Mystery in Rocky Mountain National Park

Uncle Brian and the other adults agree to let the kids go through with their plan, but with the condition that the adults accompany them at a distance. The drive up the mountainside is spectacular and slightly scary, and they see some mountain goats along the way. When Jake spots a small animal that his dad calls a marmot, he is instantly reminded of the note in the box that mentioned someone named the Marmot. Jake’s dad explains that Jake’s grandpa’s code name in his ham radio club was the Marmot, and suddenly, Jake and the others realize that Jake’s grandpa was the one being referred to in the note.

The kids begin their bike ride down the mountain and make their way to Willow Park, where they find a large cabin with two doors. Conveniently, two rangers arrive who are checking on the roads and let the kids into the cabin to look around. Inside, they find a statue of a man carved from a tree root labeled “The Old Man of the Mountain Who Leads You On” (147). The man is facing one direction but looking backward, which Amber figures out is south. Wes discovers red lines and arrows pointing in the same direction, with more on the floor. Together, Wes and Jake use the map and compass to align the map with the red lines on the floor, and Jake marks the line on his map. Numbers on the floor beside the arrows read 8789, and Jake figures out that this refers to the next location’s elevation: a place called Twin Owls.

Abe sits with the other men who work on the ranch as they discuss the mountain that looks over their land. The mountain is called Longs Peak, but it is said to have another name given to it in more ancient times. One of the men mentions a man named Hank March, who knows the mountains better than anyone and has spent time with the Indigenous tribes in the area. He is a wanderer and cannot be easily found, but Abe thinks Hank March would be the best person to ask about the symbols on the spearhead. When Abe hears how dangerous the mountain can be and how it carries with it a force of its own, he starts to fear the upcoming trek to plot the new trail to the top.

Amber realizes they have lost track of time and urges Wes and Jake to get going. When Jake sees the time, he panics, and everyone heads for the bikes. It takes time for Wes to remember the combination for the bike lock, but he eventually gets it. On the way down the mountain, the kids encounter deep mud which slows them down, as well as a mother and calf moose. They dismount their bikes and back up slowly, allowing the moose to pass without issue. When the kids make it to the meeting place 30 minutes late, Jake’s dad is clearly upset. Wes and Amber try to blame everything on the obstacles along the way, but Jake readily admits that he lost track of time.

Later, a meeting is called about the kids’ final itinerary to Twin Owls. The adults discussed it and decided they would give the kids one more chance after Jake owned up to his mistake. The adults remind the kids that they need to plan for surprises, and the thought of more surprises gives Jake a strange feeling as if he knows something will go wrong.

Wes, Jake, and Amber get on their bikes and head north toward Lumpy Ridge, famous for its bumpy rock faces. They reach Twin Owls, a rock formation shaped like two owls huddled together. There, Amber notices a man in a suit talking to someone in his ear, and he even repeats Wes’s bike lock combination. The kids worry they are being followed by the same people that Jake’s grandpa’s notes warned about, and Wes quickly alters his combination. The kids make their way up the trail toward a massive crevice in the rocks that leads up to the top of the Twin Owls. They notice they are being followed by the same man they saw before and quickly head deep into the rocks, using headlamps to guide their way.

Wes starts to panic at the sight of bats above him, and his fears worsen when the kids come to the end of the path. Jake figures out that part of the rock wall is cement and breaks through it with a stone. Inside, there is a metal container that is sealed closed but has a warning on the bottom about being followed, as well as instructions to climb up through the crevice to the top, using two levers along the way to prevent the men from catching up. Slowly but swiftly, the kids climb up the rock face, encouraging Wes (who fears heights) along the way. When they reach the top, Jake helps Wes with the final pull, and everyone looks out at the vast wilderness before them. Seeing that the men are catching up, they pull a branch that causes some logs to fall and chase the men away. Wes is terrified and hates the idea of climbing back down a steep cliff, but he does so with Jake and Amber’s help. The kids make their way down the opposite side of the rock face, back to their bikes, and to the campground to safety.

Abner leads Abe up the mountainside along an ancient trail, and Abe marks the path using white cloths that he ties to trees. Eventually, they come to a point where they must climb a rock face vertically, and Abe hesitates, believing the task is too daunting for him. He thinks back to everything he has accomplished so far, like saving money to leave the city and find his freedom, and knows this is just another challenge. With courage, Abe follows Abner up the rock face and gasps when he sees the view from the summit. On the way back down, Abe and Abner run into Hank March, an old friend of Abner’s who offers to bring them a grouse for supper. Abe sees it as a chance to ask his questions about the spearhead.

Back at camp, Jake pries open the metal box to find an old leather journal inside. Inside the journal is a train ticket from Philadelphia to Denver in May of 1880. In the journal, Jake finds Abe’s sketch of the silver arrowhead he found and kept. Jake realizes that perhaps his grandpa and his grandpa’s friends were on their own scavenger hunt, one started in 1880 by Jake’s great-great-grandfather, Abraham Longsight Evans.

On the last night in Rocky Mountain National Park, Wes thanks Jake for including him and Amber in his scavenger hunt and reminds Jake that his grandpa was the one to suggest including others in his original note to Jake. They wonder what treasure is at the end of all the clues and where the hunt will lead them next. The next park on the itinerary is the Great Sand Dunes, where Wes looks forward to sandboarding, and Jake looks forward to clue-finding. The following morning, the families pack up to leave, and Jake and his dad take a moment to pause and admire the park. Jake feels like he has been forever changed by his experiences here and knows he will be back. Afterward, Amber rushes up to Jake and Wes with a letter that a park employee just dropped off for Jake. Jake opens it and finds a letter from his grandpa. It details how Abe left his scrapbook and journal for Jake’s grandpa in his will, but Jake’s grandpa could never find the journal. He hopes that Jake will be able to do what he could not and reminds Jake to keep it hidden because corrupt investors might still be after it.

Hank asks about the spearhead at dinner, and Abner explains it was returned to the woman who originally found it. Hank believes that powerful people are after it because it is rumored to be made of silver that came from the moon. There is supposedly another silver spearhead hidden somewhere, and together they are known as “the Key” and “the Spinning Star.” The key spearhead is said to unlock some sort of treasure or possibly even a river of silver. Hank remembers running into some men looking for the spearhead, and he didn’t tell them what he knew. A man named Stanley Ferguson left Hank with his business card, claiming to be from the “Yellowstone National Park Improvement Company” (224). Hank believes that Abe was destined to find the spearhead, and Abe feels as though it is his calling to be its protector.