HoCo Pirate Treasure Hunt July 2021

To see previous pirate adventures, go here.

The July 2021 Pirate Treasure Hunt was the search for The Colors of Clemens Crossing. The colors were represented not just by the chalk, but by flags in the trees. The flag colors helped to decode the combination to the treasure chest at the end. 

Start of the walk

The first color was yellow, an easy find.

Making the discovery

The trail had fun activities, like walking the plank. At least, this was a fun activity because it was not actually walking the plank.

Dangers everywhere!

We passed a few playgrounds and stopped at one.

A happy pirate

This gate struck me as odd, mostly because it was cut off by vegetation. Do the people ever use it?

Speak "Weedwacker" and enter 

The concrete path we were on clearly did have other users, even exotic ones.

You might say an ocean lady "mer-made" the prints!

The neighborhood streets have fun, piratey names, which I am sure was an accident.

Maybe not appropriate for kids

Can you spot the green flag?

Our pirate map labeled the next stone the "Jolly Roger Rock." My daughter got a yo-ho-ho in as we passed.

Showing strength

Another challenge was a set of exercises. My daughter floated right through.

Parents are exempt, I think

Toward the end, the path diverged for those using their wheeled conveyances. 

What if I'm a strolling pirate?

Off the path was another clue and also a surveying mark from the original land grant in the 1700s. Lord Baltimore gave Rev. James Macgill 400 acres and named the area "Athol" after the Macgill ancestral home in Scotland. The neighborhood of Atholton is nearby!

The border stone

We had the final clue and had fun opening up the chest at the end. Another successful adventure!

Opening the chest

HoCo Pirate Treasure Hunt June 2021

To see previous pirate adventures, go here.

The June 2021 Howard County Pirate Treasure Hunt was a search for the Jewels of Jib-Sheet John. The search started where X marked the spot, or at least crossed bones marked the spot!

Beginning of the hunt

Our last excursion saw lots of the seventeen-year cicadas. We saw hardly any this time, though other woodland creatures were hanging around.

No, don't get up, we're not staying!

The path had lots of fun instructions, like this invitation to stomp like a giant. The giants left a major walkway through the area, so we had fun being like the locals. 

Trail instructions

The Giants' Walkway

More deer friends

A lot of fallen trees littered the area, some rather impressive looking, like the see-through tree!

Did a giant knock this over?

How does it grow with a hole all the way through it?

We collected clues along the way. A piratey morse code gave us the five letters to the combination on the treasure chest. 

Finding part of the code

The map showed a shortcut along the trail. The trail itself marked off the shortcut!

We won't say a thing

The other things along the path were jewels strewn all over. Jib-Sheet John must have holes in his pockets. We had to stop the kids from collecting too many, since many other people go on this treasure hunt.

Bejeweled stump

Closeup of the jems

A small stream runs nearby. We threw sticks in since we couldn't find any stones.

No, we didn't break any bones.

One clue was hidden in the "wolverine's den." Sounded like a dangerous place to go. Luckily, the occupants were out when we came by.

Den of trouble?

We finally found the last clue and the treasure chest stocked full of goodies. This time around, the kids all chose the ring pops, which made a nice snack on the way back to the car.

Treasure!

A farewell message

HoCo Pirate Treasure Hunt May 2021

To see previous pirate adventures, go here.

The May 2021 Howard County Pirate Adventures was called the Dread Doubloons of Dickinson. The adventure started at Dickinson Pool, which wasn't open when we came early Saturday morning. I guess swim meet season doesn't start until June?

Point of origin

We followed the map along the local streets passing a house marked for looting. The house is barely visible but the wagon wheel on the map was obvious to me. I pointed it out to my fellow pirates but it took them a while to spot even the wheel.

I guess the wheel does blend in

Our other companions on the walk were the Brood X cicadas who were out in full force. They grossed out the kids and the adults. 

Is it the eyes? The wings? The legs? All of the above?

The bugs come out in the Mid-Atlantic area every seventeen years. They molt a lot and spend a month or so before they go back under for the next seventeen years. 

Molting

Shells left behind in a tree

Climbing the tree

We continued our pirate hunt, finding the first clue at a playground. The kids were more interested in playing than in decrypting the clue.

On the corner is the clue!

Further along the trail we saw a bit of the Middle Patuxent River.

The river

The marker for the clue

The trail to the clue

The next clue was by an abandoned fort. We helped to reconstruct it after getting the next clue.

Checking the fort size

Adding a stick

A nearby drainage pond has a cage that was labeled "Kraken Cage" on the map.

Not safe to sail here

The clue nearby the cage was very easy to spot.

Beads on the tree!

The final clue was hidden in a circle just past a bridge over the drainage stream.

Checking for trolls

Naturally, the circle had two ways to go around with a helpful warning for visitors.

Go right!

The final clue had a mermaid ribbon (which is sort of piratey, right?). With that, we had the code to unlock the chest.

Bee-free side of the circle

The treasure chest

We read the note inside the treasure chest, signed the note, and took some booty.

Reading a message from the captain

On the way back to the car, we stopped at another playground and saw some sidewalk chalk graffiti meant for us.

Yes, you will!

HoCo Pirate Treasure Hunt April 2021

The HoCo Pirate Adventures are back on! We participated last Fall for their final hunt. Now, they've started again. The April 2021 adventure was The Harrowing Hunt of Hawthorn. We printed out the treasure map, drove to the starting point (Hawthorn Center in Columbia, Maryland), and followed the trail. We knew we were on the right path when we saw a message:

Yay, team!

The path meandered through a local neighborhood next to a stream. Some of the houses had strange trees. 

Maybe it sank into the ground?

The first part of the secret message was in a spot called Bowl Rock. The below rock does indeed look like a bowl and we saw our first symbol to decrypt.

There be the white rock!

The stream had some spooky bits

Further down the trail we spotted another rock in a playground. Thanks to Covid, the swings had been taken down, leaving a big T. The rock did not have a big T on it.

Well, maybe if you look at it askance it's a T...

Yet further down the trail we found a swampy bit with a park bench looking out over the overgrowth. Another rock yielded another clue.

Decryption in progress

We found another playground where no white rocks were found. The cool equipment was irresistible to our pirates.

"What be this form of transportation?"

A full seesaw

After a while we continued our hunt. 

The fourth and penultimate clue

This part of the path led by something labeled "Fossil Rock and Tall Boy" which turned out to be another short playtime opportunity.

At least we played with the rock

The map also listed several vaults along the way. They were too cleverly sealed for us scalawags to open. 

Government-sponsored vaults

The final clue was at Me Mudder's Tree. The trailhead was marked with pirate cloth; the tree was wrapped in a cosy covering.

Probably the right path

The final clue!

We had our final clue for the combination to the treasure chest, which was not much further on (and practically back at the starting point). Our youngest pirates were the most enthusiastic to get their hands on treasure.

The treasure!

Leaving it better than we found it

We took advantage of the park nearby to picnic and play a little sports (and play on yet another playground). 

Frisbee with Granny

We can't wait for the May hunt to commence!