The Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt
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Allison Wonderland started the mock hunt in 2000, as a way to pass time between the Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt, and Fitger's Bock Hunt. He squeezed the two words together, and came up with Mock. In 2000, it was a virtual hunt, in which participants needed only their Treasure Hunter's Guides, with a $10,000 Monopoly Money prize. In 2001, it became an actual hunt, with a cash prize, and has been that way ever since. The "AW Hunt" is typically regarded as the hunt that kicks off the Mock Hunt season each year, with the finder of his hunt writing the next one, and so on.
When planning the Mock Hunt, he does usually look at what happened during the Pioneer Press hunt from that year and try to counter balance it in some way. So in a year like Crosby, when everyone was in the same park most of the hunt, he's made it more of a "figure out the right park" sort of hunt. In years when people were all over the place in the Pioneer Press hunt, he may try to get people to the park earlier so they can hang out together. If the Pioneer Press used a large park, he might pick a small park. Of course it's up to you to try and figure out what aspect of this year's hunt he's trying to counter balance.
If people ask when he thinks it will be found, the usual answer is clue 8 or 9 unless the hiding spot is especially devious. He thinks a good hunt should go at least 8 clues (though the possibility of it being found earlier definitely needs to be there). Once it gets past clue 9, he tends to think "I can't believe they haven't found it yet". While the tension and excitement ramps up on clues 10 and 11, he really doesn't want it to get to clue 12.
Finally, once it's all over and he posts the explanations, either people will have figured everything out, or they will look at something and say "I can't believe I missed that!" If they look at the explanation and go "What?", then that was a bad clue.
| Year | General Location | Pinpointed Location | Concealer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Tilden Park | Near the playground equipment | Snow |
| 2001 | Linwood Park | Under the retaining wall behind the tennis courts | Snow |
| 2002 | Phalen Park | Under shrubbery cross Wheelock Parkway from the main gates amidst some tall grass | A mud-covered jewelry box |
| 2003 | Battle Creek Park | Down the ravine from Battle Creek Middle School | Inside a broken pocket watch, and tucked inside a fallen log |
| 2003 | Hidden Falls Park | Near the overlook above the falls | In a pair of tealight candles that had the wax removed |
| 2004 | Marydale Park | On the north side of the lake in a depression under a tree near a group of picnic tables | A fake rock |
| 2005 | Sackett Park | Between two wooden poles | A $1 chip from the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, wrapped in an Eclipse gum wrapper and concealed with leaves |
| 2006 | North Dale Recreation Center | Along the fence along the first base line of ball field #1 | In bandages and covered with leaves |
| 2007 | Newell Park | In a tree near the center of the south end of the park | Directly inside a crack in the tree |
| 2008 | |||
| 2008 | Cherokee Park | In the picnic area across from the main parking lot, near a tree | Wrapped in white yarn |
| 2009 | Highwood Hills Park | Near the end of the fence by the playground | An iPod Nano Box |
| 2010 | Como Park | In a crevasse in the stonework on the southern staircase leading up to the waterfalls above the frog pond | A black felt pouch |
| 2011 | Harriet Island Park | Tossed from the levee, near a triangular grove of trees and the boat-shaped playground | Nothing |
| 2012 | Conway Recreation Center | In a depression in the ground in line and east of the basketball court posts | Covered with loose grass |
| 2013 | Burns Avenue Park | Between a pair of trees in the NE section of the park | A chunk of ice |
| 2014 | Merriam Park | Marked by a sign on the fence from Century Fence | Leaves |
| 2015 | Highland Park | Near the Picnic Pavilion South of Montreal Ave. | A pile of snow turned over during the Pioneer Press Hunt |
| 2016 | Hidden Falls Park | Near the blue picnic table at the north entrance parking lots. | |
| 2017 | Swede Hollow | In the upper parking lot, on the curb near handicap sign | Wrapped in to-go cutlery and placed under leaves |
| 2018 | Phalen Park | ||
| 2018 | Battle Creek Park | By a bridge and a bench in the section of the trail that extends from Upper Afton to Ruth St. in line with Valleyside Dr. | In the roots of a tree |
| 2019 | Upper Landing Park | Near one of the benches along the trail near the statue of a bird eating a fish | In the snow bank |
| 2020 | Cherokee Park | Near the Tennis Courts | In a low spot in the ground covered with leaves |
| 2021 | College Park | The fence around the basketball court | On a fence post |
| 2022 | Furness Park | Near the bench just north of Clear Avenue | A Divot in the Ground |
| 2023 | Stonebridge Oval | The Third Tree In from the West | Snow at the base of the tree |
