"Oft have we seen him at the peep of dawn
 Brushing with hasty steps the dews away
 To meet the sun upon the upland lawn."
                          - - Thomas Gray 

Hider:   Tom Cooch
Clues:   Trivial 
Terrain: Moderate 
Hidden:  06/30/99

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. 

Cadillac Mtn., at a longitude of 68.2 degrees west and a height of 1,532 feet, has the distinction of being the first point in the country to see the morning sun. 
 

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 another 1.1 miles, turn left onto the Cadillac Mtn. access road and continue to the summit. 

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

CLUES

In order to use the clues for the Cadillac Mtn. Letterbox, you must first answer the following trivia questions: 

a.  At what angle of elevation does the sun appear to a person on Cadillac Mtn. at noon on the summer solstice? 

b.  How old was Ernest Hemingway when he published The Sun Also Rises?

c.  What is the sum of the atomic numbers of the two chemical elements whose symbols are both names of the Egyptian god of the sun? 

d.  How many French kings of the same name preceded the one known as "the Sun King"? 

e.  What is the height in feet of Teotihuacan's ancient Pyramid of the Sun? 

f.   How many times does the word "sun" occur in George Harrison's song Here Comes the Sun? 
 

You may check the answers to the trivia questions before heading to the park! 
 

From the parking lot at the summit proceed upwards towards the observation circle that contains two vista maps. Standing at the northern entrance to this circle, take a bearing of  a.  degrees. Follow this bearing across rocks and scrub until you intersect a concrete path, close to the spot at which you can best appreciate the fine pink granite of Cadillac Mountain! From this spot, continue another b.  paces down the path. Then take a bearing of  c. degrees, and go forward  d.  paces, leaving the path. Reorient yourself to  e.  degrees, and advance  f.  paces, crossing the path. The box is nestled at the base of the small fir tree. 

NOTES

At any given time during the summer, there may easily be several hundred people within fifty yards of this spot. Please be discreet in removing and returning the letterbox from and back to its hiding place. 

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

All bearings are magnetic. 

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

This letterbox is #5 placed by The Orient Express.