Skip to content

Paris Hilton's Coordinate Lines Mystery Cache

This cache has been archived.

Statfinder: This one had a good run, but it's time to archive it. Kudos to all of you who did the math and figured out where it was hidden!

More
Hidden : 12/22/2006
Difficulty:
4 out of 5
Terrain:
1.5 out of 5

Size: Size:   micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

The cache is not at the coordinates above! These coordinates will take you to the intersection of Big Bend and Sulphur Springs Roads. To find the cache, you'll have to solve the puzzle below. The cache is within 5 miles of this intersection.

The container is a small green container with a screw-on top. It contains only a log sheet and is hidden in the branches of a tree, slightly above eye level. Bring your own pencil or pen.

Paris Hilton spends a lot of time flying back and forth between the parties and premieres in Los Angeles and the shops and cafes of her namesake city in France. Her beleagured pilot got tired of answering his famous passenger's questions of "Aren't we THERE yet?" and "How much longer?". He realized that he could answer these questions more quickly if he didn't have to use both latitudes and longitudes to calculate the answers. He developed a new coordinate system based on the route he followed on these trips. Like the familiar system of longitudes and latitudes, the pilot's new coordinates are based on degrees and minutes with two orthogonal sets of reference lines. However, in this system, the point (0°, 0°) is no longer off the western coast of Africa; instead, it is the halfway point on the trip from Los Angeles to Paris. The airports of both cities lie on the new equator that also passes through that midpoint. (See the waypoints for coordinates of the airports.) Now, the pilot can estimate distances on the flight by using only one dimension.

The pilot gave the name Paris Hilton's Coordinate Lines, or PHCL, to his new coordinate system. He tried to explain it to Ms. Hilton, but she thinks that "coordinate" means that her purse matches her shoes, so she didn't understand the system. The pilot realized that he had to assign new directions, since North, South, East, and West were no longer relevant, and those new directions would have to make sense to his geographically less-talented employer. He used the letters PHCL again to indicate the new directions. Travel parallel to the new equator was either L (for Los Angeles-bound) or P (for Paris-bound) relative to the new (0°, 0°). Travel perpendicular to the new equator was either H for "Hot" or C for "Cold". That way, if Paris is invited to a party on South Beach in Miami, she could say, "That's Hot!" and she would be correct. It is important to note that, in Paris's world, everything is perfect, so the Earth is a beautiful round sphere. Also, Paris never flies on those icky commercial airliners with stopovers and delays. Instead, she flies on a private jet between cities using the shortest possible route.

The cache is at H 13° 4.200' L 22° 0.913'

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ernq "Boyvdhr znc cebwrpgvbaf hfvat ebgngvba zngevprf" ol Jnyqb Gboyre (ninvynoyr bayvar).

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)