Good morning everyone. Today we make our final stop on Canadian soil. The Yukon Territory. The oldest geocache is 'Scout Lake Road cache' GCA13. Placed on April 20, 2001, this geocache has been found 19 times and has 8 favorite points. The most favorite geocache is 'Is this the smallest desert in the world?' GC2G4WW. This Earthcache was placed on October 3, 2010. It has 655 found logs and 154 favorite points.
Picking up from two weeks ago, I'll be discussing the different ways to solve the mystery puzzle caches. Before I begin, let's do a fast recap of part one.
Start with low difficulty level puzzles. Read the entire description including title, attributes and hint. Ignore challenge caches for now. Google is your best friend. Attend puzzle solving events. Join puzzle solving groups. Don't be afraid to reach out.
One thing I touched on was writing down the posted coordinates. If a puzzle you are trying to solve is asking you to solve all 15 numbers, looking at the posted coordinates can help eliminate some of those numbers. For example, Winnipeg lies mostly in the 49th parallel and the 97th meridian. The first two numbers in the North coordinates should be 49. The exception to this rule is if the posted coordinates is close to the 'border' of one parallel or meridian to another. Assuming that the posted coordinates is located in the downtown area of Winnipeg, your first two numbers are 49. Knowing that the first number is a 4, you can try to figure out how to arrive at the 4 in the puzzle. If you can figure that out, you may have cracked the code for the remaining numbers. This is also handy for some multi-stage caches as well.
Another helpful tool is the Geocaching Toolbox. This is a website full of useful tools to help solve puzzles. Different forms of coordinates, coordinate conversions, different ciphers and codes, numbers, and more. You can find that website here > Geocachingtoolbox.com
Let's solve a puzzle with some of the tips that have been mentioned and maybe we'll come across a few more tips. I'm going to start with one of my own that's been archived. 'Hot August Night' GC7W3G1 With my puzzle, you had to solve all 15 numbers. Let's look at the posted, or virtual coordinates.
I always write the posted coordinates down and put the solved coordinates underneath for easy comparison. Now we'll read the description or the puzzle.
It starts with North: Dialogue, You're So Sweet, Solitary Man, Sweet Caroline,... etc. Google is your best friend. Let's Google Sweet Caroline because that sounds very familiar. I like music and I have a hunch that this could be a song title.
My hunch was right. It's a song by Neil Diamond. How do these other possible song titles fit in? Let's dig a little deeper and look at Neil Diamond discography.
He released an album called Hot August Night in 1972. That's what this puzzle is called. I think we're on to something here. What are all the songs on this album?
There's Dialogue and You're So Sweet and Solitary Man. But there's a twist to the puzzle. You're So Sweet is the second song on the second side of the album. It's also the second song listed in the North coordinates. The second number should be a 9 because it's North 49. If you renumber the songs on the second side from where side one left off, those songs become the eighth, ninth, tenth songs and so on. Now you can solve this puzzle and confirm in the checker that's provided so you know if you have correctly solved it.
Another solving tip, look for patterns. In my puzzle, You're So Sweet appears in the coordinates four times. Each time it appears, it will be the number 9.
Here's another way a puzzle could be solved. White on White text. What is that? It is exactly as it sounds. As you read this, what you're seeing is Black on White text. Black type on a white background. White on white is white text on white background. It gives the appearance of being invisible.
This is the puzzle description to 'BLT #252' GC58EKD. Looks fairly normal. Where do you start with this one? You highlight the entire description. It's one of the first things I do for all puzzles, just to see if it's white on white text. It's quick and easy.
It's hard to see in the picture, but at the very bottom, after the last line, you'll see something appear in white type in the blue highlight. Those are the solved coordinates.
Some puzzles are multiple choice. 'Back to the Future?' GC2ZDT2 is an example of a multiple choice puzzle. Your options are narrowed down for you, but you may still need your best friend... Google.
Another puzzle type that is popping up more is a puzzle within the puzzle. You are taken to a third party website where you have to put a jigsaw puzzle together to get the solved coordinates. 'Birdhouse Series - Casino' GC8E3H9 is a jigsaw puzzle puzzle. It took me 46 minutes to complete the puzzle and get the final coordinates. This type of puzzle works better on a PC vs trying on your phone.
As you can see, it's a jigsaw puzzle and that's how it looks if you try using your phone. Doing this on an actual computer is much easier.
Another popular puzzle within a puzzle are Su-do-ku puzzles. 'Alaskan Flamingo' GC7K9FB is an example of this type of puzzle.
There are other ways to create and hide the solved coordinates. It can be hidden within the html code. This one is hard for me to explain as I'm not a computer techy. Everything you do on a computer has an html code. You can find it by right clicking on the description and clicking on source or inspect or however your computer may have it worded. This is best done on a PC as well. Hidden within the source code is the solved coordinates. It takes some searching.
You can use brute force. No, not actually physically forcing the answer from the owner. Although it can be tempting when you're frustrated with the puzzle, you'll be presented with a new puzzle. Coming up with the bail money to get out of jail. If you are missing one number from the solved coordinates, you have ten options as to what that number will be. It has to be between zero and nine. If you have a checker, just keep entering your guess until the checker says you solved it. I've also done this out on the field. I was missing the last number, so I entered two different waypoints. The first ending in zero and the other ending in nine. It's not that big of an area to search, but definitely bigger than the actual ground zero if you had all the numbers.
One term you may hear is 'Red Herring'. The best way to describe a red herring is to compare it to a maze. A maze has several routes you can take. Most take you to a dead end. Only one is the correct way out. Those dead ends are red herrings. A false sense that you're on the right path until you hit a dead end. Some puzzle owners will put red herrings in to make you work harder at solving the puzzle.
Don't be afraid to ask for help. Most geocachers who put out puzzles want you to solve the puzzle and find the final. They may provide a helpful tip or nudge in the right direction. A previous finder can help. Puzzle solving groups can point you in the right direction as well. Even I get asked for help on some of the puzzles I create. Just yesterday I was asked about my puzzle 'The Boys of Summer' GC7V6J7. The would be puzzle solver gave me their answer and I checked it with the correct answer. I informed them they had one number wrong in the North coordinates (I told them which one) and one wrong in the West coordinates. Now they can focus on just those two numbers instead of adjusting numbers that are already correct.
Another form of puzzle, and my least favorite, is Certitude puzzles. You have to figure out a key word to get the solved coordinates. I can't seem to wrap my brain around this puzzle type, so I generally avoid them and stick to the ones that I'm better at.
I'm sure there is more to discuss as I probably missed something, but hopefully this blog and part one from two weeks ago is enough to get you started on solving puzzles.
Weekly reminder about the photo contest. Find a geocache, take a picture, and send it to thegeocachingguild@gmail.com I'll be announcing the winner for August on the 29th. That's three weeks away. Don't delay, enter today.
That's it for this week. Tomorrow is my 8th geocaching birthday. Next week I'll look back at my eight years of geocaching. Until then, be happy, stay safe, wash your hands and wear a mask (even though it's not mandatory, still wear one anyway), hug your pets, and most importantly, just have fun. Peace out ✌
There's always just one more picture. Look who I met up with this week. It's Cache Canada. Londonwesty and lyriclass hosted an event and I got to meet both of them. Awesome people and I look forward to seeing them again someday.
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