The uncanny find - Geocaching in the Jägersburg Forest - New Multi

Appropriately for the season, the owner Steffisburg has once again given the cacher community a present in the form of a longer multinational.

We played this multi, found it good and would like to introduce it to you. It will be difficult not to spoil things, but we won't tell you any solutions. If you want to do the cache without being too well prepared and already knowing about the 10 exciting riddles, then please stop reading HERE.

If you're curious, read on! The podium has been taken, we want to arouse your curiosity and encourage you to take a nice walk around if you are in the area – there are supposed to be some highly decorated caches here.

Border

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From here there is a risk of spoilers!

The spooky find

In GC8H5BQ you slip into the role of the GEOP as a geocacher, which is funny for Giggeligen Einhäuser local police officers. Giggelig, because the nearby town of Einhausen has roosters/giggles as mascots/local animals/landmarks. In this context, the virtual “Giggel…. Everywhere!” recommended by the same owner (GC7B7QB):

As that said policeman you are on the road in the story. An eerie find is said to have been made in the forest of Einhausen. Of course, as a police officer, you already suspect what was found, but it will not be revealed here.

routing

You set off directly from the specified parking lot on the way to the 10 stations of the cache and the subsequent final. According to the listing, it is a 5 km route for which you have to plan 2.5 hours. And we used these 2.5 hours exactly – with a small miscalculation, but we did it quickly towards the end of the tour so that we could get to the car before dusk.

The listing says that there are paved paths, but they can also be muddy at times. And it was the same with us. The shoes have to go in the washing machine, but we love our outdoor sport....

attributes

The attributes forbid the reading cacher to approach this cache at night, it is said to be less than 10 km long, but thorns and insects are also indicated. The selection of attributes seems to have been set very specifically. In particular, you are clearly advised of leaving the forest at dusk, NOT 24/7. And rightly so!

Dusk and wild boar

We started between 2pm and 2.30pm in winter and got back to the car just before dawn. It gets dark damn fast here in the forest once the sun is gone - and it gets fresh then too.

Shortly before station 5 we met a larger group of wild boars. Not far from the path, they were startled by us, ran in circles and then quickly ran away. We were not afraid for a second, but it shows that we are entering a habitat of other living beings. They really do exist! Our dog was leashed at all times and at least here shortly before station 5 we were very happy about it. He would have wanted to play. As I said: they exist, they are there. That's not bad and not dangerous for us, but dogs with a little hunting instinct...... Put the dogs on a leash!

Stations

The cache comes across as a longer multi with 10 stations + final. The 5 km figure in the listing seems very realistic to us, we didn't measure it, but according to the step indicator it's good. The distance between the stations is usually between 280 and 400 m.

There is an instruction sheet in each can, which also keeps us well in the story. We are addressed as GEOP and a little bit of the situation is told. Then comes the riddle that usually accounts for more notes in the box. All neatly laminated so we're confident the cache will hold up.

At station 1 we receive file notes to combine at lightning speed. The result of the riddle is not just a number, but a whole sentence, which put a smile on our faces. The individual stations are neatly laid out as waypoints, always with a calculation that acts on the letter/number given at each station. These numbers are only needed again for the final calculation.

We continue to Station 2, where we find a bunch of keys. So, find intended. You get instructions again, also exactly how to deal with the numbers that you can find. We liked the idea of this station very much, because you have to have that as material first...

Already enthusiastic about the design of this cache, we continued to station 3. We visited the cache on the 2nd day after publish. If the logs and conversations so far are to be believed, this was the station that gave most people a little trouble. I say LIGHT difficulties on purpose, because after a bit of thinking you'll figure it out. And the good thing: you know immediately that you're wrong if the first idea doesn't work that way. Here at the station, some visual talent is required. There has to be something like a puzzle, but reading it carefully also helps. And as always, less is more... We also wanted to heed ALL the clues, until we realized we weren't getting anywhere with that. So focused on the essentials and we had already determined the number that we needed for the next waypoint.

Here at this station you can experience another talent of the owner: drawing/painting. Very nice self-designed station that does not require any pre-made images from pixabay or shutterstock. Really lovingly made!

We then went on to station 4. Here it is about questioning the witness, who we found at station 3, about the possible crime scene. We receive confused statements and are supposed to determine two numbers... Thanks to the good instructions and ready-made materials, we find out the numbers quickly. Then came our “key error”, because whoever can read has a clear advantage…. We didn't read to the end and got the numbers wrong. This took us a small (really small) detour. Since we couldn't find anything on site, we looked at the photos again and quickly discovered our mistake.

After we convinced our dog Paul that he doesn't need roast wild boar, we went straight to Station 5.

Almost every cacher can deal with the call from the boss found there. So it's not the difficulty of solving the puzzles that make up the cache. It's the loving details. Because instead of having to open a corresponding app with a corresponding table on my smartphone, I find a tool in the can here. We reassure the head of GEOP, do a quick calculation and we already have the coordinates for Station 6.

The explanation card from station 6 writes of a "specially stored special case" - and we had the feeling too. What the topic was looking for here was not entirely clear to us at first. The task was clear and even for me - as a person who can not do anything with the topic - the solution was not super difficult. If there was only one number, I might have had to ask my aunt Google, but you are not alone on the road…..

With the next station, the story went on smoothly again. We had already found a witness, actually we were looking for the mysterious spot, but first we wanted to identify the culprit. With a wonderful variant of a Sudoku, the culprit could be quickly determined - and thus the required number for the next station.

Station 8 was then a slightly technical station, which can be managed without any prior knowledge. Since the battery could be empty or there could be other technical difficulties, the owner has put an encrypted note in the box so that you can definitely continue playing. As I said, not a difficult puzzle, but this technical station was also nicely wrapped up in the story.

And already we were at station 9. Here you will also find an aid, you have to read something, enter it and recognize a pattern. At first we were blind and couldn't see the forest for the trees. But after a second of closer inspection, it was clear where we should go to the prefinal, station 10.

Since we were out and about with several groups during the day - as I said, the publish was yesterday - we were greeted at station 10 and our dog would certainly be delighted. He was honestly uninterested in the site. All the more so for us. We had found the site!!!!

We don't want to reveal more about the prefinal - it's so sweet, you have to enjoy it. Also here: simple mathematics was enough to determine the last number and with all the numbers we went to the final.

There we put our stamp in the logbook, shot one or the other photo and after a few meters we found our car in the parking lot as dusk fell.

A short small talk with other geocachers and we drove in the direction of the Rhine bridge with a big grin on our faces.

Old school

As expected by the owner, the cache does not impress with technical frills, but with the good story. And with means that we understand by "old school". It is (we) great fun to walk leisurely through the forest, to find a clear, solvable puzzle at every station and to find the way forward without question marks in our eyes.

In the listing you are advised to have a pen and paper with you. Well-behaved as we are, we had it with us and used it. But in the age of smartphones, you could also write down the numbers there.

Under the hints in the listing you will find a hint for each station and for the final, which refers to the hiding place. At least with these hints it is possible to find the cans at any point. They are hidden fairly, you can see with your eyes where a hiding place could be and then you have the can in your hand.

We played the cache with 2 smartphones, which made it easy to enter the waypoints that the owner had already created. Sometimes users of other technical devices tell us that it is impractical to have the formulas in the waypoints. This was very useful for us and we could add a coordinate to each waypoint.

Conclusion:The multi "The Uncanny Find" (GC8H5BQ) should definitely be included in your own to-do list. A long journey across Germany is perhaps not necessary, but if you are in the area (and that can happen with cachers....), then you should not miss it. Our conclusion is: DO!