St. Paul Winter Carnival: Medallion hunt has new layer with weather

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Ken Soles didn’t even bother to bring a shovel.

Instead, he reached in his car and pulled out a three-pronged garden tool that he would use like a mini-rake as he embarked on his 25th year of searching for the St. Paul Winter Carnival medallion.

"The no snow, it concerns me a bit that it may get found early because of that," Soles told FOX 9. "You can cover a lot of area with no snow."

Soles is the reigning winner of this hunt. He and his search partner found the medallion last year near Lake Phalen on the 10th clue under a foot of snow – the high that day was 5 degrees.

"Oh yeah, without a doubt, that’s one of the deepest, hardest digs in the snow I’ve had," he said.

Now, with highs in the mid to upper thirties all week, the hunting looks to be a lot more pleasant. The lack of snow makes trekking through Ramsey County parks less strenuous.

"Easier to look," he says. "As far as harder, it’s always the clues… I think they’re going to put you in all different places and make it harder because of the no snow."

That is the interesting twist of a Winter Carnival in a year with a very odd winter.

The event is scheduled for what is statistically the coldest two weeks of the year.

Some years, it holds up.

This year, the bitter cold settled in for the two weeks prior, changing back to unseasonably mild just as the carnival got underway.

What it means for medallion hunters is that the hiding place might be a lot trickier. Without reliable snow to bury the prize, it opens up a lot of other nooks and crannies to search.

And leaves, Soles notes, are great camouflage. In many ways, it’s harder to see something buried in leaves than buried in snow.

"You could put it in the middle of an open green area," he says. "And no one might see it."

The mild weather may also bring out a lot more competitors, which he doesn’t mind.

In fact, he welcomes that.

"Yes, and I hope so because you know, the true, true treasure in all of this to me is the people you meet," he said.