By Sally Lincoln Vogel
 Treasure Found on Day Three The 1st Andover Treasure Hunt took place from June 14th through June 22nd, with the prize of a real gold snowflake for discovering a hidden treasure along one of Andover’s many trails. Inspired by Project Skydrop—a real-world treasure hunt for a gold object hidden in the woods—the Andover hunt provided daily clues and a shrinking map to help participants pinpoint the location. Andover Trails teamed up with AVIS and Project Skydrop winner Dan Leonard to offer this fun outdoor activity for local youth and families. The event was designed to teach children how to problem-solve and to learn more about nature. The hunt was open to any child age 12 or under, accompanied by their family. A total of 130 kids participated in the free event. Organizers hid a gold-colored token to represent the treasure a few feet off the ground near a well-established trail listed in the Andover Trails Guide. Clues and an updated map were distributed daily to registered participants. “Once the token was found, they had to take a photo on the spot and contact us,” said Amber Brand, the event leader. “I received an email and a photo on the third day showing two young girls with huge smiles holding the token.” For the rest of the week, the hunt continued with keepsake tokens placed in the same location as the original. Reagan and Nora Doherty, ages six and four, found the token in the AVIS Hammond Reservation with their family. They later exchanged it for the real gold snowflake treasure —valued at approximately $150—during an award ceremony. At the ceremony, the Doherty family shared the story of their discovery. “The girls thought they saw something gold and sprinted up the trail,” recounted Brendan, their dad. “My wife and I followed and saw them dancing around, screaming, holding it like it was the Stanley Cup. We were very lucky.” The Dohertys expressed their support for the educational value of the event, which gave parents an opportunity to spend time with their children after the school year ended, doing something that sparked curiosity about the natural world. “I thought it was a great idea when I first saw it,” said Brendan. “You’re encouraging families and young kids to get out in the woods and explore the trail networks, with the chance to find a real gold snowflake. If this continues next year, we would definitely sign up—hopefully, it’s not us who finds it again.” The idea for the treasure hunt came from a previous Andover Trails event in February that told the story of Project Skydrop, a real-world treasure hunt for a $26,000 gold statue and an $87,000 Bitcoin wallet. Dan Leonard, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel in Andover, recounted his adventure of finding a hidden treasure on public land within a 500-mile radius of Washington, D.C. to New England. Daily aerial photos and a livestream of the forest floor, along with real-time temperature data, provided geographic clues. Founded in 1971, Andover Trails is dedicated to promoting access to our treasured outdoor resources. The organization works to support the town and other conservation organizations by hosting events, doing volunteer work, and advocating on behalf of townspeople. To learn more about the Doherty family's story of discovery, visit andovertrails.org. Finding the Gold Snowflake Treasure |
| Q: How did your family come to live in Andover? A: We were living in Everett, we had one child at the time, and knew that it wasn't ever going to be a permanent place for our growing family. One day we got a call from my father-in-law, who basically said his friend was looking to sell a house and did we want to come see it. We pulled in the driveway, saw that it had a great backyard, and was walkable to downtown. We said let's do it. It was early 2020. We signed our papers right before COVID then everything shut down. You couldn't do anything in person anymore. So the first year in Andover was a little weird where we didn't get to see a lot of people and meet a lot of people, but it's been five years now, and we love the town, our neighbors, and everything about raising a family. Q: Can you talk about your children and their interests, and how old they are? A: We have three kids. Reagan is the oldest. She's six, going on 13, maybe. But she loves building fairy houses in the backyard, and running around town, on the common, taking walks in the woods. Nora is our middle child. She's four. She's still in preschool, and has a big imagination right now, which kind of was helpful on the treasure hunt. And then we have Kellen, who's 11 months and he was in a backpack. He gets dragged along on our adventures. Q: How did you hear about the Andover Trails treasure hunt? A: I heard about it in an email newsletter from Andover trails and it mentioned Project Skydrop. I'd seen some of that on the news, and I clicked through the link and said, “You know what? This sounds fun.” My wife and I try to encourage our kids to be a little bit outdoorsy and get out and explore. So we thought this would be a perfect little activity on a Father's Day weekend to start off our adventure. Q: How did day one go? What happened? A: On day one, we got the map and the radius was the entire town of Andover! So we said, “oh, this is going to be interesting”. And I believe the clue was, “bring bug spray” or something along those lines. So the thinking was, it'll be somewhere near a water source. And then my wife and I were just kind of discussing some of the trails we've done. We're like, I think a lot of them are near water sources. Since we had dance recitals that day, and it was a bit rainy, we decided to cancel our adventure that day. So we said, “first thing tomorrow, when the next clue comes out, let's look at that and make a choice about where to go. Q: You set out and what happened? A: Day two, the clue was about ferns. And it was basically plants that reproduce with spores, but aren't fungus and mushrooms. We had to teach the girls about how plants reproduce, and my oldest is learning a little bit about that in kindergarten. We looked at the Andover Trails Guide saying, “it could be this place or it could be this place”. We tried to start narrowing it down. The map radius took away 10% of the town, but there were still a lot of places to go explore. We were originally going to do Skug River, because we had done that walk at least once, maybe a couple times. My wife and I were looking at the map and kind of pointing out to the girls, “this means there's water, and this means there's wetlands.” Q: So you changed your course and did a different trail? A: We saw across the street that it was heavily wetlands. This followed the clues more. We knew what lives in wetlands are mosquitoes, and there's definitely ferns there. So let's go do this trail, because we had never done it before. So we started off and we went on a big clockwise loop. We saw birders that were looking for a Virginia Rail, so that was pretty neat. We got back onto the trail, saw a few water snakes. Girls didn't love that, but I thought it was cool. And then we kind of headed towards the back of the loop, and the girls saw something gold. It ended up being a golden oak leaf that had fallen pretty early but a 100 feet later, on the trail, they rushed ahead and spotted something. So we got Reagan and Nora together, and said let’s go check it out. And as we kind of came up the hill to where the snowflake was, my wife turned to me and said I think that might be it. Pure chance that we chose this trail. And the girls started screaming, running around, and holding it like it's the Stanley Cup. It was pretty awesome. We then sent the pictures in with their big smiles. Q: Over like 120 people signed up. You should count yourself very lucky! A: That was what my wife and I kept saying to each other. We didn't expect to find it that day. We were planning to look all week at my wife's home with the kids and I was planning to get up early before work. It was definitely happenstance. They were very excited to have found it. Q: What do you think of having a treasure hunt for young kids? A: I thought it was a great idea when I first saw it. And having something for kids where you're encouraging families and younger kids to get out in the woods and explore is something that my wife and I love doing and encouraging our kids. I think it's a great thing to have around town to get people out exploring the trail networks. There's so many that it's impossible to see them all. If this were to continue next year, we would definitely sign up and hopefully it's not us that finds it again. |       |
Most folks know what to take on a local hike: a water bottle, a granola bar, an extra layer and a map. This last item might be the most overlooked necessity, however, because it might take a little more thought: where to find a map of local trails? Fortunately, for walkers (and paddlers) in Andover, a digital map is a few keystrokes away on the Andovertrails.org website. On the site, click on Town Trails, and on the right-hand side is a link to the “Andover Rivers and Trails Web Map,” which provides a view of the town’s roads, all the trails and parking spots at access points.
A special effort is now being made to ensure that Conservation Commission properties are updated on the map, according to Jane Cairns, Andover Trails Committee member and former chair. For this work, the committee relies on professional map-maker Chris Watson, who has been involved with the long process of creating a map of Andover’s trails for several years.
The idea for producing such a map began with a conversation, Watson said in a recent interview. Several years ago, he and Andover Trails Committee member Steve Golden, were brainstorming a way to create a map for the “Andover Challenge” (a run, bike, swim paddle event.) They approached the town Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinator Jeffrey Carey and received access to the town’s mapping technology. Watson created the map using GIS mapping technology, customizing the map to provide two types of information. The first component is the trails, reservation boundaries, parking, and canoe launch areas in Andover, as well as the Bay Circuit Trail and the 10- and 20-mile Andover bicycle routes. The second component is an underlying map of the town. This allows users to see where trails meet roads and how to access them.
Watson is a GIS specialist who got into GIS mapping when this technology first appeared in the late 1980s. He later made GIS mapping his specialty when he was getting his masters in environmental science at UMass Boston, earning also a masters GIS certificate. He continued developing his mapping skills while working as a research fellow on UMass Boston grant-funded projects related to sea-level rise and coastal storms.
The Andover River and Trails Web Map has several features that let a user get detailed information about trails: location, parking, and links to associated websites and printable maps. The map also shows canoe-launch areas. If the user is on a device with GPS capabilities, Watson explained, they can click on the location button to find out where they actually are.
It’s also possible to locate a trail by entering a reservation name or access several different types of base maps provided by the software, such as a base map that shows a bird’s eye view of a reservation’s topography. There is a feature that lets users measure an area or distance on the map. And perhaps most importantly, the user can print the map or electronically share specific trail locations. There is even a button they can click to get back to what they were looking at the last time they opened the map. (Who doesn’t get distracted when “wandering” around a map on the computer or phone?)
“We are trying to give as much information we can about the trails so people have it at their fingertips,” Watson said.
Watson continues to work on the map, consulting regularly with Dave Dargie, Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) land manager, who has walked every single trail in Andover. “David is the institutional knowledge,” Watson said.
Piece by piece, the two are correcting any errors on the map, by adding trails that were not put on it, or adjusting trails. The work was stalled for a while, Watson said, but now they are back on track and should be done with this process in a few months.
For Watson, the map work is very satisfying personally. “I love doing it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
A special effort is now being made to ensure that Conservation Commission properties are updated on the map, according to Jane Cairns, Andover Trails Committee member and former chair. For this work, the committee relies on professional map-maker Chris Watson, who has been involved with the long process of creating a map of Andover’s trails for several years.
The idea for producing such a map began with a conversation, Watson said in a recent interview. Several years ago, he and Andover Trails Committee member Steve Golden, were brainstorming a way to create a map for the “Andover Challenge” (a run, bike, swim paddle event.) They approached the town Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinator Jeffrey Carey and received access to the town’s mapping technology. Watson created the map using GIS mapping technology, customizing the map to provide two types of information. The first component is the trails, reservation boundaries, parking, and canoe launch areas in Andover, as well as the Bay Circuit Trail and the 10- and 20-mile Andover bicycle routes. The second component is an underlying map of the town. This allows users to see where trails meet roads and how to access them.
Watson is a GIS specialist who got into GIS mapping when this technology first appeared in the late 1980s. He later made GIS mapping his specialty when he was getting his masters in environmental science at UMass Boston, earning also a masters GIS certificate. He continued developing his mapping skills while working as a research fellow on UMass Boston grant-funded projects related to sea-level rise and coastal storms.
The Andover River and Trails Web Map has several features that let a user get detailed information about trails: location, parking, and links to associated websites and printable maps. The map also shows canoe-launch areas. If the user is on a device with GPS capabilities, Watson explained, they can click on the location button to find out where they actually are.
It’s also possible to locate a trail by entering a reservation name or access several different types of base maps provided by the software, such as a base map that shows a bird’s eye view of a reservation’s topography. There is a feature that lets users measure an area or distance on the map. And perhaps most importantly, the user can print the map or electronically share specific trail locations. There is even a button they can click to get back to what they were looking at the last time they opened the map. (Who doesn’t get distracted when “wandering” around a map on the computer or phone?)
“We are trying to give as much information we can about the trails so people have it at their fingertips,” Watson said.
Watson continues to work on the map, consulting regularly with Dave Dargie, Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) land manager, who has walked every single trail in Andover. “David is the institutional knowledge,” Watson said.
Piece by piece, the two are correcting any errors on the map, by adding trails that were not put on it, or adjusting trails. The work was stalled for a while, Watson said, but now they are back on track and should be done with this process in a few months.
For Watson, the map work is very satisfying personally. “I love doing it,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
From Holt Hill in Andover, the Boston highline looms grey and mysterious in the far distance. What would it be like to walk to Boston through the seemingly vast green forest that spreads below? Not surprisingly, folks have contemplated and tried just that, according to Bruce Shick, who, along with Joy Hartwell, co-leads the Mystic Link Alliance. In 2000 or 2001, Shick said, a few open space advocates, including Alan French of Andover, a primary organizer of the well-known Bay Circuit Trail, along with members of the National Park Service, walked a route from Holt Hill, ending at Constitution Wharf in Boston. They did it over three or four days, winding through towns including Tewksbury, Woburn and Medford, said Shick, who was not among that original group of hikers.
Today the Mystic Link Alliance is working on a somewhat different route than the original one proposed. Planners found that crossing I93 in Tewksbury was not a good option, and some of the original route, on Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) lands, does not allow bikes. The Mystic Link is not a route with specific trail markers, but more an information resource that will allow walkers to access information about open spaces all along the route, which admittedly, by necessity, incorporates road walking. Roughly, the route is a “spoke” of the Bay Circuit Trail, and even starts out on that path in Harold Parker State Forest, connecting then with open spaces in North Reading, Reading, Wakefield (along a golf course) , the Tri-Community Greenway in Stoneham and connecting to the Mystic River Greenway.
“The key objective is to identify green spaces in these Merrimack Valley towns worthy of people’s time and attention for use and to protect,” Shick said.
The Mystic Link Alliance includes members from various land-use organizations in the towns all along the route, including Andover, Reading, North Reading, Wilmington, Woburn, Burlington. Their work, said Hartwell, entails both driving and walking a possible route to find safest connections between trails, in order to flush out a comprehensive map. But besides determining physical trail connections, the group creates connections among folks along the proposed path by giving talks at town libraries and using social media to get the word out about the Mystic Link Alliance.
Among the Alliance's varied goals is the plan to highlight interesting natural or historical features along the route, such as the remnant of the Middlesex Canal, Shick said.
Promoting use of open spaces along the route, also helps people connect to the land and care about, so it is less likely to become trash-filled and unsavory, which would deter recreation even more, Hartwell added.
The next meeting of Mystic Link Alliance is on December 19 at 6:30 p.m. at 1 Johnson St. in North Andover, Hartwell said. It is not a public meeting, but members of regional land preservation/open space groups are welcome to attend to find out more about Mystic Link Alliance.
Upcoming library presentations about the project are slated for Dec. 28, 10-11:30 a.m. at Woburn Public Library and on January 15, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the Reading Public Library.
View the Mystic Link Trail website HERE.
Today the Mystic Link Alliance is working on a somewhat different route than the original one proposed. Planners found that crossing I93 in Tewksbury was not a good option, and some of the original route, on Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS) lands, does not allow bikes. The Mystic Link is not a route with specific trail markers, but more an information resource that will allow walkers to access information about open spaces all along the route, which admittedly, by necessity, incorporates road walking. Roughly, the route is a “spoke” of the Bay Circuit Trail, and even starts out on that path in Harold Parker State Forest, connecting then with open spaces in North Reading, Reading, Wakefield (along a golf course) , the Tri-Community Greenway in Stoneham and connecting to the Mystic River Greenway.
“The key objective is to identify green spaces in these Merrimack Valley towns worthy of people’s time and attention for use and to protect,” Shick said.
The Mystic Link Alliance includes members from various land-use organizations in the towns all along the route, including Andover, Reading, North Reading, Wilmington, Woburn, Burlington. Their work, said Hartwell, entails both driving and walking a possible route to find safest connections between trails, in order to flush out a comprehensive map. But besides determining physical trail connections, the group creates connections among folks along the proposed path by giving talks at town libraries and using social media to get the word out about the Mystic Link Alliance.
Among the Alliance's varied goals is the plan to highlight interesting natural or historical features along the route, such as the remnant of the Middlesex Canal, Shick said.
Promoting use of open spaces along the route, also helps people connect to the land and care about, so it is less likely to become trash-filled and unsavory, which would deter recreation even more, Hartwell added.
The next meeting of Mystic Link Alliance is on December 19 at 6:30 p.m. at 1 Johnson St. in North Andover, Hartwell said. It is not a public meeting, but members of regional land preservation/open space groups are welcome to attend to find out more about Mystic Link Alliance.
Upcoming library presentations about the project are slated for Dec. 28, 10-11:30 a.m. at Woburn Public Library and on January 15, 2025 at 7 p.m. at the Reading Public Library.
View the Mystic Link Trail website HERE.
Q&A with the unofficial guardian of the Shawsheen River
Q: When did you first get involved with the Shawsheen River and what did you do?
Ken: In the early days, over twenty years ago, I was with the Shawsheen River Watershed Association (SRWA). Our focus was to try to do things for the river where you could see the results. We would take water samples, check for chemical, waste, collect trash, open navigation, and make the river better so people would want to paddle it. Back in the early days we'd use hand saws and clippers. We eventually graduated to chainsaws to get the clearing done.
Q: What your main activities now as the “Riverkeeper”?
Ken: The main activities are to keep the river clear for navigation and recreational use and to remove things that are major safety items. Trees fall down, trees are in the wrong places, all this needs to be addressed. In the past, we've done lots of work with picking up trash and things that have been thrown in the river. We use to get 40-yard dumpsters and fill those up. We have taken thousands of tires out of the river. Much of that work has been done. So today, most of the work involves keeping certain sections open for recreational boating.
Q: How did the Shawsheen River get to be so polluted over the years?
Ken: Rivers in the United States, in general, have been the dumping grounds for industrial waste since the middle 1800s or even before then. Paper mills are probably the classic of all times, but there was lots of industry on the river, and lots of the stuff just got thrown in there. But with the Clean Air and Water Act in 1972, we stopped dumping raw sewerage and chemicals. People aren't putting washing machines and trash in there. So things have gotten much better.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face with clearing these sometimes massive trees?
Ken: When I do the clearing, I have to make a plan. Usually, the tree is already down across the river, I start at the top and work down towards the base, taking off all the branches, and then figure out how to cut the trunk into pieces and where to put. Then it's a crew of people moving the debris. In the beginning, there's a lot of instruction, but once the team has done this once or twice, they know how to do it and where it goes. I need two to three people at least, to move all the wood as it gets cut.
Q: Have you had any harrowing moments removing the debris?
Ken: I did have one scary moment. It was in March many years ago. I was with Bob Rouseo, and I cut a branch that hit the canoe, we flipped and ended up in the river. The chainsaw went to the bottom of the river. We got to shore, wring out our cloths, and then paddle a mile downstream to our car. It wasn’t pretty. A week later we sent a diver in to retrieve the saw. I brought it home and got the saw running. That was an interesting time.
Q: What motivates you to continue to devote so much time maintaining the river?
Ken: I seem to have had the drive and skills to use the saws, but it's not about me. I'm part of a team. It's the excitement of everybody working together. It’s a big team that includes members of SRWA, the Greenway, and Andover Trails. Now the town has the canoe launches, we have places to store boats. These are some of the things that drive me to want to go ahead and do all of this.
Recently, there was a double ash tree down in one of the most canoed sections. The river was impassable and, you know, the word gets out quickly! Somebody always sends me a picture and where it is on a map. So knowing that you've got it open again, and it's available for people to use, is very satisfying.
Q: Are there any plans in the future to expand the paddling areas?
Ken: We’ve been working with Groundworks Lawrence. We're trying to get a section of river in Lawrence and I've been scouting out where it should go. It's going downstream from the Holiday Inn on Route 114 and go down to Costello Park. This will be a little less than two miles of river, and that's the next section we're talking about for expanding paddling areas.
Q: Will there be a walking path along the shore?
Yes, there are other people that are working on a path for both the North Andover and Lawrence's side. There are more people from City of Lawrence getting involved in participating in planning activities. I went ahead and sent a proposal to Steve Golden, who is getting things written up about where it would go, why it is a good area, and what will be required for clearing of some trees.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to mention about the Shawsheen River and your work there?
Ken: The Shawsheen River has a lot of history that many people don't know about. It's just fascinating --everything from the Andover Canoe Club to their powerboat that went up and down the river with passengers. We use to have a number of dams and Andover is here because of the river. During the American Revolution, we had a gunpowder mill at the location of Powder Mill Square. We had the Redmond Card dam where they did carding of wool. There were dozens of mill buildings in Ballardvale that made all kinds of items, including train locomotive engines for a few years. There is a lot of local history -- and it all had to do with the river.
Ken: In the early days, over twenty years ago, I was with the Shawsheen River Watershed Association (SRWA). Our focus was to try to do things for the river where you could see the results. We would take water samples, check for chemical, waste, collect trash, open navigation, and make the river better so people would want to paddle it. Back in the early days we'd use hand saws and clippers. We eventually graduated to chainsaws to get the clearing done.
Q: What your main activities now as the “Riverkeeper”?
Ken: The main activities are to keep the river clear for navigation and recreational use and to remove things that are major safety items. Trees fall down, trees are in the wrong places, all this needs to be addressed. In the past, we've done lots of work with picking up trash and things that have been thrown in the river. We use to get 40-yard dumpsters and fill those up. We have taken thousands of tires out of the river. Much of that work has been done. So today, most of the work involves keeping certain sections open for recreational boating.
Q: How did the Shawsheen River get to be so polluted over the years?
Ken: Rivers in the United States, in general, have been the dumping grounds for industrial waste since the middle 1800s or even before then. Paper mills are probably the classic of all times, but there was lots of industry on the river, and lots of the stuff just got thrown in there. But with the Clean Air and Water Act in 1972, we stopped dumping raw sewerage and chemicals. People aren't putting washing machines and trash in there. So things have gotten much better.
Q: What are some of the challenges you face with clearing these sometimes massive trees?
Ken: When I do the clearing, I have to make a plan. Usually, the tree is already down across the river, I start at the top and work down towards the base, taking off all the branches, and then figure out how to cut the trunk into pieces and where to put. Then it's a crew of people moving the debris. In the beginning, there's a lot of instruction, but once the team has done this once or twice, they know how to do it and where it goes. I need two to three people at least, to move all the wood as it gets cut.
Q: Have you had any harrowing moments removing the debris?
Ken: I did have one scary moment. It was in March many years ago. I was with Bob Rouseo, and I cut a branch that hit the canoe, we flipped and ended up in the river. The chainsaw went to the bottom of the river. We got to shore, wring out our cloths, and then paddle a mile downstream to our car. It wasn’t pretty. A week later we sent a diver in to retrieve the saw. I brought it home and got the saw running. That was an interesting time.
Q: What motivates you to continue to devote so much time maintaining the river?
Ken: I seem to have had the drive and skills to use the saws, but it's not about me. I'm part of a team. It's the excitement of everybody working together. It’s a big team that includes members of SRWA, the Greenway, and Andover Trails. Now the town has the canoe launches, we have places to store boats. These are some of the things that drive me to want to go ahead and do all of this.
Recently, there was a double ash tree down in one of the most canoed sections. The river was impassable and, you know, the word gets out quickly! Somebody always sends me a picture and where it is on a map. So knowing that you've got it open again, and it's available for people to use, is very satisfying.
Q: Are there any plans in the future to expand the paddling areas?
Ken: We’ve been working with Groundworks Lawrence. We're trying to get a section of river in Lawrence and I've been scouting out where it should go. It's going downstream from the Holiday Inn on Route 114 and go down to Costello Park. This will be a little less than two miles of river, and that's the next section we're talking about for expanding paddling areas.
Q: Will there be a walking path along the shore?
Yes, there are other people that are working on a path for both the North Andover and Lawrence's side. There are more people from City of Lawrence getting involved in participating in planning activities. I went ahead and sent a proposal to Steve Golden, who is getting things written up about where it would go, why it is a good area, and what will be required for clearing of some trees.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to mention about the Shawsheen River and your work there?
Ken: The Shawsheen River has a lot of history that many people don't know about. It's just fascinating --everything from the Andover Canoe Club to their powerboat that went up and down the river with passengers. We use to have a number of dams and Andover is here because of the river. During the American Revolution, we had a gunpowder mill at the location of Powder Mill Square. We had the Redmond Card dam where they did carding of wool. There were dozens of mill buildings in Ballardvale that made all kinds of items, including train locomotive engines for a few years. There is a lot of local history -- and it all had to do with the river.
VIEW GALLERY OF RIVER CLEANUP
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Chris Bensley, Andover Trails