cbvag 2.