Difficulty is based on distance, not terrain or difficulty of the
hide. Error is running around 35 feet at the cache due to tree
cover. To make things more interesting, you have two choices for
stage 3, or you can do both. Option 1 is more winter friendly,
Option 2 leads you through more scenic territory enroute to Stage
4. Plan on at least an hour and more than 2 miles of walking to do
this one. The terrrain is easy everywhere, but the rating will
reflect the length of the walk. When placing the cache, we walked
2.7 miles in 45 minutes, and didn't stop at any stage except the
final one.
The cache is dog friendly and also bicycle friendly except the
last 1/2 mile or so. Bring a lock if you're going to ride your
bike. You may need a campus registration for your bike to be legal.
The entire cache is on pavement or cement except for the last 1/2
mile or so, which means most of it is handicap accessible,
unfortunately the final stage is not.
Your biggest challenge with this cache might be finding a
parking place. Even having a parking permit only gives you a
"hunting license". Evenings and weekends may be the best time for
most people to search for this one. On street parking is available
in the neighborhoods to the north, but it will add to the length of
your walk. You may be able to drive between some areas, but it will
compound your parking problems. Metered parking is available in
some places on campus, be aware that an hour of parking costs you
$1.50 or more in quarters.
Stage 1 - N42 43.921 W084 28.936 Michigan Historical Commission
registered site No. 1 At this site, you will find yourself standing
in front of a campanile. This structure contains a carillon. With
luck, you might have a chance to hear a concert or a portion
thereof as we did while working on this cache. Make note of the
following information, you will need it later: What is the last
character in the third line on the bottom plaque (Below the
historical commission plaque)? Ignore the heading! Let this
character equal a. How many bells were added - same plaque? Let
this equal b.
Stage 2 - N42 43.923 W084 28.802 Linton Hall How many words are
there in the largest text size in the inscription above the door?
Let this value equal c.
Stage 3 - Option 1 (More Winter Friendly) N42 43.857 W084 28.823
Dora Hall Stockman This is a memorial to an important woman in
Michigan's political history. What is the last digit of the year
this lady died? Let this equal d.
Stage 3 - Option 2 N42 43.686 W084 28.744 Bandshell The oldest
half of our team can remember riding by this area and seeing this
structure as a child. Add the first and last digits from the year
of the class which donated the item commemorated here. Let this
equal d. This might be hard to read after snow falls.
Stage 4 - N42 43.717 W084 28.443 Alumni Chapel This is the site
where our married life began, a fair number of years ago. There is
a date in the masonry, just right of the door. Add the first and
last digits together, then add one. Let the result equal e.
Stage 5 - Getting close – this is a nice place to sit and
calculate the stage 6 coordinates, take a rest or just enjoy the
view from this location. To obtain the coordinates for stage 5,
subtract 0.bce from the minutes portion of the latitude of stage 1,
and 0.ada from the longitude portion of stage 1. This is the
location of the original Red Cache which has been superseded by
this new placement.
Stage 6 - Final Location The rest is easy, we'll give you the
figures. Take the data from Stage 5 and add 0.065 minutes to the
latitude and subtract 0.098 minutes from the longitude of stage 5's
results to determine the final location of the cache. We averaged
the readings for several minutes to come up with the values used
here due to tree cover.
The final stage is a traditional cache. It is a plastic
container approximately 3 x 4 x 7 inches. The hide is alongside the
trail, in keeping with the posted request that visitors stay on the
established trails. You will only have to step a few feet off the
trail. Please re-hide exactly as you found it.
The cache is located in an area which has been used as a study
and demonstration area for the nation's oldest continously
operating Bachelor of Science forestry program. Beware of falling
limbs in high winds.
Be alert for muggles, this area has heavy traffic at certain
times, especially during partying hours. CITO is strongly
encouraged. The cache has a theme, which is to contain items that
are red, can be read, have been read, etc. Puns on the theme are
appreciated and welcome!
Initial contents are: Red logbook (feel free to put multiple
entries per page and use both sides), and a variety of other items
that are either red or can be used to create a pun on the theme.
There is a red carabiner keychain with the Icelandic flag on it
which we brought back from Iceland as well as a coin holder from
the Coors gift shop in Golden, Colorado among other goodies.
When the river is high in the spring, it may be hard to find a
good route to the cache, but it shouldn’t be underwater unless we
have a huge flood like the one in 1975.
If you found our original Red Cache located nearby in the same
natural area, feel free to simply apply the offsets above to the
final stage from that cache and go directly to the cache. If you
logged that cache, and no longer have the results, contact us.
We’ll verify that you logged the cache, then send you the
coordinates for Stage 5.
Due to extensive construction on campus during the summer of
2006, driving between stages will be very tough. At the time we
placed the cache, all stages were accessible by foot, but not
always by the most direct route. We’ll try to monitor the situation
through the summer as the construction zones move and disable the
cache if any stages are temporarily unavailable.
Congratulations to Homebru and GoldFinch on being FTF
