the thrill of the chase

Forrest,

I enjoyed my recent trip through southern Montana! Some part of me wants to get lost in the woods where just maybe, I can find myself spiritually. My question for you now is, if you got another chance to enjoy Yellowstone in your youth, is there anything there that you wanted to do but never got the chance to?  -The Count

 

Count,

There are many things I want to do now that I didn’t do then. I want to fish every stream, catch every fish, sit under every tree, and hike the mountains I didn’t hike. And I would like to get lost in the Gallatins again. That was the best, but for me now, it’s too far to walk. f

 

Best of luck with all you seek!  And always Treasure the Adventure!

 

.

59 Comments

    3. Count, I love your question. An uncomplicated question, with a simple answer we can all relate too.

      Mr. Fenn, please don’t misunderstand my use of the word ‘simple’. I loved your answer as well. 🙂

      BW

        1. Oops. It appears I spoke too soon.

          Apparently…there is a gnome problem…in France.

          There’s even a Garden Gnome Liberation Front…with people getting jail time…and fines! 😮

          Sign me up! 🙂

          But I’m still a bit conflicted regarding what…exactly…is a garden gnomes natural environment…if it isn’t someone’s garden.

          My apologies if I am offending any garden gnomes who are reading this.

          It’s a constant struggle for me. I’m kinda ignernt.

          You gno me. :/

          JC1117

            1. When I started reading the article I immediately thought of this movie which is mentioned a few paragraphs down:
              “The travelling gnome prank was popularized by the film Amélie (2001) in which the main character persuaded her father to follow his dream of touring the world by stealing his garden gnome and having an air hostess friend send pictures of it from all over the world.”

              Don Adams

  10. Thank you Forrest and Jenny.

    Everyone else, he doesn’t want to go where he hid his treasure chest now because he knows all you crazies are stalking him and would follow him right to it. That’s why he wants to play it safe and go to the the Gallatins

    Ramona

      1. What?

        Custer, as in the Gallatin / Custer National Forest.

        Custer, not Gallatin, is where the tallest peaks are in Montana. If you read looking for Lewis and Clark, he says looking south he seen some of the tallest mountains he had ever seen. Well, the tallest mountains are in Custer east of Gallatin 🙂

        I am not looking in Montana, but when he went up Red Canyon with Donnie, I think they went north/east, then east, and eventually came out near Slough Creek by Lamar.

        Not sure where your 5,000 feet comment is from when Custer contains the largest mountains in the Rockies within Montana 🙂

        WyMustIGo

          1. Right. To me that seems like a clue too. Why the extra 200 feet when we are talking about mountains that go from lower than 5000 up to over 14,000 feet. Plus, why was someone 200 feet away? 🙂

            Could it be as many thing: 5000 is the base, (10200 – 5000) / 2 = 2600. Maybe the chest is at base + 2600 or 7,600 feet. Or maybe 7,500 (2500 + 5000) and another 200 feet, for 7,700 feet.

            I don’t think its at 10,200, for the most part those areas are not easy to get to unless its a popular tourist area with roads to it.

            Or perhaps WWWH’s at 10,200 feet, for example where the Green River headwaters are below the lakes at the glacier. The Colorado river headwaters are also at around 10,200 feet at the Grand Ditch.

            Either way, there is a clue there, I know you would probably agree 🙂

            WyMustIGo

            1. Incidentally, both of those rivers as you know merge, and they take it to the largest canyon we know of.

              Not saying the chest is in the grand canyon, but he doesn’t tell us to go with the warm waters as they halt AND take it into the canyon down.

              Originally the Green River was the longest into the canyon, in Colorado the Colorado river was “The Grand River” until it was changed to the Colorado river which then became the longest. It was a political move 100 years ago 🙂 It also just so happens that the majority of water into the canyon comes from the Green, well at least until it was tamed and weakened by the Flaming Gorge. The Yampa can beat it up, its raw and untamed, pure nature fed not dam controlled (it almost was when they wanted to flood Lodore and Yampa canyons with a dam in Utah).

              A hint? Who knows, but from the “big picture” there is but one canyon we all know. They would probably think of the Colorado river next before the Green.

              WyMustIGo

            2. WymustIgo…I would like to correct a statement you have made several times. The Colorado River headwaters begin at a tiny lake at La Poudre Pass in Rocky Mountain National Park and the waters from the lake then flow west of the Continental Divide. The Grand Ditch diverts water into the Cache La Poudre River which flows east of the Continental Divide. The Grand Ditch has an interesting history, but it is not the headwaters of the Colorado (formerly Grand) River.

              Sandy

  15. Thank you Forrest, Jenny and the Count! I’ve been to Yellowstone as a child and have many fond memories camping and exploring many of the amazing things to do there. It is on my short list of places to bring my children. I’ve tried a number of times to get there on the ends of other trips mostly but something has managed to block me each time. I believe I will have the chance to plan a proper trip there soon. My best memories when I was a child were my family’s road trips that carried us on countless adventures crisscrossing the country. Thank you Forrest for finding a way to spread that joy to so many!

    Point Foot

  17. Forrest; Thank you SOOOO much for answering this question. Yes, as we get older, we opine having not done a few things, or wish that we could do again, some of the things that we have done in years past. You have fished many waters, and climbed “To the top of the world” I am sure. Alas, today those kinds of adventures, we can only accomplish again, except in our precious memories. That is why we have children, and grand children, so that we can relive those memories through them. Not quite the same, but an added thrill that you know that you showed them the way, and now they too can experience what you once experienced, but in their own way.

    Thanks again for the post Forrest. “I’ve been there too” – Thanks JDA

    JDA

  18. Forrest – What’s important is that you tried and that you have tried over and over. It’s similar to trying to teach someone how to fish. These days it’s almost impossible to teach others how to fish or how to hunt for treasure no matter how you work it. While there are many students not paying attention, there are some that have paid attention. I have never known a teacher to work so hard to get his point across. Thank you Jenny, The Count, and Forrest for this question and answer.

    Hear me all

  19. A (sad?) reality today is that you can experience all those places and more with a pair of 3D glasses and HD-VR, or even from a ride at Disney or Universal.

    It of course is never the same as being there, smelling and feeling nature at its best. The awe of standing at 7,000 feet and still have mountains towering 7,000 feet higher than you are. Technology is cool, I make a living with it, but it is never a replacement for the real thing.

    Recently I watched a video of handicapped children, children with terminal cancer, and elder folks who cannot afford to travel. Some folks in Europe gave them access to technology that allowed them to experience the grand canyon, the pyramids in Egypt, the Sahara desert and the peaks of the tallest mountains on Earth. That is probably the exception to the rule, for those people it was/is their only opportunity to ever witness such places. They can even add effects such as wind, splashing water, surround sound, and other things to leave an experience they will take to their graves.

    If we are fortunate enough to have our health, we should try to get out and see the world with our loved ones. Don’t wait until it becomes too far to walk or go back in time, all the riches in the world cannot bring back what matters most.

    Thanks Forrest!

    WyMustIGo

  24. I personally believe 10,200 ft. is a reference to oxygen – and I can tell you from personal experience that it is very difficult to breathe above 10, 000 feet (unless you regularly live above 5,000 feet and are altitude acclimated), especially of your trying to do something that is strenuous .. I can’t find it now and I haven’t worked on airplanes in 7 years, but I believe there used to be an FAR oxygen requirement at 10, 200 ft. The current FAR reads: Pilots flying above 10,000 feet for more than 30 minutes are required to be on oxygen .. but there is also an FAR limitation to how close things can be to a runway threshold – that limitation is 10, 200 feet ( a simplified explanation, but adequate for this purpose) ..

    Brad

    Brad Hartliep

  25. Gallantins – what a deliciously complex word. Visions of gentle nights, winged beetles and worlds within worlds within worlds. The old mage charmed in the wood. The whole of the charm scribbled in the margins of each ring.

    lifesablaze

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