I wanted to
place my “Wanna Go to the Can…”
submission in a place easy for most geocachers to get to, but
add a little work at the same time. This cache will celebrate a
place where I spent many an hour in pursuit of my forestry
degree at WVU. The Core Arboretum was our outdoor laboratory for
dendrology and forest pathology. I thought it would be neat to
put together a little ‘tree ID’ quiz to obtain the final
coordinates for this cache, and test the knowledge of folks who
spend a lot of time in the woods caching.
This quiz
consists of identifying four tree specimens A through D. Each tree
has been chosen for its typical characteristics of the species. For
help, a tagged tree of the same species will be present within 100
feet of the specimen tree. The table below gives a brief
description of the specimen and choices that it may be. Each
identification choice has a number value that will be placed in the
final coordinates. All you have to do is identify the tree
specimens correctly and plug in the numbers for the cache
location.
At least three
different waypoints were taken at each specimen tree and averaged.
I hope the coordinates are close enough to eliminate other trees,
but look at the description in the table if you’re not sure. The
same averaging method was used for the cache
coordinates.
This cache has been around quite some time - circa 2006 - and the Arbortum has seen a lot of change in the intervening 19 years. Therefore a hint has been added.
|
Specimen |
Coordinates |
Possible Species and Coordinate
(Value) |
Answer
Code |
|
A – large
tree, approx. 24-28” in diameter |
N 39° 38.779’
W 079° 58.680’ |
Black Walnut
(4)
Black Cherry
(8)
Blackgum
(7)
Black Locust
(6) |
A = ____ |
|
B – small
tree, bumpy ‘warts’, approx. 6-8” in diameter |
N 39° 38.817’
W 079° 58.675’ |
Honey Locust
(0)
Basswood
(3)
Hackberry
(1)
Horsechestnut
(5) |
B = ____ |
|
C – small
tree, smoother bark, approx 8-12” in diameter; several similar
trees present nearby |
N 39° 38.818’
W 079° 58.725’ |
Sugar Maple
(2)
Red Maple
(1)
Red Oak
(8)
Basswood
(3) |
C = ____ |
|
D – large
tree, over 20” in diameter, somewhat loose bark in
places |
N 39° 38.818’
W 079° 58.733’ |
Shagbark Hickory (3)
White Oak
(9)
Black Oak
(4)
Mockernut
Hickory (1) |
D =
____ |
Once you have
the numbers associated with each tree specimen, enter them into the
coordinates below for the final cache location:
N 39°
38.A5B’x W 079° 58.ACD’
The cache is
located a short distance from the last tree specimen. However, if
you have trouble and would like to check your coordinates, please
send me an email and I’ll answer as soon as possible. Happy
Caching!
You can check your answers for this puzzle on
GeoChecker.com.