"How doth the little busy bee
    Improve each shining hour,
 And gather honey all the day
    From every opening flower!"
               - - Isaac Watts

Hider:   Tom Cooch 
Clues:   Difficult 
Terrain: Difficult 
Hidden:  08/14/00

Mt. Desert Island is located in Maine's Penobscot Bay, and contains Acadia National Park The park is small but exceptionally lovely, and receives the most visitors per square foot of all the national parks in America. 

The Beehive is a small (520 ft.) rounded mountain near the eastern shore of Mt. Desert. A trail leads off from the right side of the Park Road, just a few hundred feet north of Sand Beach. After 0.2 miles the Beehive Trail branches off to the right. There are iron railings and ladders that provide excellent hand and foot holds, but the trail is very steep and exposed! 
 

DIRECTIONS

Take Maine Route 3 south one mile east of Ellsworth, and proceed to Bar Harbor. Take Route 233 west for 1.1 miles. The entrance to the park will be on your right  (You will immediately loop back over a bridge to proceed southwards). After 0.4 miles, make a sharp left onto the Park Loop Road (which here becomes one-way). Proceed about 10 miles along this beautiful drive. There is a toll station along the way where you will be required to pay a $10 fee, good for a week. However, if you come early in the morning you can avoid both the fee and the traffic! 

Click here for a map, or to visit the Acadia National Park web site.
 

CLUES

Honey sat on top of the hive and stretched her wings. The sun had recently risen out over the lighthouse on Egg Rock and the day promised to be a warm one. A summer breeze carried the scents of laurel and milkweed. Honey knew they would be busy today. She crawled down the side of the hive and entered.

Suddenly her friend Polly came buzzing in. The other bees clustered around Polly as she began to dance a little figure-eight up and down the side of the hive. Honey watched Polly's steps carefully.

'Let's see now,' Honey said to herself. '17 steps forward times 1,613 makes 27,421 paces. Then to the left. Okay. Sine 345° x pi/4 is ... No. That's not right. I do wish I'd paid better attention in class last winter. This is very frustrating.'

The other bees swarmed out of the hive, leaving poor Honey confused and unhappy. Who would be the first to find the treasure?
 

NOTES

This is a potentially dangerous hike that should not be attempted by unsupervised children, or adults who are not in good physical condition or who have a fear of heights.

A pace is taken to be the average distance an adult bee will advance by moving one foot forward - approximately three millimeters. 

All bearings are magnetic. 

Before you set out read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.

This letterbox is #16 placed by The Orient Express.