2011 Woodbury Days Medallion Hunt

This clue gets readers on their way and reminds them that Woodbury Days is just ahead.

Here we learn that hunters can eliminate private land from the search. "The four points" is a reference to compass points, a device that will come in handy later on. We also now know which section of the city to search.

This clue announces several things. "Search low" indicates the medallion will be found on the ground and not suspended in an elevated location. Searchers will also know to look for a small trail once they're close. "Counties collide" is a hint that the location - Carver Lake Park - is on the border of Washington and Ramsey counties. "Cutting" was embedded as a direct and early tip-off to "Carver."

Here, we're given a more direct clue to the park: Canada's symbol - the maple leaf - is a hint that the location will be near Maplewood, where its street signs display a maple leaf. You should stray, however, to the opposite side - Woodbury. "Ten by ten" is a mathematical reference to a simple multiplication problem: 10X10=100; one hundred=Century. This puts you on Century Avenue, which leads to the park's entrance.

If you hadn't figured it out yet, this is an obvious clue that puts you in Carver Lake Park. (There is also a Carver, Minn., County.) "Ascension" refers to the hill you climb as you enter the park. Perhaps the most telling clue here, however, is "high tension," which refers to the high-tension power lines hanging over the parking lot: the area you'll need to be to begin the foot search.

Carver Lake Park has 150 acres, as listed on the city's website. This clue also serves to eliminate certain parts of the park - specifically, the archery range. We don't want anyone getting in the line of fire. Finally, the clue instructs you to proceed on "down" to the parking lot, where the power lines hang directly overhead.

This puts hunters heading out of the parking lot on the eastward trail. Carver has an expanded system of trails now, so "fish and clam" helps tip off savvy hunters. This was not a vague clue, though some may have thought to head toward the lake. It actually was a direct reference to images of a fish and a clam displayed on the park's playground equipment, and easily seen by walkers heading east on the trail. We also now know to continue east to the "T" intersection where we travel south. (Did you bring your compass?)

The "next intersection" refers to the next "T" on the southbound trail. Once you reach the T, you needed to "retrace your steps," or walk backward, to the final, slightly hidden, trail. And thus the "tiny trail" first listed in clue No. 3 becomes visible (and, no, it wasn't one of the new mountain bike trails); it connects two paved trails in a "north and south" direction. The medallion was hidden about 15 to 20 feet down the tiny trail (as you travel from the southbound paved trail) and about 6 feet to the left.