I have been thinking about the first stanza of Forrest Fenn’s treasure hunt poem. (Actually I have been thinking about the whole poem, but the following is mostly about the first stanza.)
“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.”
I should add something here, before I go on. I like to put as many pieces of the puzzle on the table and then choose the ones which follow a line of thought I am currently working on. So different ideas I share may contradict each other.
From working on other treasure hunts, one of the biggest traps I have seen treasure hunters do (and myself), is to become attached to a ‘gut feeling’ or ‘pet theory.’ Many times this causes the ‘forcing’ of a solution; and these are the wrong type.
I have personally found my best attack against this is to always keep thinking of alternate options and keep my mind open to all REASONABLE possibilities. Because the poem is interpretational, and numerous interpretations can be made, until the chest is found, any one may be correct. I don’t mind having lots of choices. The wider the selection allows for the greater of odds the right ones are included.
The following would seem to contradict what I wrote in ‘Put in below the home of Brown’; about the chest being hidden in a stream. However, I still love the idea of the end of Forrest’s rainbow being related to the end of the arc of a fishing rod, as described in the book Flywater. I also still like it for the other reasons I mentioned.
But the above does not keep me from considering the meaning for ‘As I have gone alone in there’ to be a cave and looking for support for this. It has been shared by a puzzler on Tweleve (username Domino) that on page 57 of Forrest Fenn’s treasure book, the word CAVE can be seen. Whether or not this is intentional or just coincidental lines, I can’t decide. What do you think? Purposely drawn or coincidental CAVE word lines? If it is offered as a ‘clue’ for the treasure hidden in a secret cave, and since the image shows it ‘near a road’, could this be how Forrest knows searchers have been within 500 ft of the treasure because he knows they travelled that road?
It is also clear from reading ‘these linked posts (updated: links no longer available)’ that Forrest discovered and searched in many ‘secret’ caves. The line in the post I am referring to says, “that he would ‘find these things (ruins) from the air, and then on the weekends we’d go in there…I had an old Army jeep….We found so many caves that evidently nobody had been in since the Indians had been there….Clear Creek…Beaver Creek.”
Although these places are not ‘in the mountains north of Santa Fe’, it does show Forrest would know about exploring caves…and evidently has a knack for finding them.
It is possible the first stanza of the poem is talking about the final place of the treasure chest. ‘He went alone in there (the cave) with his treasure chest.’
The next lines of Forrest’s poem are especially interesting. ‘I can keep my secret where, and hint of riches new and old.’
If a cave, it certainly could be a secret place of Forrest’s of which he found a treasure of his own (old treasure) and later hid his chest (new treasure) in. He can keep this ‘secret place’ and now offer the following hints/poem to both ‘riches of new and old’. What is interesting is the use of the word ‘where’. The line makes perfect sense if Forrest is using ‘where’ as a noun; the secret place ‘Where’; where he found treasure, hid treasure, and only he knows about.
The cave idea is also very enticing because when Forrest thought he was going to die, he was going to take the treasure and have his bones be found beside it. It is not confirmed whether or not this place, and where the treasure is hidden, is the same spot. But if it is, then a cave seems like an ideal location for such circumstance.
(Update: It is confirmed the places are the same from the following Q/A – Archived Question page :
Question posted 6/14/2014:
“Are you willing to say whether the place of the treasure chest is the same as the one where you had previously plotted to have your bones rest forever?”~anonymous
Dear Anon,
I feel somewhat disadvantaged since you chose to not identify yourself but I will answer your question anyway.
Yes it is. f)
And just as I think, ‘yes, it is hidden in a cave’; I remember other possible interpretations pointing to other locations. He could have gone alone in a ‘canyon’ and his secret place could be some ‘where’ he found a treasure there; like a small beginning source stream just coming out of the earth.
I am reminded of the quote Forrest mentioned in Six Questions by T.S. Eliot:
“We shall not cease from all our exploration
And at the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (a source stream). I love the thought of ‘a source stream/a wellspring’, representing the heart, to be where a treasure is found. Only after exploring, can we know our own hearts.
Maybe it is in a stream…in a cave….lol….like Romancing the Stone’s treasure….oh…I would love it!
Best of luck to all…
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Hi, love your website. Regarding Forrest Fenn’s treasure i have my 5 p to add: the home of Brown: there is a ranch owned by the Brown family near Negro Mesa. but if you look further south there is something that could refer to the “blaze” mentioned in the poem: the Capulin Volcano. From what i read it is very touristic and full of kids. Since Forrest created this to push people to the outdoors, a volcano could be something interesting. If the treasure is ‘put in’, well that would fit put in the crater of the volcano…i would go check it out myself but i live overseas so..
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, JM. Personally, I haven’t looked into the area you mention, but it does have some interesting connections.
I heard about this on Canadian Public radio!! – CBC show: ” As It Happens”. I am curious to see how close I can come to locating the site via the inet utilities and social media from 1,000’s of km away – lol??
I noticed the comments by JM – I was just “zooming” around that area on Google earth yesterday. “No paddle up your creek – maybe the Dry Cimarron River, which disappears and re-emerges(?) (“warm waters end”) around Folsom where the famous Brown ranch is centred.
There is also an Archeological Site North West of Folsom, but none of the other clues match.
With my first attempt I confused Route 65 with Route 165, ended up driving down the highway on Google Street View from Jemez springs, passing a UPS outlet then I saw “Blades Bistro” (Blaze? -lol) near Placitas and was convinced that there was a key hidden in the parking lot for a safety deposit box in the bank in that plaza?
They have these treasure hunts around here for FM station promotions. One Audio clue mentioned “Picture” and a “Hard surface” – quickly became “pitcher” and “diamond” – the parks crews were finding all the home plates dug up -lol! Gender bias, but women have intuition, men “hunches” – lol – I am hoping for a Freudian Slip in the clues, although with an elderly man this might be ambiguous – but this Mr. Fenn is shrewd, shrp and a survivor. You can “own” a fortune but only “possess” a tresure??
This was my “Plan B”:
The first stanza sounded like the viewing room in a safety deposit box vault – maybe you only find a key to the box (and an address? first?).
The “warm waters halt” many think is a hot springs area?? One North of las vegas is a dormant geyser??
“home of brown” – first thought was near a UPS outlet – lol?
“…no place for the meek… and “..end is ever drawing nigh…”[repeated showings of movies ?? – lol] reminded me that “No Country for Old Men” was filmed in the area and the premier was shown in las vegas. Last scene with TLJ talking about his dreams and “..fire in the horn…” sticks in one’s mind.
“…no paddle up your creek…. heavy loads, water high….” maybe dry creek with flood control dam upstream.
“..Look quickly down, your quest to cease, But tarry scant with marvel gaze, ….” look quickly with a poker face -it is in a public area?
…whatever….?
What a great education about New Mexico! Gotta get there sometime.
Ironically, the only (almost) hit song that I remember mentions NM is by a Canadian – fate – there is a river by that name there?[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnGEQ4mo548]
What a great tourism idea!!
I don’t know if this means much but i realized after looking over the poem that the first “clue” is the only that he speaks in first person, he explains how he went alone with his treasure and where does he keap his secrets?? puzzles me!, i just thought it would be helpful 🙂
Great theories , thanks for making me second guess myself. LOL
I actually have a possible location for “if youve been wise and found the blaze”
Could refer to the Sangre De Cristo Mountain range which is the southern part of the Rocky Mountains.
The name, Spanish for “blood of Christ”, is said to come from the red color of the range at some sunrises and sunsets, especially when the mountains are covered with snow, (alpenglow).
Now if Fenn flew around mountains such as “Santa Fe Baldy” (which has the best view of the Alpenglow) he might have spotted a cave. Now any mountains in that area can see the alpenglow from the Sangre De Christo Moutnain range so the questions is which mountain?
The range extends from Santa Fe in the south past Taos to the Colorado state line, and beyond into South Central Colorado, where it is known as the Sangre de Cristo Range
A s I have gone alone in there… Only He knows, know one else.
And with my treasure bold… Is quite a bold move. Large sum, public land…
I can keep my secret where… Secret = Hidden not buried.
And hint of riches new and old… He just told you the first” hint “to solving the poem. New and old or old and new = past and present.
As I have gone alone in there…
Any creative thinking since this (3-year old/2013) post?
I don’t think it’s in a cave. I recall Forrest saying (and I’m paraphrasing here) “with my last GASPING breath I’d fling myself onto the chest.” It wouldn’t make cents to do that in a cave. More like a water hole.
“Be mindful of nature and your health, but not in that order.” Sounds a little like the last couple lines of the poem.
DMN – any thought on blindness? A song?
I am sending this to Forrest as a possible random question, I suppose sending to you too is another way to get it out:
Dear Forrest,
Upon leaving Indulgence, you had words aloud for yourself. Not to trivialize the experience of ejecting from a jet fighter aircraft, but did you have words for yourself then, too?
Thanks for the Chase,
Joseph
Thank you for a very well written piece. Initially we used kinesiological muscle testing to pinpoint an approximate area but lost permission to continue our inquiry after desired outcomes distorted the results. I keep getting drawn into a small canyon area off of Pacheco Canyon Rd. next to the Sangre de Cristo community center. For some reason I follow the first clue being a literal name in Pacheco “Canyon” Road. I followed a small footpath which ends and tapers into a beautiful meadow secluded at the base of the canyon where two creeks merge… where a small ,marshy island reveals itself during higher water season. On this small mound I found a grouping of red flagstones arranged like a campfire with several tall stones sticking up resembling a live campfire. The elevation is around 7,315 ft on Google Earth., 8.5 miles North of the center of Santa Fe. The distance from the island where the two creeks meet to the waterfall is 505 feet according to Google Earth. Easily accessible. One observation… there are lots of fallen decomposing trees around. We had an elderly gentleman travel with us and gauged his capacity to hike the immediate area. As it seems one had accepted the end of a lifetime, could it be that he envisioned surrendering close to the heart (center) of his chosen intercessor, Jesus Christ (Sangre de Cristo/Blood of Christ) ? I hope this can be of benefit in someone finding the treasure. Peace be with you.
“As I have gone alone in there,” I had considered the “alone” as “deserted,” which brought me to “desert”. Last year, with the statement of not being in the desert, I’ve had to reconsider different meanings.
someone hit the lotto outside Colorado