GC3YFAX - That Elvis Puzzle

GC3YFAX - That Elvis Puzzle

By:  TheKing

1.  Here is the puzzle.

Geocache Description:

uggc://gvalhey.pbz/gungryivfchmmyr

Additional Hints (Encrypt)

youaintnothinbutahoundogg-tmb'sfavoritetypeofhide

2.  Solve the puzzle.

The first thing to notice is that there is a number grid buried in the rotating photo gif.  If you use a screen-capture tool (we like TechSmith Snagit, but you can use anything including PrtScrn) you can capture the image of the numbers.

The next thing to figure out is just what the heck all those numbers are.  Staring at the graphic gives some interesting information, but doesn't seem to lead to a solution.

Here is what you can see in the grid, as-is.

1. Several of the numbers repeat.
2. Sometimes the repeating numbers are one after another, and sometimes they are spread far apart.
3. The top number (1125899906842623) is also the bottom number, and occurs once more in the middle.
4. If you count the number of rows between each occurrence of that first number, there are 7 rows between the first 1125899906842623 and second 1125899906842623, and there are 8 rows between the second 1125899906842623 and the last 1125899906842623.  That conveniently is the same number of digits in the Coordinates for North and West (i.e. N 12° 34.567 W 123° 45.678).

But that's about as far as you get.  And - as it turns out, while observation 4 is an interesting coincidence and may actually be a hint of some kind, it does not lead to any kind of solution.

The next step is to scan the rows and columns of numbers left and right, top to bottom and bottom to top, and then diagonaly, looking for embedded values that could be interpreted as Coordinates.  Specifically, you would be looking for something akin to the posted coordinates, N 40° 05.915 W 082° 25.415.  After a few false starts its easy to see this goes nowhere.  

So the next step is to start using the standard tools to break this down, or build it up, or whatever you need to do with it.  The most obvious two to start with are:

• Google Search
• Base Conversion

As it turns out, both of these yield some very interesting information.  Searching for the first string of numbers tells you quickly that the internet (and a surprisingly vast number of non-technical areas) seems simply fascinated with this number.  

The number 1125899906842623 is equal to 2^50 - 1.  Searching for every other string leads to zippo.  Zilch.  Nada.  There are a lot of other references to the number 1125899906842623, and if you search diligently, you will find yourself navigating to sites where Base Conversions can be performed.

Converting the number 1125899906842623 to Hexadecimal, for example, gives you the value 3FFFFFFFFFFFF.  That in itself is interesting.  But the rest of the numbers, when converted to Hexadecimal don't really give much information.  

3FFFFFFFFFFFF

201BFE0180601

2FDBFEFDBF6FD

2FDBFEFDBF6FD

2FD8060180601

2FDBF7FDBF6FD

2FDBF7FDBF6FD

201807FD80601

3FFFFFFFFFFFF

2018060180601

3FDBFFFDFF7FD

3FDBFFFDFF7FD

201807FDFF601

2FFFF7FDFF7FD

2FFFF7FDFF7FD

2FFFF7FDFF7FD

201807FDFF601

3FFFFFFFFFFFF

There is one string of numbers that is ALL numbers, i.e. there are no alpha characters, but they look nothing like a coordinate for either North or West.

Then I noticed a curious fixation on the numbers 80601 (notice how many times they are repeated in the number sequences above).  Even so, I just couldn't turn this into anything.

This is where the best puzzle-cracking method of all was applied.

PHONE A FRIEND!!

One of the puzzlers from the group (Pharmdog) was PAINFULLY close to cracking this one. He even suggested using a grid, which was a critical part of the final solve. He suggested converting the numbers from Hexadecimal to Binary and seeing what that produced.  His number strings can be seen below in the comments, but it led to a dead end.  

We did contact the CO, and a couple previous finders for a hint, but before we actually got anything back, our perspicacious puzzle pal Purple Turtlez cracked the code and solved the mystery.

The final answer (drumroll please) is to convert the numbers from DECIMAL to BINARY.  

That gives you, first, the numbers in this order:

11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
10000000011011111111100000000110000000011000000001
10111111011011111111101111110110111111011011111101
10111111011011111111101111110110111111011011111101
10111111011000000001100000000110000000011000000001
10111111011011111101111111110110111111011011111101
10111111011011111101111111110110111111011011111101
10000000011000000001111111110110000000011000000001
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111
10000000011000000001100000000110000000011000000001
11111111011011111111111111110111111111011111111101
11111111011011111111111111110111111111011111111101
10000000011000000001111111110111111111011000000001
10111111111111111101111111110111111111011111111101
10111111111111111101111111110111111111011111111101
10111111111111111101111111110111111111011111111101
10000000011000000001111111110111111111011000000001
11111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111

If you think you're starting to see wavy lines, or some sort of hidden message, you are. 

If you highlight only the zeroes in the puzzle, the solution jumps right out at you.

3.  Check your coordinates


There is a geochecker on this puzzle, but seriously, once you get the right answer, do you really need the geochecker?

Yes!  This is why!!!

If you look at the solved coordinates on Google Maps, you find yourself in...  a mud puddle in a dirt driveway.  The Geocheck page gives you this interesting additional bit of information:

The original hide was on a guard rail that had been present for decades. Between the posting of the cache and the second to find, the guard rail was removed. A new guard rail was placed just northwest of the puzzle coordinates. The container is now on that rail. Should be an easy find!


Final Coordinates: N 40° 06.988 W 082° 25.773                                                                     



Nice work, everyone!!
Happy caching!!