Category: Uncategorized

Ouch!  $1000 dollar fine for helping a baby bisson was paid by some visitors of the Yellowstone.  The tourist though they were helping an abandoned calf as they took the baby to the ranger station.  But you don’t touch the animals as human scent on a wild animal can be a death sentence as it was for this unfortunate calf.   Add this to your book of no no’s with no digging and don’t go where a 80 year old man can’t go and you should be alright in the Park.

Speaking of the Yellowstone it got rocked by an earthquake a week or so ago.  It was a 4.6  so said an unofficial native to the area.  Well  no landslides and the roads are open so  no harm.  I don’t worry about geology in the Yellowstone the doomsday volcano isn’t avoidable so I spend my time making my bear spray holster for quick draw because I do respect their power and they are a real danger.  I go alone just like Fenn did and I believe he went in September when the bears were probably a problem even for him.

I have officially given up on the treasure being in Yankee Jim Canyon.  I don’t think it is near Joe Brown’s gold claim either.  The artist Brown who painted Mammoth Springs doesn’t show me anything encouraging  nor the Ranger Museum started by Ranger Brown nor his home in the Lamar Valley where Ranger Brown grew up.  Bears in the Lamar Valley sometimes called Brown Valley for their sake is not where to put in.  I have change my mind  and have interpreted the poem in a new way.  The following is a new approach and it is leading me to a different location.

In keeping with my attempt to make this web site viable I will discuss a new way of thinking about the poem. Fenn said he wrote it like an architect would design a building and so he did.  Don’t get me wrong the poem is straightforward but the beauty is in the details in other words if you know where to start it is simple so says Forrest.  Where is where to start?  That is in the architecture.   So where to begin is somewhere in the Rocky Mountains but not where there is a Brown it is where there are a lot of Browns;  Brown family name, Brown Trout, Brown Bears, Brown Valley and of  course the Home of Brown.

This photo was taken by me but one from a different angle was taken and placed in a National  Geographic.  That picture was entitled The Home of Brown.  The one time head ranger of the Yellowstone grew up here in this cabin.  His name Ranger Brown its location in the Lamar Valley sometimes referred to as the Valley of the Brown because of all the bears in this area.  But before you guess I think the treasure is around here think again I gave this area up almost 5 years ago.

If my readers wish to guess where I am going next there are hints in my earlier writings.  Stay tuned as they say as I am going to find out if I have solved the poem this time.  If I can’t find it I will give my readers a chance to look but it is not for the meek.  Meek is also one of the many features in Forrest architecture.  Keep searching and enjoy the thrill.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 25,000 times in 2015. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 9 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

I have given out everything I have learned about the treasure on my blogs and each time I did I have commented on the other blogs. So far over the last four years none of my comments have been allowed on any of the sites. That would be none! The readers that come to this site are some of the very same blog writers that keep me off of their sites. Some how they want to know what I am sharing but they don’t want you to know. I don’t know why they would not leave even one of my comments but I feel it is because I am close to the solve. If you also want to be close just read what I have written in my blog and decide for yourself. I have oked every single comment that I have received on my blog. If I would block some one else it wouldn’t be for attitude or because they thought they had the answer, it would only be for bad language. Yet I have had such wonderful readers that not once have I blocked anyone in four years. And yet in four years of trying to share what I have studied, seen, and heard no other blog site will let it stay on their site. Ok I get it some of you guys think I am going to compete with your book or maybe CBS might want to hear something from someone out of the carbol. Oh so heart breaking that I don’t get to have a camera crew with me on my adventures to nowhere. Anyway I won’t be here to worry you too much longer. I have no book and no camera crew calling me but if they want a great story steel the one about Freeman and make one hell of an adventure story as camera crew and adventurer ride down the Yellowstone River through Yankee Jim Canyon in search of Forrest Fenn’s Treasure. Maybe stop to catch a few two-pound Browns while you are at it. Lastly know if you are reading this blog I’ve got no skin in the game and I am kissing no one’s derriere. I just want to be part of the chase.
How would Fenn or Dal know enough to claim the treasure will be found this summer? Note Fenn might have heard from someone who is going to the right place but then why would anyone else be privy to such knowledge? Also notice where CBS went to film (Wyoming) while those who have “a jump on things” are always in Montana (probably at the Iron Bar eating elk burgers) yet they only talk about the West side of the Park in Wy.. Who else never talks about Gardiner or the north side of the Park. Seems to me someone lived in Livingston Mt.,someone’s mom or dad or both yet no mention of Park County thought by my close friends to be the most beautiful valley in all the area and a great area to fish. What no one ever bathe in the Boiling River just a few miles from Gardiner? Also not one Blog site gets Fenn’s reference to Gardiner Island and looking for the treasure. Is it just too easy of a clue for them discuss. I know we are supposed to dumbed down in this new world we live in but isn’t some of the discussions you read really silly yet the Gardiner thing just gets swept by with nary a word.
Ok , I have gone long enough but if you have been taking notes there are a few clues in what I wrote much unlike the chatter I have been reading. I do want to credit those blogs that do a good job, there are some out there, just don’t get too close.

After four years of dedicated research I have decided to share my best solve of Forrest’s poem.  His poem is really good but as a map it is very bad.  Just imagine how many people have tried to solve Fenn’s poem.  I would guess that more than a few hundred thousand have read the poem.  Out of that huge number at least a few hundred people with very high intelligence and very good decoding skills have worked on this poem without success.  The computer age has tied many searchers together through blogs, email, plus social media. This is a tremendous advantage for research and collaboration but even with this no one can find his chest.  After five years I think it is fair to say Forrest is a terrible directions giver at least in the case of his poem.

Most disturbing is Forrest inconsistency with his comments as to where it is.  Is it wet? Wow couldn’t tell ya after listening to Forrest stumble around on that statement.   How can it burn if it is wet? He said it can be burned, rained on and snowed on.  Not if it is wet or buried. How can his granddaughter go get the chest if she has to be brave and in the wood to be brave is to overcome some kind of danger doesn’t it? I won’t list all the problems here but there are at least a few more conflicts that throw a shadow on his honesty.

I have studied and put my knowledge of human behavior to task and I am certain Forrest hid a chest but I believe it is hidden in such a way that it is nearly impossible to find.  If he buried the chest for example how can anyone find it?  He buried bells deeper than a metal detector can react from the surface so no one could find them.  A buried Chest would be almost impossible to find.  Get it “almost”  like  1 in 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 that is not impossible.  Getting people off the couch is a really good thing but putting people on a wild goose chase isn’t a good thing it is deceitful and a sin.  There are those like myself who have spent lots of time and money that they could have spent to recreate in many other ways.  Maybe they are taking a chance with their money in hopes of a payoff  it is not ok for the game to be fixed.  Only time will tell but it may well be that this treasure like so many others will never be found.  Chaser beware finding the treasure is difficult but not IMPOSSIBLE.  I could go on for hours but I will leave it up to the reader to understand the frugality of looking for a chest with horrible directions and covered by water or dirt etc.  So I have decided to quit for now and to aid others as much as I can.

Here is my solve for the poem.

The first verse may describe which state it is in and that would be Montana the” Treasure State.”

Begin it at La Duke Hot Springs.  This is where Yankee Jim gave a timber raft belonging to a home sick Kentuckian to an adventurer and journalist Lewis R Freeman.  Freeman wanted to take the raft all the way to New Orleans via the Yellowstone.    Corwin Springs near La Duke is the bridge to the Old Yellowstone Trail Road. Take it   in Yankee Jim Canyon down about 5.2 miles north and put in at Joe Brown put in.  Nearby ranchers helped Freeman put his raft in the Yellowstone River below the home of Brown at Joe Brown Put in.  From there Freeman was told to keep to the left (Neigh) to get through the falls.  You can read guide books on the canyon and read that it is best to stay to the left.  Neigh is Old English and is a boat term for port side, Left when going down stream, the west bank and nearby.  Yankee Jim tells Freeman to stay to the left and Freeman ties his raft near Tom Miner Creek to a Cottonwood on the left bank. If you’ve been wise and found the blaze by studying the history of this area you would find keywords such as Meek , Brown, Yankee Jim, Theodore Roosevelt and a chapter  call in the wood crashing through Yankee Jim Canyon.  (While studying I found at least three stories of this adventure.  No paddle up your creek  The Yellowstone River is the creek that no one paddles up as the water runs too fast and this river can be called a creek.  If you are brave and in the wood this could refer to Freeman who stays with the raft at great danger to himself.  I suggest you read the book and the story Freeman wrote about going through Yankee Jim Canyon in 1902.  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/37220?msg=welcome_stranger

Down the Yellowstone by Lewis R. Freeman.  (Having trouble getting the title underlined or even put in the proper place please forgive me.) Notice Tarry is misspelled in the Freeman story when he is referring to terry cloth and when he refers to Terry bas relief.  He spells it like the biblical word tarry just as Fenn did when he says tarry scant.  For me this is a way Fenn was referring to Freeman.

The chapter about Yankee Jim Canyon is what the poem is referring to but I never have understood the blaze.  I thought it was the rock Freeman smashed his boat on or the cottonwood tree he tied his raft too but I could not find anything in those areas.

If the readers look they will see many hints from the book about this area.  An example is the story that he went to Gardiner Inland to look for a treasure must refer to Gardiner, Mt. or the brown streak on his pants from the fire escape must be the Devil’s Slide at the mouth of Yankee Jim’s Canyon.  Water high is the over thirty feet deep Yellowstone River going through box car falls.

I put myself in some tough and not so tough places but I never found a trace.  I looked in the area over 30 times for more than three years and I spent at least 100 hours looking in Paradise Valley and all I got was a great experience and one great Elk Burger. Use this info and do better than I did with it.  Good luck. I will check my blog for awhile before I take it down.  If you have comments or questions please don’t hesitate. I am retiring from the chase as I have lost faith.  Maybe you can prove me wrong but if a half a million people have no idea where or even what the blaze I doubt I can do better.

Hot elk burgers and cold beer await and I hope to be eating and drinking at my favorite place on the Yellowstone River by the end of the week.  I have ruled out several areas as time is short and  younger, stronger hunters have scoured those places.  One such place is on the Bear Gulch Creek below Joe Brown’s cabin just off the Yellowstone and down from Boiling River.  A lady wrote about her hunt in that area and I feel she should’ve found the treasure if it were there.  She had great logic and her time studying the area showed.  I was so sure she had the right solve that there was no way she or someone following her ideas would not find the treasure.  No one has and thats why I feel it is not there.  Forrest Fenn said the hardest part is knowing where to start.  After that he said  the other clues are much easier.  He also said he thinks the treasure will be found sooner than he expected because people where looking in the right area.  But no one has found it. Forrest also said He could not understand why people would get the first two clues and then go by the rest.  I plan to look a lot closer to the put in point than anyone else may have decided to look.  If I am right I will be rolling with laughter.  i would like to talk to a native in the area of the north gate of Yellowstone as I cannot decipher what the blaze is or where it is.

The blaze is a tough clue to solve but it should be easier than knowing where to begin it.  That is what Fenn said, but no one has found the blaze. Think about that they have been as close as 500 ft. but they never found the easier to find blaze. I have to admit something really doesn’t add up.  The blaze is much harder to find than where to begin it.  The only clue we have about the blaze is that we must be wise to find it.  We don’t even know what a blaze is.  A hunter could start in the correct place then go not too far and put in below the home of Brown I have done this in several places;  Spinx creek just down from the home of Brown by Yankee Jim”s Canyon; Millers creek where Meek turned around to go to Oregon; Lamar Ranger Station (Home of Brown) to a h\whole in a cottonwood tree on an Inland in the Lamar River.  I went to many places in between and in every case I had no idea of what or where a blaze is.

Well if anyone wishes to comment or get in on this last trip for the year I will be looking for your comments.  I will update after I arrive in Yellowstone.  I wish all those hunting, good luck.  Also if by chance someone has found the treasure help the lost out as there are many other treasure out there.  Just a picture  would help us to move on to another chase.  Thanks for your time.

I arrived today 911.  I ‘m so happy that nothing bad took place.  I came in just behind a storm but weather was gentle and roads were dry.  After 18 hours I was tired but ready for that elk burger I was looking forward to,  when to my dismay,  no Iron Horse Bar!  Gone no one home.  I wonder if they found the treasure and took off with it.  I shook off the disappointment and suffered through diner.  I cannot recommend any of the very busy restaurants but there all ok I suppose.  I was shock by the amount of people up here at this time of the year and happy I have been here in Spring to have Yellowstone almost all to myself.

On the way in I decided to look just north of Gardiner out by the cemetery.  The area I was interested in is fenced with  very tall wire.  On google it looked like Native American  ruins . I guess I was right.  I was led to the site by following a dry creek bed coming off the Yellowstone.  That was my best guess until Wednesday when I got in my car to come up here and  it hit me,  I know where the blaze is.  Never have I known that before.  All the many times I have come here I would hope to find the blaze.  I believe the hunter should know where it is before s/he goes to get the treasure.  I learned from “rocket scientists and mathematicians  (really) that if you want to learn something well teach it to someone else.  I figured out some important characteristics the blaze would have  and if you have been following you may also notice how this idea has evolved.  I will know tomorrow.   I now  have two lines to follow and they cross like the x on a map.  I will walk with confidence right to the treasure and I knew where to go when I left my driveway.  If I am wrong I will give out the new solve.  Well, we will see.

Well I am done for today and still empty handed.  I found some likely spots on the Yellowstone using the Devil’s Slide as the blaze.  Could still be a good spot to keep looking  but I did not like the vines growing in the wood piles.  I hope it wasn’t poison ivy.  Leaflets in three leave it be.  More importantly the Iron Grill is open.  They closed last night because it got too cold.  No heat in the building.  Lunch was great and I got some new ideas while talking to the natives. Tomorrow I check out an area near bear Gulch Creek.  I looked up Creek and Yellowstone could be referred to as a creek.  I have an area along the river yet to look in and then I will just be another lost hunter.    More later.

“Climate Change” will influence the timing on searcher’s season and I suspect snow will become runoff in April. Research of current weather patterns should reveal an early window which I hope to use for a quick in and out search for Forrest’s Trove.  My plan is to update this site as I go and by the end of my search all will know where and why I chose the areas I have.   I welcome comments and if anyone wants to be in on the chase vicariously stay posted. Maybe they will read something I missed!  If they do they can partner up or go on their own journey. I plan to be at my selections first but I will give followers a chance to look in the same areas after my search.  I am offering what I think is logical and sound ideas.  If there are flaws, point them out, or use the info to refine your own search.  First step is to decide if Forrest is truthful or not.  If he is truthful then we can trust most of that he says, if he is not truthful, then no one will find his treasure, if there is one.  Just one misleading clue is enough to keep everyone from finding his treasure.

Forrest says things that exploit  people’s poor  listening skills and our weakness of repeating info correctly, a human fault demonstrated by the telephone game.  He enjoys pointing out this fault with his statement, I didn’t say I did … and I didn’t say I didn’t …   One example  his statement that the treasure is hidden somewhere north of Santa Fe which the news turned into a treasure buried somewhere in New Mexico, north of Santa Fe.   I believe Forrest Fenn hid a treasure of great value and his hints/clues are meant to help a person find the trove.  I believe the poem goes in order and it is not encrypted.  Forrest said when the clues are followed precisely they lead to the end of his rainbow and the treasure.  He also said don’t mess with my poem and don’t over think it.  Encryption calls for a lot of deep analysis and a lot of messing around.  Hear what he said, follow the clues precisely and don’t mess with the poem.  Figuring out the poem is very difficult but not impossible. Those of you who have looked for the treasure have experienced the perspective of “boots on the ground.”    Suddenly  finding a small box in the actual territory seems unmanageable.   “The map is not the territory.”  Walking an area is not equal to moving a computer mouse or a finger over a map.  To find something hidden usually takes being right on top of the item and moving things that block your sight.  Even a metal detector has to be within twelve inches, give or take a few inches, to signal the presence of metal.   It would take four hours to sweep a football field with a good metal detector as much of the ground has metal objects. If you believe you are looking for a blaze on a tree you’ll have to walk all the way around each of the trees where you believe the treasure to be.  Up all the hills, down all the gullies etc. etc..  If Forrest gave clues to the treasure then maybe you can find it but only if the clues are very accurate.  “If you were wise and found the blaze” you know the exact  location of the blaze, which means you would not need to look for a blaze.  Forrest says the finder will walk to the treasure with confidence. Forrest did not say the finder will look in the correct area for the blaze because the finder will know where and to what the blaze refers and so will walk with confidence straight to the blaze.  Forrest said he would like to see a Texan drive his pickup truck to his secreted treasure which suggest a person will know the precise location before he or she leaves Texas if he or she is wise. The starting place is Sante Fe, NM the treasure is north of there.  It is more than 300 miles west of Toledo, Ohio.  Forrest says the Toledo statement is not much help or  important.  I think he said this to help Northern New Mexico get some attention and  boost the economy.  If we stay with at least 300 miles west of Toledo we wouldn’t be in New Mexico.

Here is some history, people in Northern New Mexico and people from Texas are not the best of friends.  I am a Gringo who as a teen spent many fun nights in Red River, NM.  The Black Mountain Playhouse saw many a fight between natives and Texans.  I am sure things are different as I am referring to a time almost fifty years ago but to this day I don’t know a Texan who prefers any part of New Mexico over Texas.  If you are reading this Forrest, prove me wrong.  Tell me how New Mexico is a more important place than Texas.  I triple-dog-dare you.   That would be almost as good as finding the Chest.  I dated a beautiful lady from Texas.  I will never forget eating crayfish with her parents under a clear starry New Mexico sky.  I was surprised to hear how much better Texas is as we ate our New Mexico feast.  Hey, there is a rivalry between the two states.  Everything southeast of the Rio Grande was Texas before Texas became a state.  The southeastern corner of New Mexico is often called Little  Texas.  This native of New Mexico just cannot come to believe a Texan would hide his treasure in New Mexico.  Try reading Red Sky at Morning  a 1968 novel by Richard Bradford. It was made into a 1971 film of the same name.  The book follows Josh Arnold, a young man whose family relocates from Mobile, Alabama to Corazon Sagrado, New Mexico during World War II. ‘Or how about the Milagro Beanfield Wars Nichols is the author of the “New Mexico trilogy”, a series about the complex relationship between history, race and ethnicity, and land and water rights in the fictional Chamisaville County, New Mexico.^[1] The trilogy consists of The Milagro Beanfield War (which was adapted into a movie of the same title directed by Robert Redford), The Magic Journey, and The Nirvana Blues.   Bottomline I try hard to be open and aware of my own prejudices.  I do my best to respect everyone I come in contact with and I honestly work hard to be fair with everyone but I can’t believe the treasure is in Texas or New Mexico.  The logic I promised is missing for now but soon I will put enough fact together to support the whereabouts of the treasure  and  there in the facts will logically rule out  New Mexico.  Oh yes , lets give this Texan credit for helping a New Mexico business ( The Collective Book Works in Santa Fe).  Is the owner a native New Mexican or……. Just saying. The first verse tells us he went alone and hid a trove in a place where he can hint about treasure both new and old.  Is Forrest’s comment that a secret between two people can only stay a secret if one of the two people is dead, a subtle hint?  I believe it is a hint.  A friend of Mr. Fenn who has past, may have been in on Forrest’s plan.  This friend may have offered land where the treasure is hidden.  Land offered for public use might include rules to follow certain wishes of the benefactor.  Rules about a treasure perhaps.  Treasures both new (Forrest’s treasure ) and old ( Spanish and French Gold) or gold claims hints to many areas in the southwest. Begin it where warm waters halt.  This line is very important.  There is a subtle difference between warm water halts and warm waters halt.  A fishing guide can tell you that warm water halts where fish that need cold water to thrive, live.  When water gets too warm the water is often closed to fishing.  This knowledge may lead some to believe Forrest is referring to a place where warm water halts where one could fish for cold water fish.   New Mexico and Montana both have such  features.  Did Forrest know that warm water halts  is a fishing term and for that reason wrote where warm waters halt.  Waters means more than one warm water.   This way it is likely to refer to geothermal waters and where these warm waters become cool.  If the warm water were dammed then warm water not waters is the better fit. Put in below the home of Brown is a key to the poem.  It is the only capitalize word other than the words at the start of each sentence.  Notice it is not the Home of Brown.  This place to put in must be below or in a canyon that is below warm waters that is  too far to  walk  from where the warm waters halt.  Below this put in it is not for the meek with water high and heavy loads.  Mr. Fenn says he dumped his bike into a river where the water was high.  High water is a different way to say deep water.  Fishing in deep water means the water is high up on your waders.  Heavy loads refers to the overburden needed to be removed before the gold can be dredge.  If the overburden is heavy it has big rocks or boulders.  Heavy loads make boating hard and dangerous, add high water and this  place is not for the meek.  Meek, a pioneer in the area I will soon discuss, narrowly escaped from unfriendly Indians by following Tom Miller’s Creek.  This creek is just below a stretch of water Meek refers to in his diary as having boulders too large and water too deep for him to go up.  Meek was right he found himself just below Yankee Jim’s Canyon with only one trail through it and that trail is an Indian trail.  This is why Meek decided to go to Oregon instead of sticking around area. The next verse starts “From there its no place for the meek the end is ever drawing nigh just heavy loads and water and water high.  Here is a riddle how can a place be not for the meek and be safe enough for a 78-79 year old man to go?  Here is another riddle how can “the end” be drawing nigh?  To be drawing means it is moving.  How can the end be moving?  This is the riddle inside the poem.  One more riddle still exist near the end of the poem but we are not there yet.  So first we must put in above the place Meek would not go and then get out before we get too far down the river where the danger awaits.  What is drawing nigh?  A creek named Sphinx Creek is just down the river  and to the left soon to be behind and left if drifting by on a  boat.  Nigh means near or and behind and to the left.  Sphinx Creek is drawing nigh after getting in the river at Joe Brown boat put in and it is just upstream of Yankee Jim.s Canyon which is the place Meek wouldn’t go.  There will be no paddle up your creek.  Notice he calls this creek your creek.  Why is it my creek?  I don’t own a creek so what would he mean by my creek.  Well it is the creek I cannot paddle up if I am following the poem to find the treasure.  It is my creek because this creek needs to be in my solve of the poem.  I have to go up this creek without a paddle. Gardiner river has a group of hot springs running into it.  People bathe here.   Below, the river runs into a canyon joining the Yellowstone River.  The river continues through Gardiner Montana and on to Yankee Jim’s Canyon.  Forrest Fenn maybe hinting of Gardiner in his book when he refers to a dream he had about looking for Capt. Kidd’s treasure on Gardiner Inland. There are many hunters who have gotten this far but they have run into a dead end or the box is gone.  I hope Forrest is right about knowing the treasure is still where he hid it.  Anyway the next line says if you have been wise and found the blaze look quickly down your quest to seize.  This is another clue not a dead end.  If you think a blaze is on a tree I wish you good hunting but I am not going to worry that you will find the treasure before I get to look.  Why, because you will be walking around every tree from where the Sphinx Creek leaves the river to its beginning about ten miles up the creek.  How wide your search will be is up to you.  I figure it will be a very long search as you round the trees for ten miles or so.  The end is ever drawing nigh does not mean the treasure is drawing near.  Remember the box cannot draw near and if it is a creek that draws near then the box can be any reasonable distance from the river.  Some searchers have been this far and spent two days with no results.  I spent time in the area myself and I did not find a blaze on a tree.  The poem doesn’t end here the wise will figure this out and understand that wise is a clue to the blaze. In mid April I searched Spinx Creek,  I recommend this area as it is beautiful,  The Native Americans camped here on their way to getting obsidian for tool making.  The fishing holes nearby look under fished and inviting.  Beware bears live in the area.  There is an old cabin site about two miles up the trail with a swamp nearby (a cold swamp).  I did not look in every part of this field/swamp so be my guest.  On the way back from this cabin site I fond a blaze carved into a popular tree, it said 09 on it.  Wow, 2009 on a tree on Spinx Creek trail.  I only looked for a short time in the log covered stream down from this blaze.  One reason, I do not think the blaze is “09” and the second reason I was out of energy. (Later when I got back I was saved from a life threatening heart attack. My artery was 99% blocked) I just had three stints placed in my heart so I will return to this area to give it a much better look.  If you beat me to it good luck and please make a comment. This is all for now.  I will be back again soon to share my next search.  I will be in Montana at the end of August.  I believe Forrest hid the treasure in September of 2009.  I think he hid it while attending the Black Bow Tie event in Cody Wyoming.  Forrest Fenn is connected to the Wild Bill Cody Museum  You can find me at the Iron Horse Bar and Grill having an Elk burger to die for.  I will gladly share my adventures over a beer with anyone in the Chase.  I would like to find a guide to help out with my next place of interest.  Make a comment.  I hope you will agree I am putting relevant info in this post.  Soon I will write about where and what the blaze might be as I update my coming adventure.

Time is speeding up as winter thaw opens the trails to Forrest Fenn’s Treasure once again.  A draft of what will be my best guess to Fenn’s end of the rainbow is in wait but not for long.  An ever growing number of searchers seem to be closing in on the whereabouts of Fenn’s special place and Forrest himself has hinted that the end is growing near.

I saw some hunters on my last trip but we were all in cognito.  No welcoming waves as we drove by one anothers cars and trucks.  I had to wait my turn on occasion to look amongst some possible blazed trees.  Now as we get ready to hunt again I read blogs that suggest that lots of people are looking in the same places.

So my mind drifts off as I imagine the perfect treasure hunt,  to the best times, when I dredge for gold and explored beautiful mountain streams for a glimpse of something gold.  The best moments where after the day had ended.  Diner cooking on a campfire along with hot coffee and tales of the days endeavors.   Chatting with new acquaintances as we soak our feet in the Corin Hot Springs while watching the sun paint the sky for the last time till morning arrives.  Sharing stories that sound like the fishing yarns my friends and I would embellish to tease each other.  One boasting of a secret hole where the biggest fish always got away.   Just the idea of sharing the porch overlooking the Yellowstone river as it runs through the canyon below while I sip a well deserved brew accompanied by my favorite elk burger with fellow explores, gives me a warm feeling.   Only one person will be first to the treasure but the chase is for all of us.  Soon I will be on the hunt just another dog in the chase but I’ll be dreaming of the perfect hunt and hoping to run with the pack,  howl at the moon and  share our thrill of the chase.

Those of you who are looking this spring and wish to share a story or two feel free to comment.   Just like the pioneers and trappers before we might gather in the spirit of the “Rendezvous ” of old.  Keep an eye on the weather for April could be the beginning of the end of the chase.  Use this opportunity to communicate and set up a chance to exchange ideas and stories.  Stay tuned for my best guess of where the treasure is and add your own ideas.  Take a deep drink of Forrest Fenn’s thrill of the chase and let it nourish your Inner ana Jones.

Much talk about someone named Ryan divulging his interpretation of the poem.  He claims to have solved the riddle and was or is going to quit the chase and publish his notes.  This has many chasers upset.  I think I now know what has gotten some followers to ignore my desire for their comments on this site.  I try hard to include something relevant on this site and I think that is an irritation to those certain few. This site is a place to share ideas and therefore an affront to those who get upset if a clue is revealed that may lead to the finding of the trove.  I am sorry they have come to feel this way.  Dal says if you say you have solved the poem or think you know where it is he won’t ok your comments and it will get you rejected from ever being on his blog.  Ok, its his blog so I got no problem with that.  His blog site is very good and I recommend it to anyone searching for the treasure.  He is not the only one to feel this way.  I have figured that at least 50% of those commenters on his blog agree that people who say they know something are to be left out.  To get oked a commenter must say it is his opinion or he is not sure but or such qualifiers before they make their statements.  Again ok, that is his privilege and I respect that.  I have an opinion on why people react so strongly to someone saying they know they are correct .  Here is what I have come to believe.

(1) It is rude to say you are sure of yourself.  Like the Greek story of Beowulf the hero comes in bragging on his ability to save the King from Grindle  and most of us cringe to hear a braggart but this is a cultural matter.  We are not supposed to be full of ourselves we must be like the English and be humble. Well, I am not English but like Beowulf I am Greek so maybe I have offended.

(2)  People looking for the treasure tend to believe they have ownership after putting in time to the search and think they will be cheated if someone gives away its whereabouts to someone they perceive to be less deserving than themselves.  The treasure is not anyones and the rules are not made by anyone not even Fenn at this point.  If people converge on an area given out by a website then enjoy the union, have a party just don’t dig.  Please don’t dig holes.  Please respect the mountains.

(3)  We all will be disappointed when it is found.

(4) If you have a hard time examining yourself you are warned not to read this fourth piece.  Psychologically we must all deal with our own unconscious as this is where most if not all anger begins.  All of us have in us our two-year old.  My two-year-old self gets frustrated when I cannot get what I want, ie solve the poem and just like a two-year old I want help but I still want to be the one to solve it.  If you have had children you know halfway through helping, the youngster gets frustrated because he now wants to finish.  Mad if you don’t help, mad if you do.  Hey we are all this way until we face it and work to handle the frustration in a mature way.  The thing is it will anger most of us because we are human.  So we look to get help then get mad if someone gives too much help.

Why do you look at, read and maybe comment on the blogs about Forrest Fenn?  If it is out of interest or entertainment then there is nothing that would insite you to anger but if it is to learn and perhaps get important info  please control the child.  You should not look for info and then be mad at those who give it out.  If someone’s answer to the poem ties you in knots you are the one needed to untie it.

I don’t want the whereabouts of the treasure revealed before I find it and I look at all the websites to find out what others think, so even though it hurts when someone divulges my secret spots, I remember thats how it works.  Seems to me everyone has choices.  Don’t read the blogs that share ideas or start a website that only allows lite chit chat.   This site allows both.  It is ” The Thrill of The Chase” getting there first is the goal.  If someone gives out the treasure’s hidden place beat them to it and win the race.

Here are some ideas to help others on their search.  Forrest says the box has dancing women on the sides.  He should know after all he bought the Roman lock box but there is another description that to me is the correct interpretation of the figures.  They are bricklayers wearing aprons and standing on ladders.  Now I have written about this before but never publish it.  I thought his women dancing referred to a place I have not yet checked out.  If you tie this in with the blaze and the Yellowstone it leads to a spot of interest. Sorry you’ll have to do some of your own work to know to what this refers to as I cannot get myself to just hand it out.  The biggest problem with this place is getting all the clues to fit.  I’ll give you one more hint.  If I wanted to fish for large browns in a place that few go but many walk pass this is a good one.

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If you happen to be near Pagosa Springs you might want to stop by the Blue Spruce at the bottom of Wolf Creek Pass.  I was there last August with my fishing buddies.  My second day there while enjoying some ribs and cold beer the owner of this beautiful resort sat down to join me and the conversation got around to Forrest Fenn.  To my surprise the owner had a very interesting story around the treasure.  A few weeks earlier a treasure hunter asked if he could empty the ice machine at the registrar’s office.  He even offered to buy all the ice in the cooler.  This being a rather strange request the hunter offered his theory on the treasure’s whereabouts.  Seems the hunter believed the treasure was in the ice machine.  I replied with all the clues in the poem and assumed they would rule out any chance of the trove being anywhere around Wolf Creek Pass but to my surprise the owner gave me examples of every clue.  Warm waters are nearby, there are two ranches owned  by Brown in the area and just up the road a waterfall  that freezes in the winter and somewhere nearby is a lost treasure left by a French troupe.  My interest peaked,  I started asking around and I got some great info at the Pagosa Springs sporting goods store   One of the owners there show me some maps of the area and told me how to get on the river near the Brown Ranch.  This is public land easily accessible by boat and or a hard to find turn out.  After looking for this turn out I headed back to get directions a second time.   This second trip I found the turn out.  After looking around I found an old gas line with a bleed off pipe about fifteen feet in height.  This is a pipe where you would see a large flame when the gas is burned off.  Blaze came to mind and you can bet I gave the area a good look over.  The owner back at the sports store said when he was last out in that area he saw an older gentleman walking around the area.  I plan to bring photos of Fenn next time I go and get the owner to tell me if that was who he saw.

This post never got posted till now.   I must of done something wrong and just missed it.   anyway the story is too good to leave it out.