GCQVZY Kcoddarb and the Spider (Unknown Cache) in Pennsylvania, United States created by drossdross

This cache has been archived.

Keystone: As the owner has not responded to my prior note, I am archiving this cache page.

Regards,
Keystone
Geocaching.com Community Volunteer Reviewer

GCQVZY ▼

A cache by drossdross Message this owner

Hidden : 10/25/2005

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: regular (regular)

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Geocache Description:

This adventure covers a variety of terrains in Braddock’s Trail Park. The given coordinates are to the parking lot you will want to use. The clues needed to find this cache are in the following story. There are multiple stages. Jaggers can be dense. Please note that you will need some special equipment and supplies for this cache.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

Keystone asked that I emphasize that the techniques and materials used in this cache were reviewed and specifically approved by the North Huntington Township Parks And Recreation (NHTPR). This approval DOES NOT set precedent for future approvals of caches using similar techniques and materials. NHTPR would like it understood that this is the last cache that will be approved for Braddock’s Trail Park. The park is a sensitive wildflower area and NHTPR feels any more caches could begin to negatively impact this area. As a related note, you should consider attending one of the NHTPR wildflower tours offered during each September at Braddock’s Trail Park. I sincerely thank NHTPR for their review of this cache, and their consequent approval.

You are invited to partake in an adventure in Braddock’s Trail Park. The given coordinates are to the parking lot you will want to use. The clues needed to find this cache are in the following story. The required path is a mix of pleasant meadows, groomed trials, light brush, thick brush, really thick brush, and “oh my gawd how can jaggers be this dense?” (Careful dodging can reduce the impact of those jaggers, but brazen bushwhacking will definitely leave you hurting). There are only mild vertical changes that should not bother someone willing to consider a cache of this terrain rating. Please note that you will need some special equipment and supplies for this cache.

Kcoddarb (Cod Darb) the gnome went looking for an ancient treasure. He traveled to the edge of the known world. His last contact with civilization was a stay in a small, rustic inn that was situated uphill from a waterfall, and overlooked a large river. When he arrived at the sight of the treasure, a giant spider trapped him in its web and tried very hard to eat him. But the gnome had a sword and skillfully killed the spider and claimed the treasure it guarded. But the treasure was too much for the gnome to carry for a far distance, so he hid much of it a short distance away, leaving clues to himself so that he could recover it as he wanted it. Unfortunately Kcoddard’s next adventure didn’t go so well. In fact, the gnome became an appetizer for a highly irritated dragon. This left Kcoddarb’s hidden treasure unclaimed to this very day!

The elderly anthropologist Dr. Esirprus Ekans has recently discovered Kcoddarb’s diary. It’s not clear how it survived to the present, but it is in remarkably good shape (though some of it seems to be coated in a strange dried slime of some sort). In his youth Dr. Ekans wouldn’t have thought twice about trying to follow Kcoddarb’s path, but time takes that desire out of old bones. The good doctor, willing to live the search vicariously, calls up an adventurous acquaintance to entice them into an adventure – YOU.

Dr. Ekans calls you unexpectedly. He excitedly explains that he recently read a log on the same web site where you first met him: geocaching dot com. He tells you that the log entry [Scouts on Braddock’s Trail (GCNP5D)] mentioned the ruins of a square building up hill from a waterfall with a cistern even further up the hill – all overlooking the Youghiogheny River. Apparently these ruins are a very short distance off the Eagle #1 Trail. Dr Ekans explains that this description exactly matches the description in a journal he has recently discovered, at which time he shares the story of Kcoddarb and the Spider with you.

Dr Ekans settles into his lecture, “Luckily gnomes are creatures of great precision – I only wish that our technology could match their innate senses. Here’s what I’ve been able to sift out of Kcoddarb’s journal.” he starts. “The gnome spent the night at the inn and filled his water skin at the cistern. From the cistern he headed out at 887 slivers for 87 staffs. I’ve discovered through other research that the gnome civilization used a base 10 system for angles: 0-1000 slivers make up a full circle. North is zero slivers and they progressed to 250 slivers as east, and so on. Interestingly, gnomes never figured out how to make compasses, they just knew where true north was. They made distance measurements in staffs, and they used base ten prefixes for larger distances (kilo-staffs, mega-staffs, etc.). But surprisingly, they used a rather complex system for smaller distances: 17 pages to a finger, 4 fingers to a knuckle, 5 knuckles to a shoulder, and 4 shoulders to staff – quite a mess. I theorize it was carried forth from practical measures used in their past. Probably this grew out of trade, or possibly taxation. These would have required counts to be made, and items to quantified. But I diverge…Kcoddarb noted that the cistern was 11 knuckles in outside diameter. Gnomes seem to notice these types of details. And they seem to be astonishingly accurate in their dead reckoning measurements. It’s really quiet amazing!”

Dr. Ekans pauses and you can hear he is taking a deep breath. Then he pours on, “Well it seems that Kcoddarb fought the spider and after winning he left a spike with a number clue on it pounded into the ground and covered with leaves. He made sure he could find the spike because he placed it directly under the very center of the web, and he marked the end points of three web strands with tacks so that he could stretch twine to mimic the web in the future. Which is rather clever if you think about it – I mean who’s going to notice a small spike or a few tacks in the middle of the woods? You should be aware that tacks to the gnomes are more like the ‘eye’ bolts we use these days. The journal says that the number clue is of the form ‘ABC’. I suppose that could be a three-digit number, or three groups of multiple digit numbers. I really don’t know. But the journal is specific on how to use them. It reads ‘. . . go
{ [ (A X C) + ( A + B + 1 ) ] X [ (7 X A ) – ( B + 1 ) ] } - ( A + B ) slivers for
[ (10 + B) X (10 + B) ] + [ ( C - A ) + ( B + 1 ) ] staffs.’
Which seems pretty specific if you know what A, B, and C are.”

Hesitantly, you ask the doctor if there’s anything more that might help in your search (you don’t really want to give him much of an opening or you’ll be talking to him all night). After a pause he replies, “Well there is a mention of his tale being told by himself in a tavern soon after his adventure. I found it in an old book that seems to have been written by a person who heard the tale directly from the gnome’s lips. He wrote that Kcoddarb was extra sure he could find the treasure again because ‘...it was hardly 2 staffs from the four trees.’ Try as I can, I can’t find any references to ‘the four trees’. Perhaps the four trees are different, like 4 pines in a forest of maples. Or perhaps the four trees are clearly lined up in a row, or a box, or a diamond. Or maybe they are all alone in a clearing, or the only big trees in a young forest. I suppose it might only make sense when you are near the treasure. That’s probably why Kcoddarb was willing to reveal this cryptic clue in public.”

“Thanks doctor, we’ll let you know how it turns out” you say before hanging up the phone. You begin to ponder what you have heard...

To attempt this cache you need to have the proper equipment. Minimally you need (beyond the normal geocaching gear):

(1) a tape measure or yard stick
(2) a roll of string or twine (mason’s line is perfect) and a means to cut it (150’ is enough)
(3) a plumb bob
(4) a calculator

The ability to solve simple trigonometry functions like sine and cosine is not necessary, but can prove very helpful. Two rules of thumb that may prove useful are: 0.001 minute north/south is 6.08 feet and 0.001 minute east/west is 4.67 feet in Braddock Trails Park.

Highly accurate GPS readings in the area are hampered by a valley (which blocks a direct southern view) and heavy tree cover. Errors over 20’ seem common. Please email me directly the GPS readings you get at each stage, including the starting cistern. I will tune the cache over time based on these reports.