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2005 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt

Submitted by THX 1138 on

Discuss the 2005 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt here.

OTiS

I would like to vote that voting not count.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:50 PM Permalink
OTiS

Kitch, CM and OTS are now returning to your normaly scheduled Google Fest.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:50 PM Permalink
Scribe

Gnome, forget that argument. The word "logic" has more than three letters, the guy posting as Sondgrass won't understand.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:51 PM Permalink
Allison Wonderland

I find it kind of validating in a way that people like Jake and the Camo Crew can spend so much time and move so much snow each year, and still end up losing out to some family that's out there hunting on a much more casual basis. I think it really calls into question the notion of a "serious" hunter as serious hunters so rarely find it and it's much more oftem just an average person who goes out for the fun of it. So I'm content to not kill myself each year trying to cover as much ground as possible.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:52 PM Permalink
queenmalley

well, if it was under bark of a tree, that isn't "resting naked on the snow and ice covered ground..."!!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:52 PM Permalink
Buzzygirl

Now at least we know what the "remains of the tree" consisted of, and that "A branch, a lichen" clue factored into it too.

'Twas fun to noodle with the Cooler Crew this year. Looking forward to next year already. Congrats to the winners (are they fellow Crew members?)!

[Edited by on Feb 1, 2005 at 03:54pm.]

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:53 PM Permalink
leelabell

New Daddy understood that clue correctly - we thought it meant in the snow. He felt it had to be in or under a log because it was resting on the ground not in the snow.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:53 PM Permalink
queenmalley

are they 'Coolers??

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:53 PM Permalink
OTiS

24th pick TMK picked Crosby

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:53 PM Permalink
winter gnome

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:54 PM Permalink
medallion queen

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:54 PM Permalink
Scribe

Buzzy, you are welcome! I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you in the park, maybe at the Re-hash...:)

Finders are hunters. Hunters are Coolercrew.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:54 PM Permalink
OTiS

are they 'Coolers??

They were following clues :) so it doesn't matter. Hunting for real.

Plus they have a 2 year old that was out there with them....

That pretty much kills the Medallionators youngest finder ever deal for Don.

[Edited by on Feb 1, 2005 at 03:57pm.]

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:54 PM Permalink
SnodGrass

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:55 PM Permalink
Scribe

Not a problem Gnome.:)

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:55 PM Permalink
Oriongirl79

damn it. any idea which tree yet?

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:55 PM Permalink
SnodGrass

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:56 PM Permalink
leelabell

Clue explanations are up!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:56 PM Permalink
Allison Wonderland

Don't forget the Mock Hunt coming up on March 6th. I don't know what the prize will be yet. It's ranged from a pair of Saints tickets to $500 in the past. It's modeled on the Medallion hunt with 12 clues, given out daily. I do hide something in a St. Paul park and you have to find it to win the prize. It's free to participate in, but if people want to throw in some money towards the prize pot, it does make things more interesting. I'll have details on my Yahoo group and I'll also have a thread on this site for it. If we get lots of people doing it like we had in 2002, it can be pretty fun.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:57 PM Permalink
Scribe

Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat...

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:57 PM Permalink
Allison Wonderland

jake is in teers

I thought Jake was in Como?

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:57 PM Permalink
OTiS

2005 Treasure Hunt clues and explanation

Clue 1
The old curmudgeon was in high dudgeon
When a critter ran off with the loot
But this year to be credible, we’ve made it inedible
And stuck it in a park — so scoot!

Explanation: Cranky hunters were upset to find the medallion, encased in green icing, had been moved by an animal last year — or so we assume. This year, with a brand new medallion, we hid it naked as a newborn — with no enticements for hungry animals.

Clue 2
Snow we have missed much, this not very white Christmas
But the ice has come to stay
The water’s quite frozen at this park we have chosen
Along its paths you may while time away

Explanation: Until days before the hunt began, there was little snow. White Christmas refers to song by Bing Crosby, whose last name leads you to the park. References to water and paths further identify the park.

Clue 3
Be safe and we pledge, neither cliff nor water’s edge
Figures in your hunting pursuit
What’s that you hear?
Please, have no fear. It was there before we moved in.

Explanation: Cautions hunters to avoid cliffs and the edge of the river and lakes. Hunters at Crosby will hear airplanes coming and going to the nearby airport — which was there, as homeowners are often told, before they moved in.

Clue 4
The siren calls, the giant falls
‘Tween field generals the poet sings
That down beyond the once blue pond
Is treasure fit for kings

Explanation: Siren and giant refer to the Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, the singing poet. Field generals refers to Homer’s Iliad as well as famous quarterbacks John Elway and Rich Gannon, whose last names are shared with the roads at either end of the park. Homer St. runs into the park and points you to the east of the search area. Fallen giant refers to tree by which medallion was hidden.

Clue 5
A branch, a lichen, a place made for hikin’,
Is where a prize is earned.
Don’t run, helter skelter, seek out solid shelter
With room and wood to burn

Explanation: Crosby Park has forest, lichens on trees, hiking trails, a Prairie Style picnic shelter and a fireplace.

Clue 6
Young woman or man, while you still can
Gnash your teeth and put on the glove
On cross country skis take the trail through the trees
Where the eagle flies with the dove.

Explanation: Youngman is a road near Crosby. ‘Glove’ and ‘the eagle flies with the dove’ come from ‘Love the One You’re With,’ the song made famous by Crosby Stills Nash & Young. David Crosby’s partners are hinted at by the words ‘still,’ ‘gnash’ and ‘young.’ The medallion was hidden off a cross country ski trail amidst the trees.

Clue 7
Chilled to the marrow only a yarrow
Could love the place you found
Lonely and forsaked, the puck rests naked
On the snow- and ice-covered ground

Explanation: Yarrow is a wildflower mentioned in nature signs in the park. It states that the medallion is “naked,” without any covering or packaging, and that it rests on the ground. Point of grammatical license: While “forsook” is the approved past tense of “forsake,” we did find “forsaked” in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Clue 8
He staked his claim one year of fame
On land as rich as Midas
This land is my land, kicked off the island
To a grove that once did hide us.

Explanation: English immigrant Thomas Crosby claimed this fertile farm site in 1858, the year Minnesota became a state. The clue states that the medallion was in a grove of trees and not on nearby Pike Island.

Clue 9
En route to trails where puck fever prevails
Many sides no flowers to see
Round the bend the seeker should wend
To all that remains of a tree.

Explanation: An eight-sided flower planter sits near the beginning of park trails. Around a bend in the trail is the giant stump of a tree, near where the medallion was hidden.

Clue 10
Parking lot leads past woods and weeds
To the trail passing two and three
The lake of ice, the life-saving device
Are close to our magical tree.

Explanation: Further defining the spot, this clue leads hunters past signposts Nos. 2 and 3 to a place near Upper Lake and a wooden life raft affixed to a tree. The “magical tree” refers back to the giant stump.

Clue 11
A path fit for hikes between Upper and Pike’s
Leads past a grove with a giant beheaded
Beneath branch debris near this once-mammoth tree
The magical booty is embedded

Explanation: Pinpoints the spot between Upper Lake and Pike Island where the giant “beheaded” stump is located; tells hunters to look under branch debris near this stump.

Clue 12
I say “You, hark!” In Crosby Farm Park
Lies the treasure, for goodness sake.
Hike in from the west along the trail, take no rest
And look south from mid Upper Lake.

From the giant tree with no head, face the island and tread
Six paces to the left: halt, battalion!
Fallen branches and snow hide the goodies below:
Thomas Crosby’s Winter Carnival Medallion!

Explanation: Instructs hunters, that midway from the trail along the south side of Upper Lake, find the giant tree stump and facing Pike’s Island, walk six paces to the left (east) and dig under fallen branches and snow, where the medallion was hidden.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:57 PM Permalink
queenmalley

yes, but WHOSE clues were they following ? The PP boards?

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:57 PM Permalink
Scribe

Jake worked his arse off this year...I can vouch for that!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:58 PM Permalink
SnodGrass

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:58 PM Permalink
queenmalley

thanks OTS!!!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:58 PM Permalink
Outtamymind

Outta

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:59 PM Permalink
leelabell

It sounds like the magical tree is the big tall stump that most of us were pacing from yesterday night and today.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:59 PM Permalink
OTiS

A path fit for hikes between Upper and Pike’s
Leads past a grove with a giant beheaded
Beneath branch debris near this once-mammoth tree
The magical booty is embedded

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 4:59 PM Permalink
medallion queen

 

Clue 1

The old curmudgeon was in high dudgeon
When a critter ran off with the loot
But this year to be credible, we’ve made it inedible
And stuck it in a park — so scoot!

Explanation:Cranky hunters were upset to find the medallion, encased in green icing, had been moved by an animal last year — or so we assume. This year, with a brand new medallion, we hid it naked as a newborn — with no enticements for hungry animals.

Clue 2

Snow we have missed much, this not very white Christmas
But the ice has come to stay
The water’s quite frozen at this park we have chosen
Along its paths you may while time away

Explanation:Until days before the hunt began, there was little snow. White Christmas refers to song by Bing Crosby, whose last name leads you to the park. References to water and paths further identify the park.

Clue 3

Be safe and we pledge, neither cliff nor water’s edge
Figures in your hunting pursuit
What’s that you hear?
Please, have no fear. It was there before we moved in.

Explanation:Cautions hunters to avoid cliffs and the edge of the river and lakes. Hunters at Crosby will hear airplanes coming and going to the nearby airport — which was there, as homeowners are often told, before they moved in.

Clue 4

The siren calls, the giant falls
‘Tween field generals the poet sings
That down beyond the once blue pond
Is treasure fit for kings

Explanation:Siren and giant refer to the Odyssey, the epic poem by Homer, the singing poet. Field generals refers to Homer’s Iliad as well as famous quarterbacks John Elway and Rich Gannon, whose last names are shared with the roads at either end of the park. Homer St. runs into the park and points you to the east of the search area. Fallen giant refers to tree by which medallion was hidden.

Clue 5

A branch, a lichen, a place made for hikin’,
Is where a prize is earned.
Don’t run, helter skelter, seek out solid shelter
With room and wood to burn

Explanation:Crosby Park has forest, lichens on trees, hiking trails, a Prairie Style picnic shelter and a fireplace.

Clue 6

Young woman or man, while you still can
Gnash your teeth and put on the glove
On cross country skis take the trail through the trees
Where the eagle flies with the dove.

Explanation:Youngman is a road near Crosby. ‘Glove’ and ‘the eagle flies with the dove’ come from ‘Love the One You’re With,’ the song made famous by Crosby Stills Nash & Young. David Crosby’s partners are hinted at by the words ‘still,’ ‘gnash’ and ‘young.’ The medallion was hidden off a cross country ski trail amidst the trees.

Clue 7

Chilled to the marrow only a yarrow
Could love the place you found
Lonely and forsaked, the puck rests naked
On the snow- and ice-covered ground

Explanation:Yarrow is a wildflower mentioned in nature signs in the park. It states that the medallion is “naked,” without any covering or packaging, and that it rests on the ground. Point of grammatical license: While “forsook” is the approved past tense of “forsake,” we did find “forsaked” in the Oxford English Dictionary.

Clue 8

He staked his claim one year of fame
On land as rich as Midas
This land is my land, kicked off the island
To a grove that once did hide us.

Explanation:English immigrant Thomas Crosby claimed this fertile farm site in 1858, the year Minnesota became a state. The clue states that the medallion was in a grove of trees and not on nearby Pike Island.

Clue 9

En route to trails where puck fever prevails
Many sides no flowers to see
Round the bend the seeker should wend
To all that remains of a tree.

Explanation:An eight-sided flower planter sits near the beginning of park trails. Around a bend in the trail is the giant stump of a tree, near where the medallion was hidden.

Clue 10

Parking lot leads past woods and weeds
To the trail passing two and three
The lake of ice, the life-saving device
Are close to our magical tree.

Explanation:Further defining the spot, this clue leads hunters past signposts Nos. 2 and 3 to a place near Upper Lake and a wooden life raft affixed to a tree. The “magical tree” refers back to the giant stump.

Clue 11

A path fit for hikes between Upper and Pike’s
Leads past a grove with a giant beheaded
Beneath branch debris near this once-mammoth tree
The magical booty is embedded

Explanation:Pinpoints the spot between Upper Lake and Pike Island where the giant “beheaded” stump is located; tells hunters to look under branch debris near this stump.

Clue 12

I say “You, hark!” In Crosby Farm Park
Lies the treasure, for goodness sake.
Hike in from the west along the trail, take no rest
And look south from mid Upper Lake.

From the giant tree with no head, face the island and tread
Six paces to the left: halt, battalion!
Fallen branches and snow hide the goodies below:
Thomas Crosby’s Winter Carnival Medallion!

Explanation:Instructs hunters, that midway from the trail along the south side of Upper Lake, find the giant tree stump and facing Pike’s Island, walk six paces to the left (east) and dig under fallen branches and snow, where the medallion was hidden

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:00 PM Permalink
leelabell

We were - very depressing - we should have done a better job going through those logs.

I was wrong about where I thought it would be - thought we would pace off from the tree and would be burried in the snow so I didn't even check directly around the tree.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:01 PM Permalink
tim_the_hunter

It sounds like it was on the other side of that huge tree from where we were, closer to the sky trail.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:03 PM Permalink
queenmalley

I would rather a hunter find it on Clue 10 then some Sap on clue 12

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:03 PM Permalink
MedallionStallion

Airport, . . . hilarious. What's that you hear? As if we're going to connect it to the answer that people are given who live in the neighborhood.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:04 PM Permalink
Oriongirl79

.. well i guess i focused too much on that cut up tree. but i looked all around there man! ah well. glad a family found it. too bad they didn't have a button.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:04 PM Permalink
OT

I don't like the explanation for Clue #3.  The clue refers to "we", and the explanation refers to "they".  There's a difference.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:06 PM Permalink
MedallionStallion

Good for them for pulling the bark off fallen branches I guess.

Who would have thought?

That's the kind of thing I'd see going on in the park and I would shake my head thinking how stupid they are. Well they're the ones with 5 grand now...

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:06 PM Permalink
NoTimeForColdFeet

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:08 PM Permalink
leelabell

I don't see where it says they didn't register a button.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:08 PM Permalink
OTiS

But still... even if it's a downed tree I don't tear stuff up.

Watch... next year we're going to be back to the idiots tearing bark off the standing trees again.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:08 PM Permalink
queenmalley

it's so we can sit and bitch for hours and lean on each other trying to get this thing out of our system and return to real life.

Yes, Tim...!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:08 PM Permalink
OT

That reminds me of those tumors some people have with teeth and bones and hair.  They're a remnant of a twin that they absorbed in utero!  Yikes!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:08 PM Permalink
wolfpac

I give the clue writer very good marks for this years hunt.  Couldn't have been Souchary, must have gotten Boxmeyer out of mothballs.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:10 PM Permalink
Allison Wonderland

I don't think the bark was still on the branch. Sounds like the medallion was on the ground and the bark was on top of it, frozen to the ground.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:10 PM Permalink
queenmalley

OTS: you are so correct!! Search, not destroy---and pulling bark off of trees, dead or not, would not be right in 'Cooler ville!

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:10 PM Permalink
Oriongirl79

yeah i wouldn't have gone so far to pull back the bark. i stuck my fingers in a lot of holes and rolled logs over. but to pull parts of trees (downed or not) doesn't seem right.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:11 PM Permalink
queenmalley

Thanks for the info, Alison

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:11 PM Permalink
wolfpac

I give the clue writer very good marks for this years hunt.  Couldn't have been Souchary, must have gotten Boxmeyer out of mothballs.

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:11 PM Permalink
NoTimeForColdFeet

Tue, 02/01/2005 - 5:12 PM Permalink