Bunkers Hill

Length	Estimated Duration	Difficulty
2.6	1.5	2
Max Elevation	Terrain Types	Smiley Rate (Caches/Distance)
696	Road / Rough Path / Fields	0.26

This weeks blog update is slightly different as a combination of illness and very bad weather have kept the crew indoors and our caching has been limited. We did manage to get to the worldwide flash mob event held at Denham Quarry (GC3M63A) though and hats off to Magna Defender for organising it at such short notice. We assembled along with about two dozen others to phoon at a trig point at exactly 6pm on the 6^th. Around the globe other such mad happenings were occurring at exactly the same time. Nice to be a part of something on that scale.

This weekend however, as I said, we have been stuck indoors. Until today. “Enough is enough”, says the Good Wench and she decides she can’t stand it anymore. We have nothing planned and we don’t feel like wandering too far from home so we decide to grab our good friend stevebm’s new puzzle cache ‘The Great Houdini’ (GC3MMQM).

This cache is just round the corner from our house so no driving required and we can turn it into a small circular walk of about 2.5 miles so it will get us some fresh air at least for the day. Sorted. We get suited and booted and harness the geohound. The Good Wench has put a call into the in-laws (also just around the corner) and arranged for the crew to be deposited along the way.

We drop the kids off and head through the Fernhurst estate and via a shortcut end up on Hays Lane. A short stroll along the roads through the housing estates and we arrive at the entrance to the public footpath (which isn’t signed).The CO has kindly supplied a photo so you know you are in the right area.We head up the path and over the stile and immediately we are climbing up the slippery muddy bank.Suspect it’s not always like this but we had an absolute downpour yesterday and the ground is still draining.

The co-ords for the cache take us to a likely looking tree and we have soon found the first stage.Previous logs had stated that ponies are running about in the woods and fields but they must have been locked away due to the bad weather so we decide to let the hound off the lead.She goes nuts and disappears off to chase squirrels.
Meanwhile we punch in the co-ords for stage two and it’s only a few feet away (good).As we get closer to the gz we spot something and low and behold we have the cache in hand.Now I wish I could say that was it but no.The CO has a warped mind and too much time on his hands and this combination has led to a very inventive cache.The Good Wench and I stare at it for a bit, shake it, stare at it some more and then the expletives start to flow from the pair of us.This carries on for quite some time as we try to fathom how to open the darn thing.The Good Wench is on the brink of trying explosives whilst I’m wondering how sharp the ‘saw’ is on my multi tool.

It’s hard not to give too much away but in essence what Steve has created is a multi stage puzzle cache that you have to solve in the field and the puzzle element is how to open the box – hence the Houdini reference. It’s a fantastic bit of engineering and it takes us some time before we start to explore less obvious ways of opening the thing up.I end up relying on the iPhone to get some ideas on what to try and ultimately this gives us the pointer we need.The Good Wench tries the hints as I shout them out and all of a sudden there is a satisfying click and voila!

At this point The Good Wench is working down a list of larger and larger implements that she is threatening to impale the CO on the next time she sees him. We sign the log (once we found it) and start the process of reassembly. We replace the cache and head off to return the ‘tool’ to stage one.Loved this cache.Had the right amount of frustration built into it without destroying your confidence, although I don’t know what I would have done without an iPhone!

We decide to carry on through the fields and onto the main road before heading back down Hays Lane and home.With The Good Wench still turning the air blue we pass the old Methodist church and school hall, sadly closed and in disrepair.The cemetery is now unattended and the sight of gravestones peaking up from the overgrown grass is eerie.Congratulations to Steve on a marvellous cache.It’s been a really pleasant stroll and I’ve learnt some new words today J.Home now and feet up… after all it is Fathers Day.