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IMO, the clue explanations for this hunt are absolutely worthless.  I refuse to believe that they are comprehensive enough to archive & refer to in the future.  I personally feel dumber for having read them.

Lol....What brought me to Silverwood by clue 5 was the Salvation Army Fresh Air Camp name. The fresh in the name was not mentioned in the PP explanations after all. That seems to be a common repeating pattern for me. I got there by some luck.

Ah yes, I should have posted them.

The 2022 Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt ended Monday when Skyler Sawyer, 22, found the medallion in Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, after nine clues were published. Here are all 12 clues for the hunt, and their explanations:

Clue 1

From delta to omicron, what a marathon
Getting from last year to this
Strap on your mask, get down to the task
Let fresh treasure be your bliss

We open by laying the ground rules, and urge hunters to wear a mask. Fresh refers to the recent makeover at Silverwood Park.

Clue 2

Get out of your bed if you want some hunt cred
Don’t wait ‘til temps hit the 30s
With the prize as your driver be a vigorous striver
For success means a life of ease

“Cred, 30s (as ‘thirties’), striver” are an anagram for Three Rivers District, which includes Silverwood Park.

Clue 3

Far from the path that leads to a bath
The treasure waits so alone
Step out of the dark go to the park
But avoid obstacles of cone

Silverwood has a forest bathing trail. The puck is hidden in a parking lot.

Clue 4

An item hot is the current lot
Of at-home tests for COVID
Ours is nice, in block of ice
Inside the medallion’s hid

The prize this year is tucked into the box of an at-home COVID test, which we then froze in a chunk of ice.

Clue 5

When the buttons showed up, we screamed out ‘what?!?’
Still, we didn’t cancel the order
So when we hid the puck, we pushed our luck
And hid it so close to a border.

A nod to this year’s registered button misprint – the button appears undecided if it’s 2021 or 2022. Likewise, St. Anthony Village is actually in two counties – Hennepin and Ramsey. Silverwood Park is in the smaller part of St. Anthony that’s included in Ramsey, which had us making sure we didn’t cross any borders when we hid the prize.

Clue 6

Ride this rhyme for a trip through time
From stone circles to the flood
From a raised elevation you’ll make observation
That all of us spring from the mud

Among the sculptures in Silverwood Park is a time machine, stone circles, a memorial to the 1927 Mississippi River flood, a raised platform, and a sculpture that focuses us on the “early developmental state that all living creatures take before developing their own biological directions.”

Clue 7

Scale the heights, look for the brights
Where nature inspires the arts
Is it life eternal or heat infernal
That strikes at your heart of hearts?

Silverwood Park, near Columbia Heights and New Brighton, is known as a place where nature inspires the performing, fine and folk arts. One of the sculptures at the park is “Eterne,” an archaic form of the word “eternal,” and the visitors center is heated and cooled by geothermal energy.

Clue 8

If saving souls is among your goals
Then this hunt is for you
Bring your legions to these regions
And stay a week or two

Saving souls = salvation; legions = army; stay a week or two = camp. Silverwood Park is the site of a former Salvation Army Camp.

Clue 9

See how brave, bucked and raved
the tempo of the hunter
take a break for your sake
and tear the words asunder

Silverwood Park’s sculpture tour includes a giant “5” at the south end of the visitor center parking lot. It’s called “High Five,” and we’re riffing on it with an anagram (“bucked” and “raved”) about jazz pianist Dave Brubeck, suggesting readers “take a break” – a nod to Brubeck’s well-known “Take Five.” Tempo is a nod to the speed or flow of notes in music, which could lead hunters to one of the park’s overflow parking lots.

Clue 10 (not published)

Don’t skip ahead, follow the thread
You need to observe beginnings
Every clue has a bit that’s true
Rely on it to find winnings.

For folks who have found Silverwood but not the lot, we’ve started each line with a letter that spells out “Dyer,” a reference to Dyer’s Hill at the park, which overlooks the hiding spot.

Clue 11 (not published)

The finder will plot and search a lot
Avoiding where others go.
Away from the trail, how can you fail
Your riches will overflow.

The medallion is hidden out in the open, under a few inches of snow, in the middle of one of the park’s overflow parking lots. So don’t get stuck in the woods or searching the usual stumps and grass patches that many do.

Clue 12 (not published)

Noodling good? You’re at Silverwood.
What you seek is so near.
At county’s edge, this is our pledge —
The prize is in the clear.

If it’s night, turn on your light
And head from car through woods
Atop a rise you will surmise
Benches overlook the goods.

Down below, an expanse of snow
Bisected by small trees.
It’s out from those, 15 paces or so
The treasure lies at your knees.

It’s the final clue, so this one almost puts you on top of the prize. Again, we note the puck is out in the open, or “in the clear,” and give directions to head from the main parking lot to the adjacent wooded hill. If you follow the well-worn foot trail through the snow, you’ll end up at Dyer’s Hill, which is marked by several benches. Down below is an open patch of snow – an overflow parking lot, closed in winter – that is split in half by a line of trees. Out 15 paces to the north from one of the middle trees, the medallion sits beneath the snow.

I missed it, has the clue explanations come out yet? I imagine so. Anybody know where I could find them?
Thanks!

Thanks David for hosting. You were correct about the Ease being E street or highway
and the Brights standing for New Brighton. Anyways it was a fun hunt in a beautiful park and was warm this year! Wish we had a rehash party but maybe next year???

Are you up for a challenge this weekend? The St. Paul Winter Carnival is still going on and so are the Scavenger Hunts. As I write this there are just about 48 hours left until they end Sunday at 5pm. Do you think you can solve 30 clues about various notable St. Paul locations and then visit them all in 48 hours? Only 7 teams out of 57 have done it thus far! Join in on the North Wind Hunt if you want to try.     Or perhaps you prefer an even greater challenge? The East Wind Hunt features ten puzzles ranging from difficult to diabolical. Each one you solve leads you to a specific sign at a St. Paul location which will give you one letter. Unscramble those ten letters to get the final location! Out of 36 teams, only 3 have made it to the end!     Or maybe an easier challenge is more your style? Try the South Wind Hunt. The clues generally aren't too cryptic, but they do require you to find and/or do 30 fun and wintry things in just 48 hours! Only three teams have managed them all so far!     We also have a family option where you can include the kids. The West Wind Hunt takes you to Como Park. 15 clues aimed at the parents will guide you to 15 different features in the park. Go visit them all and let the kids look for one of the West Wind's horses. Each horse has a riddle for the kids to solve that will reveal the name of the horse. Figure that out and solve the mission. 9 out 35 families have found them all going into this last weekend.     Each hunt does cost $20 with the proceeds supporting the Winter Carnival. This hunt is sponsored by St. Croix Hospice. Visit https://www.wintercarnival.com/events/saint-paul-scavenger-hunt/ for more details and to sign up. Remember, you have just 48 hours to do what so many other teams have thus far not done!

Yea, usually the pity party is the night of the find and the Rehash is the Sunday after the hunt. As you can guess the Pity Party comes together kind of last minute. But it seems this year, because of Covid, we're not doing the traditional Rehash, so they just called the Pity Party the Rehash. I didn't actually make it there myself even.

Got it.  I'm a little slow sometimes. But I can take a hint.

The re-hash was a couple of days ago at Silverwood.

I just realized that the Pre-Dig Gig was a virtual gathering.  I suppose that means that the Rehash Bash is also a Zoom meeting since the COVID-19 exposure risk profile of the Twin Cities is largely unchanged since the Hunt commenced..  

I saw posts in the other chat rooms of shovels/brooms missing from Hansen park. As a disc golfer if anyone took them just return them, or if you know of someone who did.

Will the finder be ther?

Is it safe to assume the Rehash Bash is on for Sun Feb 6? 
Is this a potluck/BYOB affair?  I've never been... but I'd welcome the chance to meet you in person and to, er, discuss the clues and the hunt a bit more.  Yes, discuss is the word I'm gonna stick with, at least for now... Just let this CC newbie/wannabe know what to expect and what is expected of those attending.

Thank you David and everyone who posted. I’m always a little hesitant to post in case I’m way off and didn’t post an idea if it had already been posted. I love all the ideas and feel like I’m part of a group of like minded people who are just out to have fun. See you next year, on line and hopefully in the right park.  

I am a 2nd year hunter and I have now learned to take of work to go out and activily hunt. Before the explanations come out here are mine noodle thoughts as I think I was pretty spot on. 
Clue 1:From delta to omicron,what a marathon.Getting from last year to thisStrap on your mask, get down to the taskLet fresh treasure be your bliss 
Explanation: a park far away from last years West Park (marathon) in a new park that its never been (freash)  delta omicron and Marathon values all add up to 45 which is the coordinate of the medallion. 4 + 15 + 26 = 45
Clue 2: Get out of your bed if you want some hunt credDon’t wait ‘til temps hit the 30s With the prize as your driver be a vigorous striverFor success means a life of ease 
Explanation: line 1 means the park closes at night so you need to go hunt early. 30s reference  30th st which is across from Silverwood. 
Clue 3: Far from the path that leads to a bathThe treasure waits so alone away from anything else.Step out of the dark go to the park But avoid obstacles of cone 
Explanation: a path that leads to a bath reference Silverwood's forest bathing path. The medallion is hidden by itself with nothing else near it where it is well lit up. 
CLUE 4An item hot is the current lotOf at-home tests for COVID Ours is nice, in a block of iceInside the medallion's hid
Explanation: Silver became a hot item since COVID started. We also learn its hid in a at home test box frozen in a block of ice near  parking lot. (Lot) 
Clue 5 
When the buttons showed up, we screamed out ‘what?!?’Still, we didn’t cancel the order So when we hid the puck, we pushed our luckAnd hid it so close to a border
Explaination: STILL is a sculpture name at Silverwood which is a park that is right on the border of Ramsey county. HID lights are used to light up parking lots. (Hid was used a lot) 
Clue 6Ride this rhyme for a trip through time poetry trail and history trail at silverwood park From stone circles to the floodFrom a raised elevation you’ll make observationThat all of us spring from the mud 
Explanation: line 1 references the poetry trail and history trail at silverwood. Stone circles and the flood are sculpture names. Raised Elevation is also referencing a sculpture. The last line references Wexford which was a town founded by the vikings translating to of the mud flats. 


Clue 7Scale the heights, look for the brightsWere nature inspires the artsIs it life eternal or heat infernal That strikes at your heart to hearts? 

Explanation: its between Columbia Heights and New Brighton in a park that nature inspires art which is Silverwood's vision and it also host Shakespeare in the parks. The last line reference the Ylem sculpture that is also surrounds the Overflow lot. 
Clue #8 Is referencing the Silverwood Army Camp. 
Clue 9 I hadnt look at yet before it was found! 

Well said, David! 

I do apologize that this year I was just more of a contributor than an actual driving force given that I am pretty wrapped up in running the Scavenger Hunts. But the truth is my ideas are only sometimes helpful. The real power of this group is the cooperation and that is thanks to all of you. I don't feel like we got everything right this year, but I do feel like we had about as much as anyone else to go on. And that takes everyone throwing out ideas. Sometimes the crazy ideas end up being right or sometimes just right enough to trigger an idea that gets us on the right path. Sometimes shooting down wrong ideas helps solidify our ideas that may be right. So in the end, every post adds something. So thanks to all of you.
David

I agree, Kristen! :)

Everyone in this group had awesome thoughts and ideas to the clues this year making it a really fun hunt. Thanks David and everyone else!!!!

Yes, found