Over the years, I have posted Questions and Answers from searchers of the Forrest Fenn Treasure Hunt on my site. This was so everyone could share in the information or stories Forrest Fenn was sharing to others.
Although all don’t pertain specifically to the treasure, Forrests’ answers give a glimpse into his thoughts, life, and how he thinks. Besides being enjoyable, his answers might help us learn a bit about him and how he thinks, which in turn might help us better understand the The Poem leading to his hidden treasure chest.
Here are all the Featured Questions from 2018 and 2019 on one page for your convenience (with the dated links to the original for reading of comments- which offer lots of different thoughts as well).
Click following year links for Resource Pages on Featured Questions from: 2016, 2015 and 2014.
Featured Questions 2018 and 2019 with Forrest Fenn:
FF, you say “There are many places in the Rocky Mountains where warm waters halt.” My question- Is there more than 1 home of Brown? Thanks, Jill
No Jill, there is only one home of Brown in my poem. f
Forrest, There is some speculation on the internet that you may have occasionally given private hints to searchers about your hidden treasure. Do you care to comment? B
Sure B, I’ll comment. I have never said anything in a personal email or private conversation that would assist anyone in finding the treasure. f
Mister Fenn– on your way to Yellowstone every summer, did you have the opportunity to stop and enjoy some of the things along the way? What were some of your most memorable stops on your road trips? JD
JD, Our family of 5 did a lot of sight-seeing at 35 MPH for 1,600 miles. We always had a big canvas water bag tied on the front of the car. Periodically my father would stop on a lonely stretch and let everyone out to walk around for a few minutes, and get a cool drink.
Two places we always stopped were the giant Montgomery-Wards store in Denver, and Hell’s Half Acre, between Casper and Shoshoni. Of course there were food and bathroom breaks too.
Those respites were always welcome because we were 4 hot days on the road with no air conditioning and no radio. I always dreaded those long rides, especially when it was my turn to sit in the middle. f
Dear Mr. Fenn, If the treasure goes undiscovered for another 1000 years, do you feel the person that discovers it in 3018 would have followed the poem precisely to do so, or might they have happened upon it? ~Cricket
That question is too hypothetical for me to answer accurately, especially since the next few world wars might destroy the treasure site. f
Mr. Fenn, what is a habit of yours that you would like to break? ~Tom
I am too inefficient. Maybe that isn’t a habit, but whatever it is I would like to break it. f
Dear Forrest, Is there a location you would have loved to visit and explored? Maybe a place you recently just learned about? Like what about the Lost City of the Monkey God with Douglas Preston? Would you have enjoyed exploring there? ~M
Sure, M. I would have gone with Doug in a second. A Santa Fe friend of mine, Gregg Bemis, owns the Lusitania, and dives on it. I would love to do that with him also. f
Dear Forrest, You say there was only ever one place you wanted to hide your treasure chest because of how special the spot was to you. When a searcher arrives to this location, will they understand why it was so special to you? And did you include that reason in your autobiography in the chest? ~jenny
Jenny, maybe they will, but probably not. Their mind may be on other things. It was in my autobiography until I removed it for personal reasons. f
Dear Forrest, during your excavations at San Lazaro, did you ever discover any discernable pictographic panels or individual markings? If so, are you willing to share? ~ Thanks, JJDiggins.
Thanks for the question JJ. In my book The Secrets of San Lazaro Pueblo, I show pictures of a kiva mural I excavated. It has Anasazi painted figures that have to mean something. In my opinion that makes them words.
Professional archaeologists will most certainly disagree with my findings, so I will show you markings on a prehistoric antler tine that were made with a stone tool. It was also found in my excavations.
You decide if it is a written language. If you think it not, then please tell me what the lines mean. f
Forrest, I am a pragmatist working at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Every day I deal with realities. They are saying on the blogs that you are making a lot of money on the sale of your 3 treasure chase books. I thought you were profit neutral in that area. Would you please explain what is going on? Joe Nosey
I would be glad to explain what is going on, and you are Nosey. The 9th printing of my TTOTC book is fresh off the press and today is on a truck heading for the binder in Phoenix.
The 10thprinting will start in about 10 days. The book is currently out of print with about 40,500 sold. The hang-up is the binding, and we won’t be back in print until the end of June.
I gave that book to the Collected Works book store, although the copyright belongs to me. I paid for the first printing and have never sold even one copy, nor have I realized any money from a sale. It may be unprecedented for one store to sell that many copies of a book. Amazon buys it at the retail price and marks it up. They sell so many of that large quantities are stored in the Amazon warehouse.
My TFTW book is in the 5th printing and is about go back on the press again. That book is owned by my grandchildren, and all of the profit goes to them. Although I paid for the 1st printing, I have never sold a copy nor have I realized any profit from a sale.
OUAW is owned by my book designer and project manager. I wrote the stories, but all of the production costs are theirs. I have never sold a copy nor have I made any money from a sale.
I have given copies of those three books to friends and some to people who could not afford to buy it. When I need one of my books I buy it from the owner at their cost.
So to answer your question, Mr. Nosey, I am out the cost of printing the 1st editions of TTOTC and TFTW. The argument could be made that I am a not a very good business man. I wish I was profit neutral, but in fact, I am in profit deficit. f
Forrest, when the Treasure Chest is found, would you prefer the finder not disclose the exact resting spot? Curious. ~ Afana
Afana, I love your name. It reminds me of alfalfa, which has the greatest smell in the world when freshly cut in the field.
Whoever finds the treasure will have more than a few decisions to make. One of them will be whether or not to reveal the location. I will leave that up to the finder. f
Dear Forrest, With my upcoming trek across Texas to Montana in 12 days,I have thought about you and your thinking process. I have always tried to think like a fish to catch a fish, so to speak. (Not implying that I am trying to catch you, but just to put myself in your shoes…)
I have often wondered if you ever regret opening your life stories to the public as you have. I’m sure that you have been plagued by a fair share of crazies and malcontents that feel as if you owe them something. To make your life an open book is a very brave thing to do.
Please excuse the ponderings, but my curiosity is one of my downfalls.
Sincerely, Veronica S.
Veronica.
I am not sorry I hid the treasure and wrote 3 books about my life.
Although several searchers blame me because they haven’t found the treasure, it has been a wonderful experience for a massive number of people.
Thank you for the question. f
Mr. Fenn, Summer is here. How is your gut feeling? Hopeful
My gut feeling is wavering.f
Mister Forrest Fenn Treasure Man, You have said in the past that your poem is straight forward with no subterfuge. Recently, comments on Jenny’s site have suggested you might leave physical decoys near the treasure to confuse searchers. Might we expect such if one of us is lucky to be that close to your trove one day? Thank you Randy L.
No Randy, my mind doesn’t work like that. f
Dear Forrest Fenn: After reading your last question and answer from Randy L. And not knowing whether or not the blaze may be something that existed before you hid the treasure or something you may have created, I’m wondering if you had considered leaving something near the chest to reassure searchers of there findings Sincerely. Eugene
No Eugene, I did not consider doing that. f
Dear Mr. Fenn, I am a new searcher who just read the chapter in your book called Flywater. My father coincidentally has the very same book on his book shelf. As I thumbed through the well worn pages caused by my father’s reverence for the subject, I noticed a curious passage in the Afterword.
I can’t remember the exact words, but the author ran into a young man wearing a smile and a sunburn, and had a few dry flies stuck in his baseball cap. The author asked the young man about his choice of flies and the stretch of river he had fished. The young man said “Can’t tell you.”
Was the young man, YOU, Mr. Fenn? Truest Regards, Iris of The Bend
It was not me Iris, sorry. f
Dear Forrest, When you hide the chest you most like was not aware about how fast modern technologies will be developed and become available to many searchers. For example, they have now remotely controllable drones with high-resolution cameras. In nearest future treasure searchers will have possibility to use drones with distant metal detector radars that can fly over big areas and detect all metal objects on the surface.
My question is: will these modern devices (drones with cameras and metal detectors) provide more advantages to high-tech searchers in comparison with the traditional searchers (simple hikers that just visit each place personally)? Sincerely, Natalia
I have no doubt that they will Natalia.f
Mr. Fenn, Does the first stanza in your poem reveal where searchers are supposed to begin when looking for “where warm waters halt” or are we only supposed to pay attention to ” where warm waters halt” and one day say’ “why didn’t I think of that” when the true solve is revealed? Thanks ~ Indiana Jonie
Jonie, The first clue in my poem is WWWH. I have said that several times over the years. If you can’t find that location you cannot find the treasure. Good luck, and please stay safe in the mountains. f
Dear Mr. Fenn, Once you hid the treasure, did you take the exact same route in reverse to return to your car?” Thank you. ~ Tyler Y.
Yes I did Tyler, it was the most direct route. f
Mr. Fenn, I would ask if you have ever held the hope that Buffalo Bill Cody, ( remains ), would one day return to Spirit/ Cedar Mountain in Wyoming.
“Buffalo Bill chose the spot on which he wished to be buried, near the town he loved and the Country he loved.” ~Lookinup
Yes, I wish they would let Buffalo Bill go home. f
Dear Forrest, Can you tell us more about the Illustration on page 43 in ttotc, of the Gypsies, that is going for auction to help Jdiggins? Thanks ~ Matt
Sure Matt, and thanks for the question.
I have fond memories of watching the Gypsies dance. It was always late at night, and the beat of the music really captivated me. I remember running so fast through the cemetery and across the fields to get to where they were, and being out of breath when I crawled under the wagon. I was afraid someone would hear me panting.
There was this one old guy with a long beard who played the violin. When he started, the other gypsies, out of respect, would huddle close to the fire and just watch and listen. It was slow and haunting. I used to think I would like to be a gypsy and travel with them. f
Mr. Fenn– If your poem was in Braille, how close could Helen Keller get to the chest on her own? ~ Hitchhiker
Don’t know Hitch, but I would probably tell her to team up with the little girl in India. f
Yo Mister Fenn, An angry woman on one of the forums the other day probably wasn’t thinking straight. She said that money can’t buy happiness. I got the feeling you don’t agree. Do you? Agee
No, I don’t Agee, When I was in school and totally devoid of cash for a few days, I’d mow a neighbor’s grass or clean someone’s barn yard to get a dollar or two. The feeling of happiness came over me and was very strong.
A small cup of ice cream cost a nickel and a dollar would buy 20 of those things. I’d walk around with my hand in my pocket, holding my money and whistling. It sounds silly to me now but it sure wasn’t then. It is probably harder to buy happiness if you’re very wealthy, but money can usually make a pretty good down payment. f
Mr. Fenn, There has been a lot of talk about the punctuation in your poem and how it might help someone who is searching for your treasure. That’s a bunch of hooee, isn’t it!? Forrest Burke
Dear Mr. Burke, Sometimes punctuation can be confusing and that’s why I’m very careful when I use it. To illustrate: I just received an email from a man who has stage 4 liver cancer. He said he knows where the treasure is and tomorrow he is going to Colorado to get it. “Will you please wish me good luck,”?, he said. I replied, “No, you seem so positive and I don’t want to give you an advantage over other searchers, so I won’t say, good luck to you. f
Dear Mr. Fenn, I was on the hunt for all of your books and came across a first edition signed copy of “The Beat of the Drum”. It was signed personally to a man named Bob and his wife Kate with warmest regards! It also had a stashed away map from New Mexico in it! Super old! I was in heaven! Sometimes when searching for treasure it comes in other forms!
I had a hunch that this was signed to your friend from Vietnam but could be way off! Will you tell me more about it! (I’ve attached an image) ~ thanks Mandie W.
Yes, that was inscribed to Bob Sully and his wife Kate Sutherland. He is the PJ who pulled me into the helicopter during my rescue after I had been shot down in Laos during the Vietnam War. That book is very rare and out of print. f
Dear Mr. Fenn: Noting the minor accident (minor?) picture inside the front and back covers of “The Thrill of the Chase,” the F100F appears to have a landing gear that failed. Were you or another pilot involved in a Sabre dance, or was there another reason for the accident? Just curious. Thank you. Rob Johnson
Rob, I don’t know that anyone has survived the sabre dance. It occurs in an F-100 when the plane is near the ground, has a high angle of attack, low airspeed, and not enough power to fly out of it. The plane stalls, drops a wing, and crashes.
The photo you referred to in my book was taken at Chateauroux, France. My nose gear came down for landing, but the 2 main gear would not. They foamed the runway for me and I landed. The guy in the white hat on the right, is me. f
Dear Forrest, My Granddad always told me that fixing your eggs sunny side up is one habit of highly successful people. Does this ring true for you as well, or is there a better way to start ones day? Sincerely, Kristina
Kristina, I can’t think of a better breakfast if it comes with bacon, toast and a glass of milk. I think unsuccessful people might like it also. f
Hi Forrest, In “The Thrill of the Chase” you mention your big ball of string that went missing and you never found it what happened to it. Have any searchers sent you plausible explanations? -N
N, As I recall, my mass of string looked like a football, My mother probably conspired with someone else to rid me of my wonderful cordage collection. No matter, I was growing weary of it anyway. f
Hi Mr. Fenn, Do you still hope to return to the spot someday, and make the boldest move you’ve ever made? If you can’t physically return to the spot, would you want your ashes scattered there? ~Allen K.
Yes Allen K, but in order for that to happen I would have to tell someone where that spot is, and that won’t happen. But I’m still thinking. f
Featured Questions from 2019:
Earlier this month, Dal posted on his site, about Chris LaFrieda’s incredible search and discovery of Forrest Fenn’s shot down plane. It is an amazing story! The following Question is in relation to that account!
Question:
This is soooooo awesome! Forrest, will you talk more about the feelings you had at the moment you got the news the wreckage was rediscovered? I would love (and I’m sure others would too) to hear about the emotions that were running through your mind. ~ John Greco
Answer: When Chris sent me an email that said they had found the actual crash site of my airplane I didn’t believe it. The last time I saw the plane, I was floating down in my parachute. I had just air refueled a few minutes before and my plane was packed with fuel. It hit several hundred feet up the side of a Karst and there was a terrible red fireball and a lot of smoke. The area was in a very remote part of the Laotian jungle. I thought it was impossible for someone to be at that very spot and picking up parts of my plane.
I was wrong and I have a small aluminum piece of the plane to prove it. Christopher LaFrieda is a genius. f
.Check out the full story here: https://dalneitzel.com/2019/10/19/litter-81-found/
Over the last week, many of you have messaged me wondering, ‘What’s up with all the Scrapbooks?’…. so I asked…..
Hi Forrest, I’ve received this question from multiple searchers, in different ways, but they all boil down to the following– if you’d like to answer…..
- Dear Forrest, What is inspiring you to write and share so many Scrapbooks on Dal’s site lately? How many more can we expect? We are all enjoying them. ~ TOTTC Searchers
I don’t know Jenny. I’ve almost run out of things to think about. Dal came down and spent a couple of days with me and we talked about a lot of things, and made some videos. He’ll get around to posting them one of these days. When I look at some of my old photos it’s like they pull a trigger and I start remembering again. Not being able to spell is one of the things I like about me. Sometimes when I make a word mistake I like the mistake better than the correct word, so I just laugh at everyone who would correct me, and stay with the mistake. If the reader knows exactly what I mean then heck with everything else.
Some of the old writing rules have been worn so thin it’s time for some new thinking. I relish in the thought that I’m the only one who can say things my very own way. I’m particularly good with commas. I just throw them in here and there where I feel like it. The English teachers who made the comma rules have no idea when I want my readers to pause in a story. At decision time in one of my sentences I just tell myself to say it like Forrest wants it said. People love to correct me when they think I’m wrong so I just start typing in the dark with gloves on, so to speak. When it comes to errors, a good laugh can be very well understood. Dal has 4 more SBs in the waiting room, and there will be more if I stay healthy. He decides when to post a story and he likes to spread them out. I never press him because I’ve learned that he has a wonderfully polite way of telling me no. f
Forrest, you like to play with capital letters on some of your words. The titles of your books are lower case, yet you use a capital on the word Brown. My question – Is there another word in the poem that should begin with a capital letter, but you chose to keep it lower case? If so, is that letter at the end of sentence? ~ Danny King
Don’t think so Danny but sometimes I do things that I don’t mean to do. f
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Under the cover of night,
With every breath the soul grows cold,
As the new eyes open and fill with warmth,
One more story to be told.