TRURO — Torrential rain caused a one-day delay, but it couldn’t keep a treasure hunt at bay. Guided by eight clues, four teams set out on Sept. 22 by bicycle and car, traveling from the Highland House Museum to the Cobb Library with a handful of detours and at least one abrupt U-turn along the way in search of Truro history and lore.

Two new teams and two longtime competitors in the annual Truro Treasures challenge each received a page of clues written by Barbara Wohlgemuth, Janet St. Onge, and Craig Chamberlin, who won the hunt last year. Each clue had at least one bold red letter to be used to solve an anagram with 10 missing letters typed at the bottom: “All _____ lead to Truro’s _____.”

The treasure hunt theme, the clue-writers admitted, diverged from the weekend’s overall theme, Truro’s railroad history. “Because none of the stations still exist and none of the tracks still exist, my team and I could not figure out how to make it relate to the railroad,” said Wohlgemuth.

Instead, they built their hunt around road names in Truro, as they had done two years ago when all the clues led to roads named after birds, like Quail Run Way.

This year, the clues relied heavily on cultural cues, with references to Mark Twain, Sammy Kaye, and Donald Duck leading to Huckleberry Lane, Blueberry Hill, and Daisy Lane.

There were also rhymes, antonyms, and synonyms, like the first listed clue, “Long Crest.” This one stumped the team calling itself the Englishes — Ellen English, her daughter, Hannah Bullard, Ellen’s brother, Andy English, and her sister-in-law, Laura English — for about four minutes. They threw around words, and Andy wondered if they should just move on to the next clue.

But then Ellen got it: Pine Ridge End in North Truro. “Long” translated to “pine” and “crest” to “ridge.”

The hunt took the Englishes to near the Wellfleet town line, and they called Wohlgemuth every so often for hints. At each stop, a beach bucket with a slip of paper marked the location of a clue.

Her team eventually won first prize by collecting all eight strips of paper and solving the anagram: All roads lead to Truro’s flora. In second place was Professional Heights, a newcomer team composed of Fred Newdom, Kathleen Higgins Shea, Tim Shea, and Jen Eliason.

The Englishes laughed as they collected their prize, a rather more practical than glittering treasure: dish towels from Atlantic Spice.

“It’s called Truro Treasures. Why is there no treasure?” Wohlgemuth recalled asking about the first hunt some 30 years ago, when one of the goals was raising money to save Highland Light, which was threatened by erosion of the oceanside cliffs.

That first year had a dozen participating teams. In the years since, the number has varied. For more than two decades, though, it has been anchored by three teams that keep coming back: the Englishes; Wohlgemuth, St. Onge, and Chamberlin; and Robert Shapiro.

In the days before handheld internet access, the Englishes drove around with Shebnah Rich’s Truro, Cape Cod: Or Land Marks and Sea Marks and other Truro reference books on hand. Later, they would call one of Ellen’s two daughters, who sat at the ready in front of a desktop computer.

Even now, “sometimes, we had to just stop the car and think,” said Ellen.

Shapiro brought his kids when they were young or turned to his wife, Elizabeth Nessen, for help with clues. (Nessen usually still helps out, but she was too busy winning the Pamet Harbor 5K this year, which was held at the same time as the treasure hunt.)

The regulars have all written the clues a number of times, leading each other to sites like Horton’s Campground, Days Cottages, or the Truro Congregational Church with its obelisk memorializing 57 men and boys from Truro who drowned at sea during the October Gale in 1841.

Last year, the Englishes authored a hunt titled “Truro Then & Now” using a combination of Truro Historical Society archival images and contemporary photos. Wohlgemuth and company won that hunt, and that’s why they wrote this year’s, following a rule instituted about a decade ago: last year’s winners are this year’s hunt creators.

Shapiro now tows his dog, Ruby Tuesday, in a bicycle trailer, which slows him down significantly. But winning the hunt isn’t really the point. For Shapiro, it’s more about forming friendships and learning more about Truro, which he has visited for 40 years. Half of that time has included the hunt.

“When you do something every year for 20 years, you keep on doing it,” he said.

While a knowledge of Truro’s history and geography might help participating teams, Ellen English said it’s not a prerequisite for those interested in participating in next year’s treasure hunt.

“Sort of like if you keep doing the Sunday crossword puzzle, you’ll figure it out and get better,” she said. “Even if you can only solve a few clues, it’s fun.”

Emily Schiffer contributed reporting.