Gumshoe is slang for “detective.” It’s also the name of a walk that since 2006 has been challenging participants to solve their way through 30 clues and 5 kilometers of Seattle’s PhinneyWood neighborhood, all for the chance to win prizes and raise funds for local non-profits.
In 2022, after 17 years of doing the Gumshoe, which included everything from recruiting sponsors and prize donations to creating the walks and maintaining the website, the organizer, aka the Gumshoe Answer Man (GAM), decided to retire. That’s when a couple of die-hard gumshoes stepped in and made the GAM an offer he couldn’t refuse: Would he be willing to continue creating the routes and clues, if they’d take over all the behind-the-scenes work? The GAM said yes and thus, the Gumshoe lives on for 2023 and beyond!
- Entry forms are on sale now on the website www.dothegumshoe.org for $25 a piece with discounts as you buy more. Purchasers of forms will receive email receipts which can be redeemed for the actual forms at the Phinney Ridge Umpqua Bank and Greenwood Hardware starting on August 4.
- The event runs from August 4-20, so do the Gumshoe in one day or over several—you’ve got 17 days, including three week-ends—to solve your way through the walk
- Participants who return their completed form no later than August 20 will have a chance to win one of many $100 gift cards to local businesses.
- This year’s start/stop point will be El Chupacabra and all net profits will be donated to the Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church Food Bank
We are grateful the community has stepped up to continue this lively and unique tradition, and hope everyone will don your deerstalker and join in the fun!
