I did all of the usual things….
I looked for clues in the name.
I followed the links to the cache owners profile page.
I followed the link to the “Related Web Page”.
I looked at the web page source code for hidden non-displaying information.
I analyzed everything and every angle I could think of relating to anything on that page.
Nothing.
I had no idea how to solve this seemingly unsolvable puzzle rated at a mere 3 in difficulty.
I watched as user after user logged this cash as “Quick and Easy” and every time they did…
My self-esteem took a dive.
I thought, “Maybe I’ll never be a Puzzle Geocacher. Maybe I should stick to crosswords and jigsaws.” I’d sulk and within a couple of days I would find myself looking at “THAT” page again. This went on for over a month.
The very last time I looked at that puzzle page I thought to myself:
“I know everything that is here…. So… What isn’t?”
That was the day that I learned a very valuable lesson about “Unseen Things”.
Sometimes what ISN’T there IS the biggest clue.
Here is the cache: Just for Fred – GC1CNDY
I was so mad at myself I waited almost a year to go get this cache. Can you see what I missed? There is no line that says:
GEOCACHE IS NOT AT POSTED COORDINATES!!!
Now, granted not every puzzle cache page says this. But! If the puzzle your working on doesn’t have this line, or one like it, and you can’t find another way into the puzzle to try and solve it, then, there is a possibility that the actual listed coordinates are indeed the final coordinates. This type of puzzle is a version of a “Liar’s Cache”. And this cache made a liar out of me.
It turns out, I am a Puzzle Geocacher. Now that doesn’t mean I am the best puzzle solver in the world or that I can solve every puzzle cache out there. I does mean that I am curious, persistent, an avid learner, and a dedicated good sport and have a pretty good sense of humor. I’ve learned to laugh, not at myself, but with myself, doing puzzle caches. Especially this one.
During the course of doing this cache I learned a great deal about how I think and operate. Persistence is good, but resistance to looking at something from a different perspective is bad. I know a coin has two sides, but what I often forget is that it also has an edge.
These are the reasons I decided to begin the Wicked Wednesdays series with this cache. I learned to think wider, to think broader, and expand my perspective to see the edges of things. I learned to look for the obvious, even when the obvious is invisible.
 Wicked Wednesday |
In the coming weeks I’ll be going over some of the other “Unseen Things” mentioned at the beginning of this article. If you have any suggestions for additional “Unseen Things”, please leave a comment and let me know about your ideas. There is a lot of ground to cover when it comes to geocaching puzzles. I’m going to break the information up into bite size pieces to make it easier for beginners and experts alike to find exactly what they are looking for quickly and easily on this site. See you next Wednesday. Happy Caching! |
Thumb This Up!
