(PCM) For years treasure hunters and thrill seeking enthusiasts have been on the quest to located a chest filled with treasures hidden by eccentric art collector Forrest Fenn somewhere in the Rocky Mountains.
Fenn has left several clues hidden within a poem that is supposed to lead seekers to the treasure chest and while many have claimed to have solved Fenn’s mysterious riddle to this day the treasure has not yet been found.
Fenn, who is still alive, but in ailing health now at age 86, even goes as far as to claim that some treasure hunters have come within 200 ft of the treasure and still managed to come up empty-handed. He insists that the treasure has not yet been found, however seekers are definitely on the right track.
The backstory is that when Fenn was diagnosed with cancer back in 1988, he assumed he wasn’t going to survive the disease. He decided to pack a 10-by-10-by-6 Romanesqe copper box with some of his most valuable treasures. These items included some pre-Columbian jewelry, gold nuggets the size of chicken eggs, ancient jade carvings, emeralds, diamonds, and course a copy of his own autobiography.
Fenns’ initial plan was to drag the treasure chest out into the Rockies and reach the end of his life outside next to it, well, it seems that fate had other plans for Fenn and he survived the cancer. For the next 20 years the box set untouched in his study.
Then, sometime in 2010, it dawned on Fenn that he needed to preserve his legacy, so at 80-years old he hopped in his car, drove out into the Rocky Mountains and hid the treasure. In his later memoir, “The Thrill Of The Chase”, Fenn announced that he had hidden the treasure to the general public and provided a 24-line poem that contains 9 clues that will lead someone to the treasures location.
The poem reads as follows:
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
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 drawing ever 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.
Hundreds of individuals search for Fenn’s treasure each and every year, in fact, one man even died during his search for the riches. All feel that they have solved the mystery after spending countless days and hours analyzing each and every clue.
Fenn’s treasure chest is said to be worth about $2 million. Over the years it has earned a ton of media coverage, however some of that has waned given the fact that no one has yet to find the treasure. Not even Fenn’s wife knows where the treasure is located and both he and his wife are harassed on an almost daily basis with hunters desperate for clues and to know if they are on the right track.
Fenn claims that he has even received bribes and death threats from some crazed individuals. Fenn has revealed some scant details about the treasure’s location saying that it is indeed located somewhere in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado or New Mexico. It is located above 5,000 ft and below 10,000 ft in an area that contains pine trees. It is not located in a graveyard, mine or other man-made structure nor is it in proximity to any human trail. It is also not in a place that an 80-year old man couldn’t go!
That really doesn’t narrow it down too much, but it is a bit of a help. Fenn does an amazing job at staying ambiguous and many begin to wonder if anyone will ever find the treasure before his passing. Some believe it is possible that there is really no treasure at all and Fenn just wanted to give people the “thrill of the chase” and get them back out into nature once again.
Others wholeheartedly believe that Fenn’s treasure is still out there somewhere in the Rockies and they are determined to find it! Either way it is certainly a fascinating story and one we hope ends in riches rather than rags.
