WELCOME TO THE HARVARD FOREST!
It might not look like Harvard Square, but when you come to seek out this cache, you are visiting the site of a department of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) of Harvard University. Here, researchers and students explore topics ranging from conservation and environmental change to land-use history and the ways in which physical, biological and human systems interact to change our earth.
All of the caches in this Harvard Forest series are placed with permission from the Harvard Forest administration. Please be respectful of the ongoing research work in the Harvard Forest. If you have questions or comments about the caches, the puzzles, the hides, or really, anything related to geocaching, please contact the CO via Message Center or email. Don't bug the staff here. Seriously.
All caches are accessible from posted trails, and are located within 10-20' of a trail. No need to bushwhack. Please stay on the trails, keep dogs leashed, and don't disturb any research equipment, materials or markers. Please be aware that hunting is permitted in many areas of the Harvard Forest in the seasons and according to the regulations of the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Cachers and pets should wear blaze orange from Oct. 16 to Dec. 30 (though no hunting is allowed on Sundays).
This cache is NOT at the posted coordinates, and there is no need to go there. Answer the question below correctly to see where the cache IS. Now on to the PUZZLE!
There are approximately 600 known species of oaks, and oaks can be found growing in the wild on six of the Earth's seven continents.
Take a look at the Harvard Forest Shield, which depicts an oak leaf with acorns. How many acorns are displayed on the Harvard Forest Shield?
Type the correct answer into the Certitude checker below to get the final coordinates.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
NOTE! Coordinates were updated in March 2021, so if you've got coords from an earlier date, please reenter the same answer into Certitude for the new location.