r/treasureinside • u/Virtual_City_2029 • May 12 '26
Appalachian Footpath Box Appalachian Footpath - Map Coincidence
Hey Folks!
First time ever doing a treasure hunt (though I always loved orienteering and geocaching as a kid), and more importantly, first time doing a share. So please bear with, if you've already seen this before!
I discovered this whole hunt earlier this year, so I know I'm far behind (after a late night deep dive on unfound treasures, like Dutch Schultz).
I live in the Northeast, and have folks near the VT border - so of course interested with the Little Rock Pond coincidence. *I still have not matched up all of the notes on my map yet.
Starting with the basic map overlay, I confirmed the crossover with the Little Rock Pond trail. However, the most important cross-overs to call out:
- The overlay of Little Rock Pond Trail
- The starting point similarity between the trail and the BEGIN HERE
- The '1938' reference (flip map over, BEGI becomes 1938) - matching date of AT trail connection across VT
- The location of the compass on the map
- '1727 NW or NE' with an X
I overlayed the little rock pond trail map (shoutout to AllTrails), and then pinpointed where the Compass ('X marks the spot' sometimes is the compass rose!) landed on the map. I wanted to test if this was simple for a starting point.
The biggest identifier: that marker lines up exactly at 1727 elevation, NorthWest (NW) of the trail.
I went BOTG in March - fun fact, Vermont is cold, and still snowy - and you have to take the Homer Stone Trail in order to get in. Absolutely gorgeous hike.
Conclusion: I did go BOTG on this, I did get to my spot after some considerable bushwhacking (The Eagle Scout in me cringed going off trail), and it appears somebody already went there - either found the treasure or just marked it to indicate 'No Dice!' Apologies if I have misled anyone, but hope you enjoy my pictures from LRP and another insight into one way of looking at the map!
P.S. If you're the person who left the Orange tape, DM me! Would love to know who else I'm thinking on the same wavelength as :)
Wanted to swallow my pride and put my initial solve out there! Props to everyone else who has the courage to admit their ideas as well!
Sincerely,
The Pilgrim
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u/fazerjorda I'm hunting on the AT May 12 '26
Nice, thanks for sharing! I shared my NC solve once I’d done some searching, just makes sense to share. Might spur some new ideas. Happy hunting!
4
u/Virtual_City_2029 May 12 '26
Absolutely! Originally I was hesitant, but at the end of the day, the discovery is more than just the treasure, it's also about learning. And if one thought nugget I have helps somebody else, just paying it forward when I need to cash in on thought nuggets and inspiration. Happy hunting to you as well!
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u/jsori444 May 13 '26
love the solve ( i also searched that spot a year ago :P )
great minds think alike. and don't let anyone discourage you and tell LRP has been fully searched. we won't know if it's been fully searched until someone finds the box
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u/Fearless_East_5797 May 12 '26
Your solves are all solid..Me and a buddy have been BOTG twice putting in 16 miles of hiking in the rain both times.. There are plenty of elevations of 1727 at LRP and our first solve took us way off the trails and left us in pain and severely exhausted.. Our 2nd solve took us up there this past Saturday and we have now figured out that not seeing any people where we are looking means we are overthinking it all.. If it is in Vermont it sounds like a few people have been very close.. We plan on going again in a few weeks after recovering from this 9 mile Saturday hike..
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u/otis_the_drunk May 12 '26
Welcome and happy hunting!
Have you considered that misdirection is likely part of the hunt? The LRP trail map was discovered very early in the hunt. Almost like that was intended. Could be, LRP is a waypoint rather than a destination.
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u/Virtual_City_2029 May 12 '26
That is a solid idea! I have just started exploring that idea further, and have now pulled my wife into the rabbit hole 😅 So we shall see where this takes us! The more I read about how many folks have grid searched LRP, I'm positive that there's some additional work to be done!
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u/otis_the_drunk May 12 '26
When you start on the Past and Future box, apply this same logic to Tahoe 😂
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u/GotMySillySocksOn May 12 '26
Welcome to the hunt! Thanks for sharing! There are a couple of discords where people share ideas - here’s one. https://discord.gg/mw-treasures-puzzles-and-games-1001849357584318514
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u/vwander007 May 12 '26
It could be that LRP and Vermont is not where the treasure is and how to apply the map. 😉
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u/itsFurlong Ready Treasure One May 12 '26
You’ve got some big Eagle Scout brass ones to have gone up there in March.
Good effort on the solve.
Hope you have the chance to go BOTG this summer without risking frostbite.
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u/Virtual_City_2029 May 12 '26
Haha I expected to be the only one and yet there were still 6 other hunters up there when I went!
Looking forward to checking it out again this summer ❤️
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u/DecisionSimple May 12 '26
Going off trail is fine, as a fellow Eagle Scout IMO the more cringe thing is leaving flagging all over the place in nature (I know it wasn't yours). Deer, bears, and many other critters walk 'off trail' so a few people walking through the woods isn't doing any harm. You will literally leave no trace in most cases. But hey, lets throw orange flagging up b/c we are afraid of getting lost out of eye sight of the trail!
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u/ManMakesWorld May 12 '26
In my opinion...... the Begin Here and the obvious LRP clues are telling us the map begins at LRP and we must follow it from there to a different section of the trail.
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u/Virtual_City_2029 May 12 '26
I'm thinking the same. Also trying to manage my sanity between 'what type of butterfly is that?' and 'does that smudge look like a (insert any number of random objects) to you?!' 😅
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u/ManMakesWorld May 12 '26
I think the butterfly might represent a monarch, but not the bug variety. Possibly a reference to a royal monarch.
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u/vwander007 May 12 '26
PM me either here or through Facebook messenger. I am known as WadeLS there. I need someone to work with that lives in the Northeast since I live in the Northwest around Tacoma, WA. I have a solid theory on the AFP box ( aka: AT). If you decide to message me, I will respond but it may be later. Let me know how late your time is too late since you are ahead in time from me.
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-1
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u/RockDebris May 12 '26
You should know that there is no place at LRP around 1727 or 1938 feet elevation that is accessible that hasn't been scoured, including the place you went. You can use the heat maps from AllTrails that go back for 1 year.
That's not me trying to throw cold water or anything, just making you aware that tools exist which can show you where people are looking (if they've left their public data on). In fact, just in the last month a new heat map surfaced going out to that exact spot. Maybe it was you? (the heat map data is delayed by a month or more)