Simon Brooks enjoyed an activity called letterboxing when he lived in the United Kingdom, but he never expected to find a version of the game in the Upper Valley. In fact, he called the coordinator of the local version, called Valley Quest, to complain about the poor imitation.

"He explained to me that a lot of the clues were written by third-graders and up -- and I felt a bit mean," Brooks said.

With that in mind, Brooks tried the American version again and became hooked. In fact, he now volunteers with groups writing new quests and has even authored three quests of his own.

"Because you're learning about the area that you're in and not just 'Wow. This is a cool tree' or whatever," Brooks said of the quests. "But actually this is a cool tree in a very cool place -- and this is the history behind it."

Valley Quest is about encouraging people to see the forest through the trees -- literally. And it's for everyone. It's designed to get people to embrace the ecology and history that surrounds the area.

Valley Quest has been around since 1995, but lately the game has been gaining in popularity.

Last summer, the most recent quest book had 89 hunts. Now, the number of hunts is up to 125 in more than 40 communities.

The game is gaining followers every day, like Nancy and George Smith who have completed at least 70 quests.

"Sometimes, we plan in advance, and sometimes we just look at the weather. On a day like today, we go in-between showers," George Smith said.

For more information visit the Valley Quest Web site or call 802-291-9100.