Geocachers based in the Fraser Valley/Metro-Vancouver area may be familiar with our geocache puzzle series “We’re All Connected” of the “WAC” series, as Mrs. Monkey calls it. We’ve recently posted notes on each of those caches to give locals who haven’t found them yet some notice before we archive them all, at some yet-undetermined time this spring or summer.
In order to assist anyone who’s keen on these caches, but hasn’t been able to get solves/finds for them, this blog entry will work you through some tips for each of the puzzle solves. I’ll also update this blog entry when we nail down a date that we’ll archive the series, so “watch this space” as they say! Below you’ll find a brief explanation of how to solve each cache, with the cache name as a hyperlink to take you directly to the cache page on Geocaching.com.
We hope this helps you enjoy this series if it’s been on your radar. And if it hasn’t, and you’ve no idea what we’re talking about, maybe it’ll give you some helpful ideas for solving or creating puzzles yourself!
WAC1 – Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Type: WhereIGo
D/T: 2.5/1.5
Using your preferred WhereIGo player, you download the cartridge, and then you will need to travel to a number of locations in North Langley/Fort Langley to answer historical trivia questions (answers found on signs/plaques at the various locations), culminating with you being provided coordinates for the final hide. Once at GZ, enjoy the hide and make note of the numbers/letters on the cache host, inside the main container. This info will help you complete the final cache in this series.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 3.5/2
To solve this cache, you’ll note in the story in the cache page we had to “Phone a Friend” (PAF) from each of the listed geocaches. The secret to solving this cache is to look up each GC code, and identify the area code for the community each of those caches is in. With that information, you’ll be able to get 4 digits for the north and 4 digits for the west coords. Once again, when at GZ, make note of the special information in the cache to help you solve the final.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 3/3
WAC3 is what’s known as a “Mob Cache” and uses a special website where multiple (4) geocachers each with a unique mobile device (phone, tablet, or laptop) need to simultaneously connect to the website from the same location in order to be provided with the final coordinates. Make note of the “Related Web Page” link to make your life easier with this one! Remember, when at GZ, make note of the special information in the cache to help you solve the final.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 2.5/2
The family that caches together… this puzzle is a bit of a logic puzzle. Use the information provided in the description to map out a family tree. Once you’ve done that, try numbering the family members in that tree from 0 to 9, and you’ll get your missing coordinates. Pay close attention to the “rules” in the description about how to list the names in the tree. And like all the others in this series, remember to make note of the special information in the cache to help you solve the final.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 4/2
Reputedly the most difficult puzzle in this series, this one has stumped many a cacher, and having a basic knowledge of music composition is a huge asset. Mrs Monkey created this puzzle with help from Donners (her sister, also a geocacher) and it is in fact a song written by Donners especially for this series! You’ll need to understand how the time signature in the music works, and then note that there are six slurs. You’ll get numbers from each of those slurs (leveraging the “beats” from the time signature) that will provide you a set of coordinates that make the geochecker happy. But please be aware, as noted in the geochecker, that this cache had to move at one point, so the updated coordinates are provided once you enter the correct info in the checker.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 3.5/1.5
Ready to travel? You’ll need an Atlas (or Google Maps if you prefer to avoid paper) to get the solve for this cache. Remember the over-all theme of this series “We’re All Connected” as you count up how many other states are connected to the borders of the ones illustrated.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 4/2
This is the cache that taught Mr Monkey that information on the Internet is subject to change! We’ve had to update the puzzle body details once or twice to respond to changes in the website making it unsolvable! So with that lesson learned, know that it *is* currently solvable, but it’s a handy thing to be aware of when creating your own mystery caches. Hovering like a hummingbird over each of the hyperlinks in the cache page description text will provide you a common theme for all those links. That will be the key for where to look up the ornithological physiological information you seek – you’ll find there is a specific diagram that provides numbers for specific biological terms used. Those numbers will get you your final coordinates.
Type: Mystery
D/T: 5/2
Having found all the caches in this series, and collected the special information from each, you’ll now possess the information to decode the 3 paragraphs and obtain the final coordinates. Note that each paragraph uses a different cypher so you’ll have your work cut out for you here, but pages like the Geocaching Toolbox will be extremely helpful!
