Yes, We Were!

So at the end of last week, we were seemingly at the end of the road on the Green Mountain Adventure Challenge.  We had three clues and no idea what to do with them.  We refused to be defeated, so we made a reservation to return to the Grey Ghost Inn and headed to West Dover for one last try.

We had three clues to review and at two of the places we found something we had not seen before (with a little help from a local).  We hopped in the car and began to drive around trying to make sense of what we had.  Suddenly I saw a phone number in the clue that led us to a local shop.

When we got there they informed us that they were not part of the challenge.  Seeing our dejected faces, the person at the register gave us a crash course in something that I will explain after August 31.  Armed with new skills, we hurried back to our inn and with 2 tablets, an iPhone, and paper and pen, we puzzled out our next stop.  Our innkeeper kindly confirmed our suspicion and directed us to the trailhead.

We started to hike, but after reaching the second locked gate on the trail, I called Carina, our innkeeper.  She assured us we were on the right trail, so we trudged on.  Forty-five minutes later my phone rang - it was Carina checking our progress.  We told her we thought we were almost there, but if we didn't return that night, she should call the cavalry.  A few minutes later we reached our destination - almost.  Now a swim was involved, but we didn't have swimsuits and I wasn't comfortable swimming that distance with or without a swimsuit.  DH gamely emptied his pockets, took off shirt and shoes and waded in.  He swam the distance easily and then disappeared into the woods for what seemed like a long time.  He reappeared and swam back to describe what he found.

Excited, we hiked back to the trailhead in the increasing darkness and then sped off to the place where it all began to report our success.  Our hopes were dashed when we were told we were in the wrong place and, that if we had really figured it out, we would know it.  We went back to out inn for dry clothes for DH and then had some dinner.  We were exhausted.  We had hiked 7 miles and had nothing to show for it.

We rose early and met several other adventurers at breakfast.  Two couples were stuck on the first clue, so we helped them out.  One couple hadn't even picked up the first clue yet and the last couple had hiked right past the spot in clue #2 and had to go back and hike again.  It's fun to meet other people doing the challenge but, unfortunately, they had no hints for us. We traveled to the next town to check for clues and were told we needed numbers that were on a tree.  We rented a canoe to recheck the spot DH had visited the day before.  Perhaps two sets of eyes would make a difference.

It was 5 miles of canoeing before we reached the spot; it was a much shorter trip on foot!  We checked out the spot that DH had found, but didn't find anything new.  Then I checked the information on my iPhone.  We moved a few yards away trying to find the exact location and DH saw it - not on the tree but underneath it.  It had been removed and placed on the ground.  We took some photos and stopped for a snack and water, trying to decide what to do next.  Just as we were going to leave I decided to go back for one more picture.  On the way something clicked.  I used some charcoal from a nearby fire pit to enhance the clue and confirmed my idea.  DH appeared minutes later; I told him and he concurred.

We canoed the five miles back and then waited at the launching area as we watched what my father always referred to as "The Laugh-in."  A family of 6 or 7 blocked the ramp as they argued over who would take which canoe or kayak (they had two canoes, 3 kayaks and a wave).  They were totally oblivious to anyone else trying to use the ramp, including people launching powerboats and jet skis with vehicles and us - DH with the wheels for our canoe and me holding onto our canoe far from the ramp.  Finally the father noticed that there were other people waiting and they took off.

It was well past lunch time when we finally got on the road again.  I continued to play with the clue as we drove.  Now I had two parts, but something was leftover.  We went back to a favorite restaurant for lunch armed with my phone, paper and two pens.  DH agreed with the first two parts, but what did the rest mean?  Suddenly the light dawned - I tested my idea and we got the final clue.  We celebrated as we finished our lunch and immediately took off for the last spot.  We completed our task and we were heading home.  Mission accomplished!

Now if you come back on September 1st, I'll tell you the clues and the answer.

Up to the Challenge?

Since DH and I have decided to remain in Vermont rather than moving south, we have begun to take advantage of the many interesting things to do here.  A few months ago, I saw an ad for the Green Mountain Adventure Challenge.  I had heard of it before, but we had never tried it.  It's a combination of puzzles and outdoor activities that takes place in and around West Dover, VT.  There is are cash prizes and and an equal amount of money goes to charity.  If you'd like to know more about it, use this link: www.greenmountainvermont.com.

We purchased a package that included the tickets for the challenge, lodging for two nights, breakfast, a bag lunch, water bottles, t-shirts and a backpack - not a bad haul.  We left the date open so that we could have two consecutive clear days for the excursion.

Finally we had a stretch of clear weather, so we made our plans.  Upon arrival at our lodge,  we were advised to go directly to the West Dover Inn to start our quest.  We collected all our swag, a crayon and our first clue.  The innkeeper instructed us to go into the parlor to find some helpful information. Now I can't tell you everything about the challenge until September 1 since it is ongoing until August 31, but I can tell you that we spent a lot of time at the inn before we realized that we were holding the clue and what we found in the parlor told us how to use it.  Back at our lodging we continued to puzzle over the clue, until a couple from Massachusetts assured us that we were on the right track and, with my iPad, the answer would be clear.  They were right and we were off to gather the second clue.

Since it was late in the day and the next clue required some hiking, we decided to wait until the morning to continue.  Another quick check with our new friends the next morning and we were off.  We hiked around for a while with no success until we heard someone calling his partner.  We took a chance following his voice too and, sure enough, he was right where we needed to be.  They didn't know what they were looking for but we did, so we shared the information.  We took pictures to prove that we had found it and they gave us a hint for the next part of the hunt.  We continued on and searched and searched and searched.  Just when we were about to give up, DH found it.  We snapped a picture and we were off to get clue number 3.

We returned to the West Dorset Inn and presented the photos to prove that we had completed clue number 2.  The innkeeper told us to meet him in the parking lot behind the inn.  We had seen two targets there the night before and, no surprise, the innkeeper arrived with a bow and arrows.  We had five arrow for one of us had to hit the target or pay $5.00 for another 5 arrows until we did hit it.  (The money would go to charity.) DH hit the target on the third try, so we got the third clue. 

We studied the clue over over lunch and realized it meant driving to a nearby town to find some locations.  After some math, we were pretty sure that we knew where to go next.  Once again it was late afternoon and hiking was involved, so we decided to wait until the next morning.  Our innkeeper assured us that we knew the right location.  Progress seem slow and we only had one day left to our stay. We made it an early night to get on the road first thing the next morning.

We met our new friends from Massachusetts at breakfast and they were happy to report they had completed the expert level easily.  Unfortunately, that's all they shared.  We said good bye and headed off on our hike.  The view was beautiful, so we snapped the required photo (along with one of each of us) and headed back to town.  When we presented our photo we were informed that we had completed the first level. Woohoo, we were eligible for the prize drawing for level one.  We were determined to finish the expert level as well, so we accepted our next clue.

We thought that the next three clues seemed fairly straight forward, but we had a little trouble finding the middle one.  We were helped by a family from Connecticut whose daughter found it immediately.  We got to the third stop as the family was leaving the parking lot, giving us a thumbs up as they passed.  Yes, this was going to be a piece of cake.  I went in and studied the clue and came back to the car to tell DH I had no idea what it meant.  He went in and came back out without any idea either.  We sat in the car and googled what we knew - no luck.  Suddenly the Connecticut family was back.  We followed them in and we all stood around looking confused.  A local came over and asked if we had all the parts we needed.  It seems there was something in the first two clues we had missed.  The daughter had photos of the first two clues on her phone and we thought we saw what we had missed.  They raced to their car and took off.  We continued to puzzle over what we knew with no inspiration.  We decided to head home and think about it.  We have until August 31 and it's only a 2 hour trip.  To be continued...