RULES

 

• This is a one clue hunt. A picture of the medallion and treasure hunt clue will be posted at 6PM CST on August 21, 2023.
• Please contact Mike Nowak immediately when you find the medallion to validate your victory and collect the bonus $300 cash prize via Facebook Messenger, MikeNowakFitness@gmail.com or the MN Treasure webpage contact form located HERE. (The cash prize was increased in value from $200 to $300 at the one-week mark.)
• This MN Treasure hunt is free to the public with no registration required.
• The treasure hunt arena is PUBLIC LAND in Ramsey County, Minnesota. Please stay off private property.
• The treasure will not be hidden anywhere dangerous nor higher than 5 feet off the ground.
• Stay away from standard golf courses and Como Park Zoo & Conservatory.
• No tools are needed to find the treasure; you certainly do not want to damage the medallion prize!
• Please respect zones with active restoration signs and marked restricted areas. Do not harm the property grounds or nature. Please obey property hours and rules or risk disqualification from the hunt. In extreme cases, the hunt may be cancelled.
• There are 10 total tokens hidden for this hunt. There is a maximum of one MN Treasure token allowed per hunter. There is no monetary value to the tokens. All other items are “finders’ keepers” including the custom medallion. The medallion has a monetary value of $300 cash. All items that go unfound during the hunt will be removed from the property after the hunt ends.
• The clue writer reserves the right to add bonus clues at a later date, if needed.
• The clue explanations will be posted immediately following the hunt.
• Mike Nowak, MN Treasure, Mike Nowak Fitness and How Do I Get Ripped LLC carry no liability or responsibility for any accidents, injuries or legal implications for participants during this treasure hunt. Participants are urged to use reasonable safety precautions, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and follow all rules.
• By participating you agree to a photo/video media release waiver.
• Seek, do not destroy.
• Good luck and have fun!

Congratulations to Matt Littlefield, Ed Brodie and Steven Sanftner for finding the Ancient Rudis sword medallion at Langton Lake Park in Roseville, Minnesota!

They are your MN TREASURE Gladiators of the Hunt!!

CLUE EXPLANATIONS

Hunt Start: August 21, 2023 @ 6PM CST

BONUS CLUE #1: 8/30 @ 6PM CST

BONUS CLUE #2: 8/30 @ 7:30PM CST

Hunt End: August 30, 2023 @ 7:35PM CST

Langton Lake Park, Roseville, MN

The custom engraved wooden Rudis sword medallion was wrapped in burlap followed by tree camo tape. It was hidden underneath tree bark and sticks, planted in the woods near a large tree in the Southwest zone of Langton Lake Park. 10 wooden engraved MN Treasure tokens with Gladiator mini-figures were hidden around the South end of Langton Lake Park (south of County Road C2 West; east and west side). One token was allowed per hunter. The back of the tokens were engraved with a Pigpen cipher. The hunter had to decide the correct orientation to read the cipher code for the square token. The correct orientation of the Pigpen for this cipher is AOCM, which anagrams to “CAMO”, hinting at the concealer method. The Pigpen method thematically aligns with the historic smokehouse at the park. The smokehouse was used to cure and preserve meat due to the lack of refrigeration until about the early 20th century.

5 mini-gladiator shields (7/8”) were also hidden in the South end of the park. No individual limit was placed on these items and they were meant to be difficult. The 5 shields were hidden in the localized open access zone of the sword medallion. Any hunter that uncovered a mini-shield likely knew they were very close with a significant advantage since it is not a big zone. Two of the shields were just a few steps from the path and visible if positioned correctly; one in the crack of a large log located at the best spot to enter the zone and a second shield that may have been visible if positioned correctly against a tree supported by vines. A third shield was visible at the base of a tree in the zone. The last two shields were even more challenging and “bound” by bark in fallen trees next to the medallion. The medallion was in the “OF” or Oak Forest zone marked on the in-park map found in the South section of the park near the historic smokehouse. The mini-shields were randomly numbered, and this convention did not lead to any further clues to the medallion solution.

The main clue stanza with 10 lines of clues is an acrostic anagram cipher using the first letter of each line – THSSTCIHAC – to spell, “ITS SCHACHT”. Along the path at the South end of Langton Lake Park in Roseville, Minnesota is Heritage trail stop #49 and the remains of a historic smokehouse built by William Schacht. Langton Lake used to be called Schacht Lake. The medallion was hidden in the South section of the park.

“grounds” and “play” hint at the two playgrounds at Langton Lake Park. In combination with “combat”, they also support the gladiator theme to the hunt. The medallion was hidden on the ground.

“at own risk” represents the rules of the hunt, but also the “Keep Out” signs located in the South zone of the park. The medallion was located between two foot trails on the West side of the paved pathway blocked with orange fencing and “Keep Out” signs. It was closer to the area by the South restricted trail. The medallion was not located down either trail marked “Keep Out”.

“Hail winner” and “Ancient Rudis” describe the 12” wooden custom sword medallion for the winner of the hunt. In Ancient times, the Rudis was presented to victorious gladiators as a sign of special achievement. “WINNER” is engraved on the back of limited-edition wooden MN Treasure tokens that accompanied the concealed sword. The medallion is a unique sword object and not a “disc” commonly found as a prize in medallion hunts. “disc” also references the 5 mini-shields hidden in the medallion zone proper.

Line 3 of the clue hints at the roads near the park and medallion. “Sea to where you mount” hints at C2W (Sea to where) or County Road C2 West and Mt. Ridge roads. If you connected C2 or C2W you immediately narrowed the park list to a couple of parks in Ramsey County. Mt. Ridge, or a ridge, could be considered a “fighting crossroads” in battle where crucial decisions are made. “Crossroads” in this case also represents the bridge/trail that crosses over Langton Lake to divide the park at C2 West roads. C2 West meets up on either side of the park at this location. “Sea to” hints at a body of water, Langton Lake in this case, split into two at the park by the bridge. In addition, there is a LaCrosse field at Langton Lake Park as well as the Timberwolf Fitness CrossFit gym in the immediate area. “Sea” suggests a body of water near the medallion location. As a bonus, Arthur Pl runs into South Langton aligned with “The Sword in the Stone” film and the sword theme of the hunt.

“Smoke”, “gable” and “cure” describe the historic smokehouse remains at the park and William Schacht. “secret codes” involve the acrostic ITS SCHACHT anagram, Pigpen cipher on the MN Treasure tokens, “OF” in capital letters in the last line of the clue for Oak Forest zone marked on the smokehouse map, and hidden gladiator items.

“Three hundred reps push, pull and plank” represent the famous 300 Spartan workout exercises consistent with the gladiator theme. “plank” and “howl” are Timberwolf Fitness/CrossFit gym. “Three hundred reps” also comes into play in combination with a later clue about “steps” as the medallion was approx. 300 average paces from the Langton parking lot entrance near Timberwolf Fitness heading toward the smokehouse, plus or minus. “plank” also describes the wooden tokens and sword, along with the concealer consisting of tree remnants and bark camo.

“Crowd response”, “towel” and “won’t signal end” suggest look away from the North section of the park with sports fields and instead head South. “Signal” is another reference for the “smoke”house.

“Flying fish” and “ruins” point to the artifact in Google Maps if you zoom way in near South Langton Park. There is strange graffiti on the roof of the building that kind of looks like a flying fish out of the water. In Ancient times, there is a myth of “flying fish” that must leap out of the ocean and sleep on dry land to live. This area is now building foundation ruins with graffiti when you investigate in-person. The medallion zone was essentially aligned just North of the ruins and “flying fish” graffiti at Terrace Dr/Twin Lakes Pkwy. There is a fishing pier and FIN fishing sign in South Langton near the West parking lot. However, this FIN sign and nearby stone memorial were not the solution since a later clue suggests moving away from parking lots. Of course, “ruins” also applies to the historic smokehouse at South Langton. This is all further confirmation to focus your search at the South end of the park.

“hone your steps” hints at Terrace Dr at the South end of the park and the step shape that is shown on the park map for the Oak Forest section at that end of the park near the medallion. A terrace can be described as a series of cultivated steps. The invention of terrace farming dates back to Ancient history and terraced steps are commonly used in landscaping today. Terrace Dr turns into Twin Lakes Parkway just East of Langton Lake Park, but it can be extrapolated as a straight line through the park. It is the only major street on the South end to align so it was likely a popular search zone during the hunt. Further, the medallion zone was approx. 300 ave. paces from the West parking lot entrance near Timberwolf Fitness heading toward the smokehouse, plus or minus (i.e., approx. 750 ft at 2.5 ft/ave. pace, which roughly matched my 300 paces BOTG).

“counting crows” suggests Russell Crow from the movie Gladiator and also the band Counting Crows with the song “Round Here” to further confirm the general zone near the U-Shaped loop trail at the South end of the park. As a coincidence, the album with this song is called, “August and Everything After”. This MN Treasure hunt started in August. “Your” and “You” were used several times for the U-Shaped South trail and horseshoe-shaped building off Mt. Ridge Rd just West of the medallion. “not cars nor any bruins” indicates stay away from parking lots and Arthur Pl (i.e., Arthur may originate from Celtic word for bear, or bruins).

“bound by shield” and “final battlefront” aligns with the 5 mini-gladiator shields hidden in the correct zone of the medallion. At least three shields were visible if positioned correctly. The shields were “bound” by a log crack, vines and bark. If you found any of these shields you knew you were very close. They were randomly numbered and randomly hidden. The numbers and locations did not create a definitive map to the sword other than proper zone.

“claim” and “OF” in capital letters in the last line hinted at the medallion location in the OF or Oak Forest section of South Langton per the in-park smokehouse map signage. Connecting “flying fish” (graffiti in aerial view of park), “hone your steps” (Terrace Dr), “counting crows” (round here, south loop) and “OF” in South Langton with or without finding any mini-shields significantly reduced the hunt to a very small search zone at Langton Lake Park to find the Ancient Rudis!

MN Treasure Gladiators of the Hunt – Final Hiding Locations

Blue = Ancient Rudis sword medallion (1)

Green = Zone with gladiator mini-shields (5)

Red = MN Treasure tokens with cipher and gladiator figures (10)

 

Please feel free to visit Langton Lake Park and locate any remaining MN Treasure tokens and mini-shields using the map below and tree images in the clue explanations above. One token per hunter please. I will remove any remaining items after one week. Thanks for hunting!!