Welcome to the beautiful King Nature Reserve! It's a
hidden gem in the suburbs of Murrysville. The Westmoreland
Conservancy has graciously permitted me to place a multi-stage
geocache at this reserve (see map).
So, as always, please respect the flora and fauna during your
visit. Just park at N40° 27.212 W79° 39.448 which is the parking
area along Crowfoot Road and cross the street to the blue blazed
trail up the hill. Please stay on the trail until your
final approach of each stage as this area of the King Natural
Reserve is bordered by the Crowfoot Rod and Gun Club's rifle and
shotgun ranges. The trail clearly avoids the
shooting ranges, so you should be safe. The cache is setup as a math problem. You will
visit multiple locations in the nature reserve to get numbers that
you will use in the determination of the final coordinates. I
was inspired by Team VaxCave's
"Epinephrine:: Dark Hollow Math" (GCPAMB).
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: You
will need a measuring tape longer than 8 feet. A 12 foot tape
is sufficient.
This cache is intended to give you a
full tour of the nature reserve. You have a good chance of
seeing deer, turkeys, and squirrels along the way.
Enjoy
your journey! Geocaching is more than just
numbers.
STAGE 1: N
40°27.273 W
79°39.342
Measure the circumference in inches of this large
tree. Make the measurement at the height of the blue blaze on
this tree. This number will be
referred to as "A".
STAGE 2: N
40°27.481 W
79°39.181
Count the number of trunks in this multi-trunked tree. It
has more than 4 trunks but less than 15. Count them at the
height of the top blue blaze. This number will be referred to as
"B".
STAGE 3: N
40°27.608 W
79°38.990
Find the middle line of this sign. It has the format of
XX-YYY-ZZZZZ. The XX number will
be referred to as "C", and the YYY number will be referred to as
"D".
STAGE 4: N
40°27.520 W
79°38.769
There is a micro-cache (i.e. Crystal Lite Container) at this
location. It is inside a vertical crack of tree. It is within
20 feet of the trail. Inside this micro-cache is
number. It will be referred to as "E". The container
also has the coordinates to the next stage and the item to
count.
STAGE
5:
This number will be referred to as
"F".
STAGE 6 - FINAL
STAGE:
Solve the equations based on the
values that you have retrieved from around the natural
reserve.
Part 1: kkk = (C x (B + 2)) + (A / 8.1) + (3 x F) + 2
Part 2: jjj = ((F + 3) x E) + D
Final Stage Coordinates: N40° 27.kkk W79° 38.jjj
The final stage is a small ammo
box.