There are seven things you’ll need to know about the Kids-Wild Treasure Hunt.
The first thing is that two prizes are up for grabs, both awesome.
First prize is an original painting by famed wildlife artist Robert Bateman or a cash equivalent: $3,000.
Second prize is one of six paintings by landscape artist Doris Laner or a cash equivalent: $700.
The second thing to know is that Kids-Wild is designed for the whole family: mom and dad and auntie and uncle and grandma and granddad and friends and of course kids themselves.
If there’s a young person in your life who would benefit from spending time out on the trail, now’s the time to build Wells Gray into your travel plans this summer.
The third thing you’ll need to know is that working through the Kids-Wild Treasure Hunt will involve hiking 10 short trails situated along a 55 km stretch of park road.
In total you’ll need two, three or possibly four days to mange this – a perfect focus for a family camping trip.
The fourth thing to know is that there are two sets of clues. One set appears in the pages of Treasure Wells Gray, a natural history guidebook by Trevor Goward. The other set is designed for the geocache crowd and appears in the companion geology guidebook Wells Gray Rocks, by Cathie Hickson. While the coordinates and general information for the geocaches are posted on line (geocache.com), geocache fans will need to get a copy of Wells Gray Rocks for details.
The fifth thing to know is that both Treasure Wells Gray and Wells Gray Rocks will be available from the Wells Gray Information Centre in Clearwater starting in early June. Cost is $10 each. For more information, please call the Info Centre at 250-674-3334.
The sixth thing to know about Kids-Wild is that you’re looking for a special word hidden in the clues. To come up with the correct word, you’ll need to solve 10 clues, each convertible to a letter of the alphabet.
The seventh thing to know is that while there’s no entry fee for the Kids-Wild Treasure Hunt, the official entry forms are tear pages from Treasure Wells Gray and Wells Gray Rocks; no other entries can be accepted. (This helps to fund the treasure hunt.)
Finally, proceeds from Kids-Wild go to help kids connect with wild nature at the Thompson Rivers University Wilderness Centre, near the southern entrance to Wells Gray.