Forrest Fenn's treasure

Not sure if this is "history" or not, and so I'm not sure if maybe i should have put it in AE Tavern instead, though it is history in a way since the treasure includes historical artefacts in it and it is a modern history topic (2010 to present).

For those of you who haven't previously seen or heard about the "chase" i post below the main extant clues. You can also look up wikipedia article and search engine for more sites articles and information.

The reason i am posting this thread/topic is because i believe i have some answers to some of the clues but it is not easy to prove which of my few candidate areas the treasure is in because:
- I don't have good enough net/web access to detailed enough maps and resources (including google earth);
- I am not local so i can't explore/investigate the areas or get detailed local maps, and i don't know any locals who are trustworthy and willing to team up for equal/fair/negotiated shares;
- I don't have Fenn's 2 books which he says help with clues;
- I am limited by brain best whole ability hindrances of fluoridated water;
- All of the clues have multiple possible candidate matches found.
So i am posting this thread to (1) first ask if anyone in the area is willing to teamup, and (2) if no one is willing then i just have to give away what clues answers i have and risk/chance not getting any fair share of the treasure if it is found near where i indicate.

This first post is only to introduce the topic, and post my reason/question, and give the extant Chase clues. I won't start on giving my answers until next post (after short wait to see if anyone is willing to team up or not).

Now here are the extant clues that have been given, with the 6 stanza poem and map ( https://www.fftreasure.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/mapforweb.jpg ) being the main piece:

"The Thrill of the Chase". "Fen(n)boree".
"Fenn's treasure is hidden somewhere in the highlighted region (Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico) of the Rocky Mountains on the map."

"As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.

"Begin it where warm waters halt (1st clue)
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.

"From there it’s no place for the meek,
The end is ever drawing nigh;
There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.

"If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,
Look quickly down, your quest to cease,
But tarry scant with marvel gaze,
Just take the chest and go in peace.

"So why is it that I must go
And leave my trove for all to seek?
The answers I already know,
I’ve done it tired, and now I’m weak.

"So hear me all and listen good,
Your effort will be worth the cold.
If you are brave and in the wood
I give you title to the gold." ("24 lines, 9 clues".)

(Crosses on map: Wheeler Peak, Mt Evans, Pikes Peak, Mt Elbert, Gannet/Garret Peak, Granite Peak.)

"The chapters in my book have very subtle hints but are not deliberately placed to aid the seeker. Good luck in the search."
Much of the book is about Yellowstone.
Fenn mentions Taos Mountain (nickname for Wheeler Peak) alot in his book.

Fenn said the treasure could be hidden in one of three places: "public land (BLM, NPS, FS), tribal land or private property".
"Forrest has said that there was nowhere he could have hid the treasure that would not involve some potential complications".

"the chest was exposed to rain and snow, and could be scorched in a forest fire"?

"If I was standing where the treasure chest is, I’d see trees, I’d see mountains ( , I’d see animals. I’d smell wonderful smells of pine needles, or pinyon nuts, sagebrush -- ) and I know the treasure chest is wet."
"I just watched that New Mexico Tourism video again .... Looking back I think I wanted to say I could smell pine needles, not pinon nuts. Sorry I kicked a hornet’s nest with that comment. There is no clue there. Incidentally, when I get pine pitch on my hands I rub butter on the spots and that solves the problem. Of course then I have trouble getting the butter off."

"Take a flashlight and a sandwich."

"There’s no need digging in the old outhouses, the treasure is not associated with any (manmade) structure."
"It is not in Nevada."
"The treasure is not in a grave yard."
"The treasure is higher than 5,000 feet above sea level." (or "above 1500 meters elevation".)
"If you had the coordinates, you would be able to find the treasure."
"The treasure is not hidden in Idaho or Utah."
"The treasure is not in a mine."
"(It is at least 8.25 miles) north of Santa Fe." (or "somewhere near/north-of Santa Fe")
"The treasure is hidden below 10,200 feet."
"It is more than 300 miles west of Toledo."
"I never said it was buried, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t."
"Is it not possible to find chest without leaving computer & google earth."
"There isn’t a human trail in very close proximity to where I hid the treasure."
"Not associated with a structure...."
"I would like to know if the blaze can be found during the day without a flashlight. I would say yes."
"I made 2 trips from my car to the hiding place and it was done in one afternoon (carrying the chest in first and then the contents)."

"The treasure chest is not under water, nor is it near the Rio Grande River. It is not necessary to move large rocks or climb up or down a steep precipice, and it is not under a man-made object.
Please remember that I was about (79 or) 80 when I made two trips from my vehicle to where I hid the treasure."
" I walked less than a few (scant) miles...."

"The chest is not in a dangerous place.... It's somewhere you could take your kids." ("But he has also said it’s not somewhere that anybody is likely to stumble upon it accidentally.")

"searchers have been within 200 feet (60 m) of the treasure and many within 500 feet (150 m)"

"I knew exactly where to hide the chest so it would be difficult to find but not impossible"

"The spot where I hid the treasure was in my mind from the time I first started thinking about the chase. It is special to me and there was never another consideration. I was going to make it work not matter what.  In my reverie I often find myself stealing away to that place and I will always consider it to be mine."

"just wanted to give people some hope." "to give something to do".

Fenn has offered a bounty for the bracelet (of which he said "is special to me").

Contents of the "19 kg" chest includes:
an antique 12th-century Roman lockbox chest made of sculpted bronze,
20 troy pounds of rare/gold coins,
gold nuggets the size of a man's fist,
gold dust,
pre-Columbian Incan & Mayan animal figures,
jewelery (a 17th-century Spanish gold-and-emerald ring,
a bracelet with more than 250 rubies &/or an ancient modest turquoise (& silver) bracelet &/or bracelet of beads from Mesa Verde),
gemstones (diamonds and Ceylon sapphires),
two hand-carved Chinese jade masks/carvings,
an olive jar holding his autobiography.

Timeline:
Sometime between 1930-1965 Fenn in (West) Yellowstone when young (mostly by Madison river and Hebgen lake)
1965-1973 Fenn flew missions in Vietnam
Arrowsmith-Fenn Gallery
Fenn Galleries
mid-1980s Fenn purchased San Lazaro Pueblo
1988 Fenn diagnosed with cancer; had idea to hide treasure
2009 FBI invesitgating artefact looting in Four Corners raided Fenn's home
2009 Fenn atteneded event in Cody, Wyoming
2010 Fenn announced hidden treasure;
2010/2011 Fenn's book Thrill of the Chase
2013 Fenn's book Too Far Too Walk
2015 Fenn's treasure featured in Travel Channel show Expedition Unknown.
2016 new Fenboree map
ca 2016 Fenn "made a massive retreat from the chase"
2016 Ashby moves to Colorado to seek treasure, Ashby last seen
2016 Bilyeu died seeking treasure
2017 Murphy died seeking treasure in Yellowstone park.
2017 pastor Wallace died seeking treasure in Taos junction area
2017 Ashby died seeking treasure in Arkansas river area (identified 2018).
2017 Fenn says treasure remains unfound

Forums: Chase Chat; Harry's Chase Forum (tapatalk); Searcher's Discussions (dalneitzel); hintofriches.



Edited by Arthur-Robin - 27-Feb-2019 at 01:23

If it's ever found, it will be by accident, much like the treasure found on Cocos Island. Folks had been looking for it for 200 plus years.

4 employees of the Costa Rica National Parks were checking the uninhabited Island after a storm in 2015. The found 6 large chests sticking out of the sand. In them was a treasure worth approx. 400 million.

I have just found a whole lot more clue which i hadn't seen before here https://bloggedinthewoods.wordpress.com/forrest-fenn-notes/ and i now think the areas where i thought seemed to fit best may be wrong. It now looks like Yellowstone area is right after all, though if so then either Fenn lied about some clues like more than 300 miles west of Toledo and at least 8 miles north of Santa Fe, or the meanings are not quite what seem. Technically Yellow stone is not really directly west or north, though it is generally north and west. The "if you know the coordinates" clue must relate to seomthing else rather than those two clues.
So i have made a fool of myself which i really hate, though only because lack of the 5 things mentioned in first post and the extra clues i hadn't seen.

I'm fairly sure i have just found the location (Mount Washburn, or else Gallatin valley summits, though i can't say exactly where in the location the chest is.

I'm going to risk a tentative pick of Mt Washburn (and/or the summits of Gallatin Valley):

Pros of Mt Washburn (&/or Gallatin Valley summits):

(Note: most of the details about Mt Washburn below are from the 3 travellers accounts in the wikipedia article on Mt Washburn. Most of the Fenn clues are seen in the first post of this thread.)

- The name Washburn could partially match clues "water high" or "up creek" (burn is a stream)? (Though water high might be snow or clouds.)

- "the line of perpetual snow" (Washburn), or "Still further to the left the snowy ranges on the headwaters of Gardiner's river" and "the white summits above the Gallatin Valley. These never thaw during the summer months, though several thousand feet lower than where we now stand upon the bare granite and no snow visible near, save n the depths of shaded ravines" could match clues "where warm waters halt", "cold", "physics say the treasure is wet", etc.

- "Mt Washburn ... is a station in the primary and secondary triangulation" could match "west of Toledo" & "north of Santa Fe"?

- Washburn visitor descriptions of "The view from the summit is beyond all adequate description. ...  a variegated landscape of surpassing beauty...." & "From the tip top of Mount Washburn you can see the world in much of its glory" & "On the east, close beneath our feet, yawns the immense gulf of the Grand Cañon" & "The mind struggles and then falls back upon itself despairing in the effort to grasp by a single thought the idea of its immensity" may match the clues "marvel gaze"?

- "One of three active fire lookout towers in Yellowstone is located on the summit." Or "the white summits above the Gallatin Valley", or "the sun's rays are reflected on the further wall", or "The pure atmosphere of this lofty region causes every outline of tree, rock or lakelet to be visible with wonderful distinctness, and objects 20 miles away appear as if very near at hand" could match "the blaze" (which Fenn further said could be "anything which stands out")?

- Washburn description "where we met the line of perpetual snow" could match clue "where warm waters halt"?

- "Warm Spring Creek below" could match "where warm waters halt" or "up creek" clues?

- "Beyond, a gentle declivity, sloping from the summit of the broken range, extends to the limit of vision, a wilderness of unbroken pine forest", and "innumerable groves" in the vicinity of Washburn could match Fenn say he could see/smell pines or pinyons, and the clue "in the wood"?

- one visitors account mentioning "played snowball" there (Washburn) could match Fenn saying treasure's location is "somwehere where you can take your kids/children"?

- tin mustard box on top of Washburn is similar to Fenn's chest?

- "10000/10243 ft" height and "to drive to an altitude of over ten thousand feet above sea-level", or "the white summits above the Gallatin Valley. These never thaw during the summer months, though several thousand feet lower than where we now stand upon the bare granite and no snow visible near, save n the depths of shaded ravines" matches Fenn's treasure site being "above 5000 ft" and "below 10200 ft".

- can drive up to the mountain on good road.

- the snow or the granite / rock(riven peak) of Washburn, or Elephant's Back to the west/south, or carrying stuff up slogging/hiking up the mountain could match clue "heavy loads"?

- "On the east, close beneath our feet, yawns the immense gulf of the Grand Cañon, cutting away the bases of two mountains in forcing a passage through the range. Its yellow walls divide the landscape nearly in a straight line to the junction of Warm Spring Creek below. The ragged edges of the chasm are from two hundred to five hundred yards apart" could match Fenn confirming that "searchers have been within 200 feet (60 m) of the treasure and many within 500 feet (150 m)".

- Washburn's association with Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone ("On the east, close beneath our feet, yawns the immense gulf of the Grand Cañon", "bounded on its extreme verge by the cañons of the Yellowstone", "From the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to Mount Washburn is a drive of ten miles", photo of "Mount Washburn from north rim of Grand Canyon") or "hiking-canyon" could match clue "take the canyon down" and "not far but too far too walk".

- "From the tip top of Mount Washburn you can see the world in much of its glory. It is an entrancing view. You are in love with living. You want to do more of it. You plan to do big things when you get down into the work again." could match Fenn being described as an "adrenaline junkie"?

- The creek clue might relate to either Warm Spring Creek, Antelope Creek, or Wash-burn(e) "wash stream"?

( - home of Brown clue might relate to the -burn(e) of Washburn(e)? or Dunraven pass nearby (dun "dark/black/brown/grey", dun "fort")? or the yellow of Yellowstone canyon (since brown is combination of yellow & red plus black)?)

- From some of the above one can see why the place is special to Fenn. (Quite amazed....)

Cons of Mt Washburn:

- "rock-riven peak", and "the white summits above the Gallatin Valley. These never thaw during the summer months, though several thousand feet lower than where we now stand upon the bare granite and no snow visible near, save in the depths of shaded ravines" would mean that Washburn can't match the clues "where warm waters halt", "cold", "physics say it is wet" (since ravines are not "somewhere you can take your children" and "not dangerous" and "where an 80 year old could go" as Fenn stated), though the summits of Gallatin could match the clues.

 -----

A secondary next candidate pick would be Eagle Peak:

Pros of Eagle Peak:

- remains glacial on/in Eagle Peak could  match clues about "where warm waters halt", "cold", "physics say treasure is wet", etc?

- Mink Fire on Eagle Peak could match clue "the blaze"?

- Shoshone National Forest could match clues about the "wood", "pine or pinyon"?  

- Creeks / Mountain Creek / Fish Hawk Creek in Eagle Peak vicinity could match clue "up creek"?

- EP can be accessed from outside Yellowstone park.

Cons of Eagle Peak:

- 15 mile hike or 25 km hike up/to Eagle Peak is too far for an 80 year old to hike "2 trips from my car in one afternoon".

 -----

* "warm waters" could be geothermal springs (eg Mammoth springs), or geyser.
"where the warm waters halt" either steam (geyser), or dam/bank/basin, or met cold/cool water/air/north, or mix with dirt (mud) or with other liquid/fluid, or freeze (snow/ice/glacier/north).
"end is ever drawing nigh" either hiking up a mountain/hill, or going through a tunnel, or poetic for falls, or death.
"heavy loads" either carrying stuff up mountain, or truck, or snow/ice/water, or rocks. (Cf "come unto me all you heavy laden"?)
"water high" either snow, cloud, falls, Washburn, high tide.
"physics say its wet" either water, ice, snow, cloud, condensation, frost, steam, dew, damp, melt/molten.



Edited by Arthur-Robin - 02-Mar-2019 at 18:18