PARKING: Free parking in the lot at N 38 58.222, W 077 23.179; parking also available on local streets at most times. If traveling along the W&OD Trail, stop near milepost 20. Total distance from beginning to final and back is about three miles.
Herndon grew up as a railroad town, in an area of dairy farms and summer houses. The Herndon Museum inside the Depot has artifacts and photos, as well as a good selection of brochures and information about this area of northern Virginia. Start your geocache search at the listed coordinates, and follow the brick sidewalk in front of Town Hall to the train depot. Read the sign showing the mileage from Herndon: Washington to Herndon = _ _. _ miles; Herndon to Round Hill = _ _._ miles. Subtract the smaller number from the larger, multiply the answer by 10, and then subtract 1 to get “AB.”
Find the three large historical markers next to the bike path north of the depot, and answer the following questions: The Town of Herndon was named in _ _ _ _. The date of the first train to travel through Herndon from Alexandria was in _ _ _ _ . During the Civil War, Mosby’s Rangers attacked a U.S. Army guard at the Herndon train station in _ _ _ _. Add the last digit of each of these three years together, then multiply the sum by 5, then subtract 5 to get "CD."
Walk to the W&OD Caboose and note the number on the caboose = _ _ _. Multiply the last digit by 2, then subtract 3 to get "E."
Now walk north along Lynn Street until you come to a small concrete structure with a sign on the side, and answer the next two questions from the sign: The growing community needed new sources of power, and the equipment used in this structure was important until electric lighting replaced gas in _ _ _ _. William Moffett’s busy blacksmith shop was relocated to Frying Pan Farm in _ _ _ _. Add the four digits of the first date together, and then add the last digit of the second date to the sum to get “FG.”
Cross the street and follow the brick pathway to the rear of the Herndon Municipal Center to find a memorial which may remind you of another landmark! Looking at the center plaque (north side) count the letters (not spaces) in the bottom row. Multiply the number by 3 and then subtract 4 to get "HI."
Turn around and read the name of the domed building; this is named for an early civic group in Herndon who began a lending library for the town. How many nights are in a Fortnight? Use just the first numeral for "J."
To get the final coordinates for the cache itself, replace the letters in the coordinates with the numbers you computed: N 38 AB.CDE; W 077 FG.HIJ = N 38 _ _ . _ _ _ ; W 077 _ _. _ _ _
FINAL: Using the coordinates which you computed above, it will be a pleasant walk of about a mile and a half to the cache. (less if you prefer to park near the final)You will be able to stay on the bike trail and dirt trail next to it until you are very close; APPROACH THE FINAL FROM THE DIRT PATH, NOT THE PAVED BIKE PATH, please. Do not enter any private property along the way.
Please replace the cache exactly as you found it.
Check your answer at Geocheck.org:
.