The listed coordinates place you in one of the Grant Forest
Preserve parking lots that could be used when seeking the cache.
They have no other significance to the cache. While seeking the
cache, be sure to observe all Lake County Forest Preserve Rules; no
bush whacking is required. Watch for mugglers during times of heavy
use.
The cache derives its name from the fact that when you
‘connect the dots’ for the six key points, the
resulting figure resembles a kite on a string. To determine the
cache location, use the pictures of four towers posted here and
information from a sign next to where the picture of each tower was
taken. The posted pictures of the signs have been cropped. They
should help you find where the pictures were taken, but will not
give you the information required to calculate the offset. Picture
1 is associated with tower 1, picture 2 with tower 2, etc.
To find the coordinates of the cache, do the following:
- Determine the coordinates of the place where the tower PICTURE
was taken. In each case it was next to the associated sign. DO NOT
use the coordinates of the towers.
- Determine the coordinates of the intersection of the diagonals
connecting opposite vertices of the quadrilateral formed by the
sign locations. Assume the sign coordinates are all at the same
elevation. This is a calculated, intermediate point only. You DO
NOT need to, nor should you go to this point. It is an intermediate
point for calculation purposes only.
- Calculate the offset in METERS from the intersection point to
the cache. To do this, you will have to use information obtained
from the respective signs.
From Sign 1:
A = The sum of the numbers on the sign
B = The most times any single digit appears on the sign
C = The number that appears more than once multiplied by the
number of times it appears.
From Sign 2:
There are four words in red at the top of the sign.
D = a two digit number where the left digit is the number of
letters in the fourth word and the right digit is the number of
letters in the first word minus one.
E = The sum of the lettes in the second and third words.
The sign also has a sentence about how this area was made
possible. Using the words in this sentence
F = w x y z
where
w = the number of letters in the second capitalized word in the
sentence
x = number of letters in the shortest word in the sentence
y = the number of letters in the second word after the word
"and'
z = the number of letters in the first word after the word "and"
minus x.
From Sign 3:
G = The number of years included in the age range for people who
require fishing licenses.
H = The number of letters in the sentence that is all capital
letters under the heading ‘Path Rules’
J = The number of times the word ‘NO’ appears on the
sign
K = The number of times the word ‘NO’ appears in the
Fishing Rules PLUS 1.
From Sign 4:
L = The largest number (digit) on the sign
M: If the sign is foul M = 19, if the sign is fair M = 52
From the above sign information:
N = the integer value of F divided by B
Offset X (meters west of diagonals’
intersection)
X= N + (L x (D – K)) meters
Offset Y (meters north of diagonals’
intersection)
Y= G x D + (A x L x E) – M meters
One method of calculating the location is:
- Use UTM coordinate system; the numbers are in meters
- Determine the linear equation for the two diagonals using basic
algebra
- Use these equations to calculate x and y for the diagonal's
intersection.
In seeking the cache, you might want to expand the search area
from your normal size. The coordinates for the cache are dependent
on four waypoint readings and two sets of calculations. All five
intermediate coordinates could introduce errors into the calculated
cache coordinates. The container is a disguised box with the usual
assortment of goodies plus a FTF envelope. If you have questions,
please e-mail me. (Including your six coordinates would help if
your are having problems.) Seek the kite and enjoy!
P.S. This cache is modeled after a series in New Mexico called
‘Towers’ by mouser williams (GCMHZR, GCMRJD and
GCMYV4). It is a fun series and provided the inspiration to place
this cache.