2011 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt

For the second year in a row, the clue writer pays homage to the Vulc. For the second year in a row we've had miserably deep snow to contend with for the hunt. Coincidence? We think not. We actually get a rare look into a specific area of the park to search with this one, with that section of the park's namesake creek filled with many dams, and a reference to Upper and Lower Afton Roads (heaven or hell coming), cordoning off the right portion of the park. For the first clue this is rather risky, but given the trend of the past few years we have to give this one a total thumbs up.

An interesting clue. Many of us thought the second verse was added later, as a total newspaper reference to the departing editor of the Press. Turns out the many steps was a reference to the stairs that led to the now demolished ski jump,.

We prefer to think of the days in the glen when men were men to be an allusion to the ski jump in the park, particularly in light of our heaven or hell coming interpretation of clue one. All in all, a lame, useless clue.

While the puck was roughly 32 steps off the path through the park, this one created a classic red herring situation, which we don't know if the clue writer knew about or not. There are signs at Como saying that there are 3200 steps around the lake. Combining the temperatures in both the Fahrenheit and Celsius (where water freezes at 00 degrees), one gets 3200. We like red herrings. Especially good red herrings.

Yet another opportunity for a red herring. In winter (and the other seasons for that matter), lovers meet in either the Como Conservatory (off limits of course), or the gates ajar. Great job there. On the downside, the area is surrounded by A, B, and C streets, the only such named streets in the city. The Wide World of Sports reference could have been nailed as a double meaning clue here.

Can you say another red herring? Yes. Yes you can. And like the one from clue 4, this one is great. We all know Como is overdue, with Battle Creek being more recently used than Como, so this one appealed to any Como-holics out there. With the ability to pull us in multiple directions, we tip our hats to the clue writer.

As always, we like the puzzle that is known as an anagram. The only concern we have is that for the first time in known history, the anagram is split across multiple clue lines, raising questions about its validity. So, we have to withhold one star for that. Following that, we have "testing your mettle". Used as a homophone for metal in 2001, anyone who has been to this year's treasure site knows that there is plenty of metal re-bar sticking out from the remains of the ski jump.

Strapping on your boots also suggests going for a hike in the snow, or a walk to the bus stop in the morning. Hey, it even suggests a long hike through the park, like you would have had to do to get to this year's medallion. This clue should probably have been, say clue 2 or 3.

What's with the dog theme with this hunt? Huskies, Poodles, Sheepdogs, and now Beagles. This clue was actually a decent clue, and well-placed in the hunt. Too bad the ordering of the clues didn't let us get this far.

Thanks for giving us Upper and Lower Afton again. At least we got another landmark within a regional park (which by this time we already know).

A good clue, except according to our spotters, the puck was east of White Bear Avenue, not west as would be the direction of Highway 61/10. Cluewriter fail.

"X" marks the spot. Actually a pretty good clue, compared to the 200 paces of Phalen in 2004.