Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt at Tremont Institute on March 11-12, 2016!

“People go crazy for it, just wandering all over the Smokies looking for answers to questions. They have a good time with that,” says Caleb Carlton of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, which organizes the annual Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt.

The Scavenger Hunt has become a perfect way to reconnect with family and friends, according to Carlton. “We have a lot of different types of groups,” he says. “(We might have) a group of girlfriends that all get together and make a weekend of it,” says Carlton, adding that co-workers often form teams as do many families.

There is no limit to the number of people on a team, although all team members must fit safely inside one vehicle. Each team must present one digital camera flash memory card at the end of the 25-hour hunt.

Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt teams will be emailed a list of questions on Friday, March 11 at 3:30 p.m. and expected to appear back at Tremont Institute with their answers by 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 12 where a light dinner will be served while the points are tallied. Prizes will be awarded; however at this event, everyone’s a winner!

Your team will enjoy traversing the National Park to answer as many questions as possible from a list which will cater to all ages and hiking/outdoor skill levels. The more challenging the question posed, the higher the point value.

Seems the heart of the event is in the effort each team chooses to invest. “Some people go all night and all day and some people actually sleep,” Carleton says. “I’ve known a couple of people to camp while they do it,” he adds.

The cost for the event is $50 per team if registered by Thursday, March 10 at 4 p.m. or $60 per team on Friday and Saturday, March 11-12. Online registration is available at www.gsmit.org.

Funds raised by the Great Smoky Mountains Scavenger Hunt will be plugged right back into Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont’s rich spate of educational programs which help raise awareness of the importance of caring for our Great Smoky Mountains National Park. From workshops for educators to camps for kids, the organization is a thriving non-profit dedicated to fostering a love affair between people and our beautiful Smoky Mountains.