Trigonometry Trail (Auckland) Remuera, North Island, New Zealand
By Niloc on 15-Oct-05. Waypoint GCQZ7D

As there's been no cache to find for months, I'm archiving it to keep it from continually showing up in search lists, and to prevent it from blocking other cache placements. If you wish to repair/replace the cache sometime in the future, just contact us (by email), and assuming it meets the guidelines, we'll be happy to unarchive it.

Hows the maintenance coming along??

Final removed for maintenance. It will be a couple of weeks before it is replaced.

Made a start on this cache so long ago, but tripped at the first hurdle. Noted some numbers down but discovered they werent the right ones . Back in the area a while ago in the dark, looking for the right number. Still didnt see it . 3rd effort in daylight made for a quick find. Think it must have been the only square mm I hadnt looked at properly in the previous visits. Back at home made the calcs for the next WP.

Next visit found the WP in the second place I looked. Came back home again to do the maths. Figured out where the final would be.

Back again in the area today. We were early but still a lot of people and canines around, so had to make good while no one was passing by. Didnt take long to find the container that was well hidden.

Unfortunately the log book and bag are sopping wet. Still managed to sign the log but does need maintenance.

TFTMC and the trig maths workout. Maths that I once used daily long ago in the last millennium has sadly been forgotten due to no longer using it (until this cache came along). Glad to be able to resurrect the knowledge and reactivate the trig brain.

Log book and bag are very wet. Needs maintenance.

This cache has been on the radar for a very looooong time and figured it was about time we made a concentrated effort to find it. Worked backwards to get the sort of number we were looking for at WP1 and then went home and figured out WP2. Came back another day and couldn't find WP2, confirmed with owner that our co-ords were right (spot-on) and then enlisted the help of Trout-fly to find the info required at WP2. Third visit involved finding WP2, text the 16 year old who was studying for NCEA maths exams who did a quick calculation of probable final hiding spot. Had a good look but came up empty handed. Went home and did another calculation which certainly agreed with the 16 year so a fourth visit was on the cards. Met Trout-fly and Pagenz to tackle this one together. Yes!!!!!!!!!!! came up trumps about 5m where we had searched on the 3rd visit. Love your caches, just wish there were more. Certainly deserves a fav point and if we could give it more we could.

Sorry, forgot to mention the cache was about 1/2 full of water and although the log book was damp it was writable with a pencil. Tipped out the water and tried to clean the seals, first find in over a year so suppose it is bearing up quite well.

Team Welsh and myself heading out to figure some trig - and what do we find? another lovely cache. t4tc

TW and I had tackled last time around. Turns out we were in the right place just not quite in the right place. Looked all around and took bearings toward we we thought it would be. Turns out we should have believed the Math Wiz-Kid the first time around. The cache was exactly where we should have looked last time. A quick trip out of the office over lunch to meet up with TW and PNZ and sign the wet log. Thanks.

Had hoped to at least start this one so that we could claim a find on a cache that has not been found in over a year to be able to Qualify for a nearby challenge cache but alas our 3rd visit to the spot left us without finding the correct number. We did a bit of reverse calculating to give us a rough number to look for but could not make the find on the patently obvious number!!
We will keep an eye out to see if anyone else has any luck with stage 1!!

Checked this morning. Everything is in still in place, just need to scratch a bit more!

Sorry for causing the unnecessary cache check! I thought I had looked everywhere I could around that object, but I guess I'll have to take a harder look...

Had a bit of a scratch around for waypoint B at the coords I calculated, but didn't find anything.

Find number 600! And a good one to mark the milestone too. Nice to show this cache a little love and be the first to find in over a year. Though it was not exactly smooth sailing.

Started this effort a week ago when I was in the area so stopped by to get the "patantly obvious number". Thought I had it straight away (with a backup just in case), but nope that was no good. Stopped by in the dark the next night and harvesting half a dozen numbers. No good. At that point I did a little reverse engineering to detect what sort of number I should be looking for. Got it on my next visit. I see why I missed it--I'm sure I checked it on a previous visit.

Anyway, with the new number I was able to easily calculate the coords for the second WP, from the comfort of my home computer. Stopped by the next morning and made a quick find of point B. Recorded the data then headed off to work. That night I applied the Vincenty formulas to help me narrow down a potential GZ. Satisfied that I was on the right track, I headed out, in the dark, to attempt the find. No luck. Decided to head home and try again in the light. Which was just as well, as the gates were being locked!

After rechecking my figures I decided all was in order and that I just needed more light to make the find. With a gap in my work schedule I headed over to attempt the find. By the time I got there it was raining heavily and I was forced to shelter under some nearby trees. Once the rain eased to a more gentle rate I resumed the search. I quickly found the cache this time around, some thirty cms from where I checked in the dark.

Cheers for the puzzle and the cache! I was certainly frustrated with this well thought out multi at times, but was rewarded with a warm sense of satisfaction when I finally found that plastic box. Gets a favourite tick from me.

Checked this morning; both the container at point B and the cache at the final are in place.

Went looking for the final. Can the owner please advise if it is still in place.

All good to go again

Maintenance visit found it waterlogged again. On hold for a day or two while everything dries out.

#1271. Fun cache and great exercises for the mind, body and GPSr. TNLNSL. TFTC.

Maintenance visit and TB pickup. All in order.

Took a few attempts at locating the final! Junior Cachers did the hard graft and loved the outing on a wet day. After finding the Chinese Lucky Ukkies at the "Something in the Ayr" cache, we were expecting lots of luck but instead JC#2 tripped, hit his head on a rock at the GZ, smashed glasses, cut under his eye (with broken lens) and now has a black eye! Not put off though and on to the next one he says! In: Fish Eagle GC

Picked up the first waypoint a while ago and completed the calculations for next time I was in the area. Collected the remaining data today and a nice easy stroll to GZ. TFTC

Finally got round to finding the final after a few months procrastinating. Thanks! Took me back to my school daze.

hurrah! Stopped at the first location at least 10 times on the way home from work before finding the elusive number. Going at dusk certainly made the job a lot harder! Got the next point quickly although it took me a month to go to final. Happily a quick find, cache was 80% water but log book dry thanks to excellent bag. Cheers niloc, the frustration was worth it.

After finding the first 2 wpnts about a year ago, was in the area so decided to look for the final, big guess along with a hint, stumbled across it! Thanks, cache in good condition, could do with a little camo though
Really enjoyed the whole event really, nice one to do in a nice place.
TNSLLNTFTCACHE!!

Back in action again!

On hold while the final is dried out and logbook replaced.

Waterlogged. Will need new log - didn't have one with me sorry. Couldn't see any obvious fault in the container or placement. Hmmmm, wonder how far the tide comes in ????

Had done several visits and repeated the maths a few times to get to the second WP. Even had to come back to the final 3 times to avoid muggles but with the help of the kids we finally got it. Cache was half full of water (or half empty depending how you look at it) and log book will need replacing. Signed & left a note.
Thanks for the cache & getting the brain working.

Waypoint B replaced, and everything ready to go!

Waypoint B has gone AWOL. Should be replaced in a day or two.

[#364]
As our closest unfound cache, this one has been on the “to do†list for a while.

Our choice of the obvious number gave a nonsense answer. An email to Niloc confirmed our suspicions, and with renewed enthusiasm, the correct number was found late Saturday afternoon, don’t know how we missed it on previous visits.

WP1 easily fell to give us theta and distance x for the final. The final co-ords were quickly calculated. Then our luck deserted us. A 10m radius search either side of GZ revealed nothing in failing light. Suspect the cache had been muggled due to recent construction work near GZ.

Sent an email Niloc, he advised the cache was still in residence up till a month ago. Decided to try again today in better light before logging a DNF.
Our luck returned as Mrs Y. eagle eyes quickly spotted the cache.
Duh! Searched here last time, but didn’t see it.

Cache contents still very dry, especially after a long absence between visits.
TNLSNL, TFTC – very well thought out.

What an exciting day to be able to log this cache. Its been on the 'To Do' list for ages, and various people had promised to help with the maths, but hadn't delivered. In the end we stuck with it and it all came together nicely. Spot on with WPs, and a pleasant walk to the final cache site. Yay!!! TFTC the challenge.

Quite a challenge, this cache, and good to finally nail it. Initially needed some reassurance from Niloc to find the elusive number at WP1, then decided to wait for maintenance on WP2 when the previous cacher reported it missing (not quite correct). Easily found then, but the required distance between WP1 and WP2, derived from my GPS, resulted in my field calcs being out by 10m, so the search for the final was fruitless.
Doing the calcs again at home (using coords this time) gave a different distance between WP1 & WP2, and the cache was revealed today with the eTrex showing less than 3m from its target. A clever and enjoyable puzzle. TNLN, cheers!

Diagrams are now on line again, and I have confirmed that the container at WP2 is still present. Recent gardening activies had covered it up, but it is now unearthed! Also access the final GZ may be a little more difficult due to work in the area.

I have been away for a while and have just become aware of the absence of diagrams, which does make it a trifle difficult! My apologies. It was, as suggested, due to a server change (a physical one, but the files got left behind). Should be fixed in the next day or two.

Made my enquiries and a previous finder confirmed that my suspected place for WPT2 (Point B) was correct - the container previously there has obviously gone AWOL with the recent gardening activities. I was provided with "angle theta" and the "distance x" value. A quick diversion this afternoon soon proved my calculated value for the Point C was correct. Cache located within 15 seconds of arriving on site. TNLN. Thanks for the puzzle niloC.

Have determined the position of point B but cannot make progress as it is apparently destroyed. Diagrams have also disappeared from website (server changed?)

Prior to coming to Auckland I had pre-solved the trig so that I knew what integer number I was looking for (once the multiplication had been done). However, on reaching WPT1, like others before me I had trouble locating it's whereabouts. A quick call to bro Tufty had me returning to look once more. Yahoo - my precalculated integer was now looking very good and the WPT2 coords were soon entered into my gps. That TotalTrig (Palm PDA program) is just such an excellent program for these trig puzzles - thanks Navigull. A quick visit to the WPT2 GZ revealed a very likely looking hiding place, but my hopes were dashed when the the hidey hole was found to be empty. A quick search in the general location also failed to reveal the clear container (what type?)- though I did find a clear round lid. There has been some recent gardening in the area so I will make further enquiries before returning.

Had great trouble at point A and had to get a hint from Niloc to find the number, but in the end it was just me not looking hard enough. Once I had the number I easily found point B. I didn't have a scientific calculator on me so had to come back another day to find point C. Found fairly easily once my GPS decided to get an accurate reading. Was initially 20 meters off, but in the end my gps put me about 1 meter away. This was a great exercise to remind me of my school day maths. Great location for the cache. Nice views. Took nothing, added soccer ball. SL. TFTC

This was a bit of a challenge. Arrived with trig research done and easily located points A and B.
Came a bit unstuck on C due to a mathematical error but quickly located once sums were rechecked. Final spot was only 5m or so from location estimated from mystery radius and angle.
Good work out of body and mind!
TNLN

The hardest part of this, for me, was finding the correct number at WP1. Once that was done the other 2 came out quickly. My estimate of the final waypoint was only out by about 4m! Nice cache to do on a Sunday afternoon, although the route I took to the cache was VERY boggy.

Hooray! Found it,finally! Its been months on my unfound list.

After taking an initial look, (hoping for an FTF) I despaired of managing a find on this one. At Wpt 1 I noted 4 possible numbers, but my math challenged mind did not know what to do with them. I sent a copy to my son and daughter both allegedly maths scholars, but who never got back to me.
Anyways a comment in one of the earlier logs led me to choose the wrong number to start with.

Then at a recent gathering I mentioned my frustration to AGS who kindly offered some help that I had not been able to find even from "Google". Then the cache was temporarily archived . Bugger!

Well today dawned fine and I was going to be in the area and the cache is up and running again. Before setting out I did a quick search for Palm trigonometry programs and found "TotalTrig" it proved to be the answer to all my short comings. The fog became clear and it took but a second to provide the correct answer.

I feel I was almost cheating, but its still a good feeling.
Easy find almost right on the calculated position.

TNLNSL T4TC and the learning experience.

All sorted out now with a slight relocation of final cache to a drier spot, and the approriate adjustments to the other information.

With the recent weather conditions the cache is wet again! Slight relocation is in progress to prevent further problems.

An initially incorrect interpretation of the first waypoint's instructions required a second visit, but by then I had the calculations ready in Pocket Excel to just drop the number in. 2nd waypoint fell a bit more easily and the third/final was pretty straightforward too. Good fun. TNLNSL, thanks.

Found with JDHnz. This was fun. It got dark on us whilst finding the first clue which made it even more fun looking for the others. Loved the hidey hole for the cache.
TNLN.

Back in place now.

Temporarily disabled as cache has got wet again.

Back in business again.

After spending 30 minutes at WP1 I decided to pack up and go home. Then a bolt of lightning hit me and powered up the light bulb inside my head and to stop acting like a[:o)]. Ah ha! Eureka! There was the number. I had tried all sorts of numbers before that but none gave the right answers (have a Palm with a scientific calculator - very handy). Put in the correct number and I was off to WP2.

At no time at all I had the next clue in my hand. Out came the trusty Palm and had calculated where the final should be. So off I marched (well, ambled really)to the final. Put my straight on it, removed it from it hidey hole, and then found that the inside weaterline was 1cm from the lid. So brought it home to dry out. Will replace it in a couple of days.

In: Floatable key ring
Out: Cachinoptera Resida TB
Cheers for the cache.

Disabled while cache drying out. Thanks Tufty.

I was having a bit of a blond moment yesterday. I'd found what looked like the number at A but couldn't think how to find B. Anyway woke up this morning and voila, like a light going on it was obvious. Made a little excel formula to work out the sort of number I was looking for and no I hadn't got it right yesterday. Off to A, quickly found the right number then B tumbled, and not too long after so did C although the water levels had me distracted for a while. Swapped TBs. There's now a bloody great big bug (Cachinoptera Resida TB) hiding in the cache so next cacher be warned! Thanks.

Finally, after 3 trips to wp1 to obtain the "patently obvious number" 2 trips to wp2, it was missing the first time, we finally knocked this one off. Considered using Vincenty formulas for the final, did use one to get the distance from A to B, but decided using the nearest wp function was a lot simpler. This took us to within 1m of the cache.
Thanks Niloc, frustrating but fun.
+ London Transport TB, TNSL

Finally found the 'patently obvious' number yesterday after some encouragement from ags. I've got no idea why I didn't see it before having looked there several times - maybe it's just neatly camoflaged if you're just not looking correctly!? Glad I was late finding the number, though - good timing as point B had just been replaced.
It was then just a matter of plugging the numbers in the formulas to get the final result. I used Vincenty formulas to project a position - got a slightly different answer, but close enough.
A great geometry puzzle, well suited for this type of thing. TNLNSL
TFTC Niloc - M@

Indeed it appears that the container at point B is missing. I will replace it tomorrow.

Back in business now. Point B restored to previous position.

Well after three trips to wp1, I finally obtained a number that seemed to compute, but a 30 min search of wp2 turned up nothing, seemed to have a good lock on an object with a couple of good possible hides, and checked the surrounding area out to 10m.

Well that was fun! A bonus that I didn't expect was to get a FTF, since the cache has been published for a while.
At one stage I realised that I'd gone askew. Thanks to Niloc for confirming my incorrect heading, so I didn't waste time in a blind alley.
On the right track again, I calculated one of the side lengths of the triangle for Point C (The other side length is given at Point B). I was very pleased to walk to the offsets of the two sides; take two more paces, look in a likely place - and find a cache.
TNLN

Thanks for the cache!

Published