“Great hunt fifteeen’s here
After many a year
Those tracks, trails, and path’s, you rely
This time around
Don’t just look on the ground
For above, a branch dangles nearby”

This clue had people looking up as much as looking down in the search. The picture here shows a dangling branch from a tree at the end of the Northfield Trail at Hartley Nature Center – just 20 to 30 feet away from the medallion.

“If you’re out with spike
Make way for the hike
And the hike should make way for the bike
And you’ll find these guidelines
On all kinds of signs
And include everyone from adult down to tyke”

This clue references signs at various share the trail signs found all over the park – as show in the picture indicating that dog walkers should yield to hikers who also have the right away over bikers.

“The place that you seek
There’s a certain mystique
You’ll discover with careful inspection
The further north that you go
The more south seems to show
A peculiar case of direction”

This clue refers to all the street names you might encounter as you head north on Woodland Avenue to the woodland neighborhood. The further north you go – the more you notice the southern Minnesota street names – from Minneapolis and St Paul Avenues, Northfield, Owatonna, Faribault, Mankato, etc.

“Clues are elementary
Both vital and supplementary
And more than north, east, south and west
Access to the prize
Can be reached from all sides
One end, though’s closer than the rest”

Hartley Nature Center covers a large area – with trail entrances on every side of the park. The medallion was located in the northern side of the park – and easily accessible from the Woodland Entrance or the trail entrance at Northfield Street and Kolstad Avenue. Also, Hartley Nature Center has numerous educational programs and opportunities for children at the elementary level.

“There are very high stakes
So, do what it takes
To uncover the prized souvenir
In sight of a road
Under sun and moon glow
Where visitors come and go here”

At the top of Soap Box Hill at Hartley Nature Center, there’s a crossroads of sorts with paths heading in multiple directions. There are four high stakes set in the ground – leading to the nature center, Northfield Street, Hartley Estates and to Hartley Pond – and are located only feet away from where the medallion was hidden in an open area under the sky. The main road leading into Hartley from Woodland Avenue is right down the hill from where the disc was hidden.

“For the search to go better
First look to the letter
After here, your hunt should commence
Go where these clues lead you
Guess where you will need to
Head out to where it makes sense”

The first three lines of this clue tells you to look to the first letter in the following lines. G, G, and H stand for Guilford Graham Hartley – the namesake of the park. The Boyers did correctly decipher this clue that brought them close to the prize

“You may be enticed
To follow advice
Of directions you encounter nearby
But you should be told
That those trails grow cold
For the sought-after medallion is nigh”

The four high stakes referred to in Clue Five – leading to the nature center, Northfield Street, Hartley Estates and to Hartley Pond – all lead you away from the disc which is only feet away from that area.

“Many pursuers
And clue reading viewers
Have searched for the disc every year
And all those should know
These clues should soon show
That before, it resided once here”

The medallion was hidden at Hartley Nature Center Park in 2012

“It’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a groomed trail
The medallion won’t hail
Your search won’t avail
With feet, bike or rail
On or near a ski trail
Be it small, or large-scale
No search should entail
From proctor to yale
On or near a groomed trail
Don’t look on a ski trail
Cause it’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a ski trail
It’s not on a ski trail”

First and foremost, this clue urges you to stay off groomed ski trails – where the medallion will never be hidden. Secondly, when the clue transitions to other words that rhyme with “trail” – working vertically, you’ll find those letters spell out ‘H-A-R-T-L-E-Y” (hail, avail, rail, trail, large-scale, entail, yale”.

“People with saws
Are there for a cause
The spot that they work you should yield
But the place is in view
Of what you pursue
At a point that is south of a field”

There is an adjacent field project not far, and within sight of where the medallion was hidden. The project – which includes workers with saws and other equipment.
According to Hartley Nature Center’s Facebook page, “St. Louis County is working in collaboration with the City of Duluth on a “green infrastructure” project as part of the Woodland Avenue re-construction slated for 2024. This green infrastructure will include basins to help slow, capture, and filter stormwater runoff from Woodland Avenue/Woodland Neighborhood and help to remove pollutants before they enter Tischer Creek. This will help to improve water quality in Tischer Creek and provide better habitat for trout and other aquatic creatures. Trees, including large amounts of buckthorn, are being removed in preparation for the project. Native trees will be replanted after completion of the basins. More info can be found at duluthmn.gov”