U.P. Forest Trail

Five friends (Jaime, Becka, Craig, Amber and Bryce) took a camping trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Each person selected a hike/trail for the group, the name of which referenced their favorite kind of tree (pine, maple, hemlock, cedar and white birch). Each hike was in a different county (Alger, Chippewa, Mackinac, Luce and Menominee), of a different distance (2, 4, 5, 7 and 10 miles) and had a different trailhead location (Salt Point Road, Twelve Mile Beach, Forest Road 3114, Stables Picnic Area and a Campground). From the information provided, determine each person’s favorite type of tree, the county their hike was in, the trailhead location and the hike distance.

Once you have solved the puzzle, only one set of details accurately corresponds to an actual hike/trail in the U.P. The correct set of details will be your key to the letterbox location, and the name of the person who chose this hike will be your key to the clue.

Puzzles Clues…

1. The person whose favorite tree is a pine (who isn’t Craig) chose a 4-mile hike. Craig’s chosen hike does not begin at Forest Road 3114. The person whose hike begins at the campground is not the friend who favors maple trees.
2. The hike that begins at the campground is the next shorter in distance than the hike chosen by the friend who favors Hemlock trees, which is shorter than the Luce County hike.
3. The Mackinac County hike (which was chosen by Amber) is longer than the hike beginning at the Stables Picnic Area (which was the hike chosen by Bryce), which is longer than 2 miles.
4. The hike located in Chippewa County is the next shorter in distance than the hike chosen by the friend who favors maple trees (who isn’t Amber), which is shorter than the hike that begins at Salt Point Road (which was not on the white birch trail).
5. The hike that begins at Forest Road 3114 (which is not 5 miles long) is neither the hike in Alger County (which was not the hike chosen by the friend who favors cedar trees) nor the hike chosen by Becka (which was not in Alger County either).

Letterbox Clues…

NMG EUM IQG ITE FQT YIG DQG GSB QNL ONS TSG VGM

May Day Derby

At one of Muskegon County’s neighborhood parks you will find the remains of an old soap box derby racing strip back in the woods. This track is no longer used but many of the local children delight in hearing stories from their parents about racing their homemade wooden cars down the asphalt strip in the trees.

This year, five children who live nearby (two girls named Genna and Taylor, and three boys named Austin, Landen and Ben) decided that they would hold a soap box derby race on May 1st. The May Day Derby, as they called it, was to be a little different from a traditional soap box derby in that the children themselves would not be driving their cars, rather after building their cars, each of which were marked with a different number (2, 7, 12, 17, 22), they brought them to the top of Derby Hill, strapped in their dogs (Gus, Cooper, Buddy, Ralphie and Dora), with helmets of course, and sent them whizzing off down the hill while the children stood nearby cheering.

Using the clues below, determine the order (first through fifth) in which each car finished the race, the number and canine driver of each car, as well and the first and last names (Northouse, Eastman, Westveld, Westgate and Southerly) of each car owner. Then use the information from the completed puzzle to help you find the letterbox.

Puzzles Clues…

1. The car belonging to the Southerly boy finished fifth; he doesn’t own car number 22, which belongs to either Austin or Landen.
2. The number on the car owned by the Eastman child is five more than the number on Austin Westgate’s car and five fewer than the number on the car driven by Buddy.
3. The two girls are the Northouse child (whose driver is not Buddy) and the one whose driver is Ralphie (who isn’t driving car number 7 or 17).
4. Gus did not drive car number 7; car number 2 did not win the race.
5. The car driven by Dora finished immediately ahead of the car owned by the Eastman child, who finished immediately ahead of the car owned by Landen.
6. At least two cars owned by boys finished consecutively; Ralphie is not Genna’s dog.

Finding the Letterbox…

Once you have solved the puzzle, use the following clues to make your way to the letterbox:

1. Begin at the top of Derby Hill and follow the track to the end of the blacktop.
2. Follow the trail at [car # of the 4th place finisher] squared + [product of the finishing positions of the cars belonging to the two girls].
3. Proceed [sum of Taylor’s car # and Austin’s car #] paces to a intersection of trails.
4. Follow the trail that heads [direction found in Genna’s last name].
5. Come upon a very large [finishing position of the car owned by the Northouse child]-trunked tree on your right.
6. From this tree, proceed [Landen’s car #] paces and stop between the ends of 2 cut logs.
7. See a naked tree standing at [product of the car #’s driven by Gus and Ralphie] - [# of the car driven by Cooper] degrees.
8. From this tree, proceed [product of the finishing positions of all car numbers ending in 2] paces at [sum of the car #’s belonging to Genna and Ben] multiplied by [product of the finishing positions of the cars driven by Dora and Buddy] degrees.
9. Find the box tucked under the end of a hollow fallen log.

Summer Vacation Mystery

Glen invited his five grandchildren (Cade, Krysta, Casey, Marissa and Patrick) to spend a week with him at the lake during their summer vacation. They awoke to a sunny morning on the first day and Gramps asked them what they wanted to do. Each child had a different suggestion — the beach, visit the USS Silversides, play frisbee golf, the playground and a concert in the park.

Wanting to make each of his grandchildren happy, Gramps thought for a moment and said, “Well, we could start at Pere Marquette Park, head over to the USS Silversides for a bit, then up Lakeshore Dr. to Addison to the park, which has a playground, a band shell and a frisbee golf course. While we are at the park, you kids can help me plant a letterbox that I put together about your summer vacation.”

The kids were pleased with their grandfather’s plan and excited to help him plant his letterbox. Once they were at the park, Gramps settled down with a book and the kids headed off to play frisbee golf. They had decided to keep an eye open for good hiding spots for the letterbox while they played.

After they finished their game of frisbee golf, they reported back to their grandfather with the places they had found to hide the letterbox. Each child had sited one hiding spot, each from a different numbered frisbee golf basket (#8, #10, #11, #17, #18), each a different number of paces (24, 30, 35, 40, 55) at a different bearing (170, 180, 245, 315, 330) to a different hiding spot (a hollow log, a multi-trunked birch tree, a fallen tree, a piece of concrete and a rotted stump).

Using the clues below, figure out each child’s suggested hiding spot.

 
| Click here to open a logic puzzle grid in Adobe .PDF format |

Puzzles Clues…

1. The hiding spots chosen by the two girls — Marissa and the one whose bearing was 315 degrees — were, in some order, the hollow log (which was not sited from basket #10) and the birch tree.
2. The three boys were the child who took 24 paces, the child whose bearing was 330 degrees and Casey.
3. The girl who took a bearing of 245 degrees (who was not the child who took 30 paces) located her hiding spot from the basket whose number was one less than the child whose hiding spot was a piece of concrete.
4. The child who chose the fallen tree as his hiding spot took his bearing from a basket whose number was lower than that of the child whose bearing was 180 degrees (who was not the child who took 40 paces).
5. The basket number from where Krysta sited her hiding spot was the next one lower than that of the child who chose the rotted stump as a hiding spot.
6. The boy who took 55 paces (who is not Cade) sited the piece of concrete from the highest numbered basket.
7. The child who took 40 paces was a boy, but not the boy who took a bearing of 330 degrees (who was the child with the highest basket number).

Finding the Letterbox…

Gramps carefully considered all of the options the kids had presented and after walking through the park to look at each spot, made his choice. To find the spot Grandpa chose, add together the basket number, the # of paces and the bearing for each child’s suggestion. You will find the letterbox hidden in the spot where this sum is 58 less than the next larger sum.

Case of the Missing Salmon

A salmon is missing from the Platte River Fish Hatchery in Beulah. Detective B. Stealthy is on the case and is gathering bits and pieces of evidence, most of which he has scribbled helter-skelter on odd scraps of paper. Piecing together the detective’s notes will help you to solve the crime and put you on the trail of the missing salmon.

Background Notes…

1. Five area cats (Lucy, Mr. Bigglesworth, Sebastian, Phoebe and Mozart) were seen in the vicinity of the Fish Hatchery around the time of the heist, but only one was actually at the scene of the crime.
2. The five cats, each a different breed (Persian, Siamese, Angora, Tabby and Himalayan), each wear a tag with a different ID number on it (127, 268, 382, 417 and 503).
3. Each cat fled to a different area trail (Beulah Village Park, Platte River State Forest - Honor, Betsie Valley Trail - Beulah Trailhead, Betsie Valley Trail - Mollineaux Rd. Trailhead and Railroad Point Natural Area) when they learned their name was on the suspect list — one cat had the salmon with him/her.
4. Inspection at the scene of the crime turned up a cat’s ID tag; the detective found it an odd coincidence that the number on the tag was the same number that had been assigned to the missing salmon.

Collected Facts…

1. Lucy is the Persian cat.
2. Mr. Bigglesworth, who is not the Himalayan, wears number “503″ on his tag.
3. Phoebe, who is not the Tabby or the Himalayan, wears number “127″ on her tag.
4. The cat who wears number “268″ did not flee to either the Village Park or Railroad Point.
5. Mozart’s tag is not numbered “417″ or “382″.
6. The cat who escaped to Platte River was not the Himalayan.
7. Phoebe is not the cat who fled to Railroad Point.
8. The Tabby cat ran off to the Beulah Trailhead.
9. Sebastian is not the Angora.
10. The cat who fled to Platte River, who was not Lucy, wears a tag numbered “382″.

Finding the Letterbox…

Once you have pieced together the information and completed the additional research to deduce which trail the guilty cat headed to, make your way there and use the following clues to find the spot where he hid the salmon:

Follow the trail straight ahead from the main parking area. You will come upon a large inscribed memorial stone. From this rock, walk at 150 degrees to the edge of the trees. Due East, find the salmon hidden under bark in the center of a triple trunk cherry tree.