Yule Log Hunt winner had good feeling about her chances

Eleven-year-old Tara Todd may not exactly have psychic powers. But on Sunday, she just knew things were going to go her way.

In the car on the way to the Yule Log Hunt at the Morton Arboretum, Tara drew a picture of herself and the log between two trees that she knew was going to be its location.

After a 50-minute journey of trudging through hills and paths covered in snow, Tara found herself face to face with the log.

“You have to be good at solving clues and you have to be fast,” Tara said of her secret to success.

As she stood with her partners in yule investigations — her brother, Cade, mother, Lisa, and father, Mike, along with family friend Adrienne Walent — Tara said the whole thing was exhausting.

“I was just really tired,” she said. “But I knew I was going to win.”

She had every reason to be confident. In the past six years, the Todd family from Naperville has found the log first one other time and has come close several others. This year, they were one of two families recognized as official winners.

“We love the Morton Arboretum and use it a lot during every season,” Lisa said. “The yule log hunt has become something of a family tradition.”

For the 33rd year, the arboretum hosted the search for the log. The Todd family joined more than 100 others to brave low temperatures and snow-covered lands.

Each team of explorers were given cryptic clues and sent on a scavenger hunt to find the log, which ended up in a bonfire at the finish line.

The hunt is traditionally held in the middle of January, but was moved this year to the Sunday after Christmas.

“People have so much fun,” said the arboretum's yule log coordinator Mary Samerdyke. “It's a good time come out and get some exercise and work off their Christmas dinner and their Christmas cookies.”

As search teams neared the yule log, the search got more heated and confused groups searched throughout the arboretum grounds. The festive day ended with a group of children, including Tara and her brother, dragging the log back to a bonfire set up near the starting line.

“Every year we have a lot of people who come out and who are very good about following the clues and are very competitive, which is always fun,” Samerdyke said.