Treasure Hiking

If you are not aware of the up and coming aspect of letterboxing known as Treasure Hiking, a simple search on AQ will supply all the info you could need. The gist is that you can earn rewards for hiking in pursuit of new letterboxes.
While I am looking forward to coordinating for Illinois and earning my own pathtags, hiking has always yielded intangible treasures for me. The next few posts will be boring for most people, but will share some of my favorite forest findings.
"Not all treasure is silver and gold, Mate."~Cap'n Jack Sparrow

Flora...I have a gazillion pictures of plants because I simply can't help myself. Just ask my family. Every bloom, seed, and tendril is fascinating. I will restrain myself and only post a few of those seen on letterboxing adventures. They might not all be fancy, but each are jewels in their own right.

Woodland Violets (the state flower of Illinois, btw)

Trillium, can be found in white also

Dutchman's Breeches

A field of purple (in Minnesota)

Shooting Star, a native prairie plant, also can be found in purple

The different textures of leaves add lots of interest. These above were huge!

I have not identified this one yet, but I love how delicate and fragile it seems. Maybe that is part of the appeal of woodland flowers. They are only in bloom for such a fleeting period of time and then they are gone. If you are lucky enough to see them, it is like being part of a closely guarded secret. Sounds like buried treasure to me!