Pity the person who has this phone number

Near 8000 km travelled

18+- nights in hotels

$$ meals out

TNM subscription

insect repellant

tick removers

+ + + + +

But, I have enjoyed the solve and appreciated the obvious time and effort put in by the clue masters in creating the almost impossibly detailed hints and misdirections provided in the poem.

Some other differences in the way things have been communicated

NB                       grand prize waiting at the finish line

Val-d'or               grand prize waiting at the end.

Saskatchewan    grand prize waiting at the end.                 + uranium

Southern BC      grand prize waiting at the finish line.

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

This clue seems to fit my preferred spot exactly. Does anyone else feel the same way?

The clue from Val-d'Or is "There’s a stretch of road -------------- where the forest seems endless, a rolling sea of spruce and rock that, at first glance, gives nothing away.

In addition to ticks we have encountered the following "dangerous/not dangerous" conditions in our searching. Being avid hikers for years, much of this is typical trail conditions which you prepare for in advance but somehow when you are searching for something (aka gold) these things take on a new level of significance ranging from minor irritation to downright dangerous.

You want to thoroughly search an area and not second guess that you missed something - rather than just walking a trail and steering clear of these things. We love this hunt and are enjoying every minute of it - except sometimes when you realize you should probably move on...

Just wondering if anyone else has found these obstacles to be slowing you down at times? I often wonder if the person (or persons) who hid the grand prize had knowledge of all of these dangers and took the time to check for hazards in "the place"? I mean obviously some are not permanent and could come and go... I get that.

Is the presence of one or more at a particular site enough to have you look elsewhere?

or are you just using your common sense in your seach and pressing on thinking like a prospector - willing to suffer some level of discomfort/danger for the possibility of the reward?

Wilderness Locations

Insects: Ticks/ Biting Ants/ Wasps/ Blackflies/ Mosquitoes/ Horseflies/ Deerflies - Just about a given anywhere during the summer months if you are in the bush somewhere in Canada - and not just one or two pesky flies - I mean songs have been written about these...

Poisonous Plants: Poison Ivy, (Poison Oak/Sumach), Giant Hogweed, Stinging Nettle, Thorn bushes

Hazardous Animals - Snakes and Bears , Moose (in our area) probably others elsewhere

Drop offs/ cliffs/ boulder fields / difficult walking terrain

Strong currents especially in spring along rivers -

Windy days in forest locations - branches /trees coming down

Urban Locations

Traffic

Garbage - sharps, rusty metal, broken glass, etc etc etc.

Unfriendly folks who don't like you poking around in bushes

Others?