A Cache of Palindromes
Location: N 38° 36.383 W 077° 18.177
Way point: GC202B
GeoCaching isn’t all about finding the treasure. Sometimes, finding the spot in itself is the treasure. There are so many different aspects to this game, that I can’t list them all. Today, I solved a mystery puzzle cache.
The goal was to find coordinates that read the same forwards or backwards, and take a photo. Anything that can be read the same forwards or backwards is known as a palindrome. I simply took the first three digits of my current location, reversed them, and replaced the last three numbers. Here are my numbers:
3836383
7718177
It turned out that the coordinates where less then a tenth of a mile away in the woods behind my house. I went for a quick walk through the woods and found the spot.
The hardest part of this little adventure was positioning the GPS device to be in the correct location so that I could get a picture of it with the correct coordinates. My receiver was reading that it was accurate within 16 feet of the actual coordinates. Meanwhile, the satellites would move my position around by a few feet as time went by. I had trouble trying to catch up to the new locations while taking a picture.
When I went to take a picture, I realized the camera didn’t have its memory stick. I had left it in my printer at home. I put the camera away and took out my cell phone, hoping that the quality would be good enough that you could read the display. The other problem I had was the reflection of the surrounding. I clicked a few pictures and got it.
