In a previous Six Questions with Kevin Cramer, we learned taking down the Outlaw Cache of the H Charles Beil Treasure Hunts was a group effort! Below is a Six Q from another of the Team, Brett McClinton. It’s always great to hear ‘Found Treasure’ Stories……as they inspire all of us on the Quest that is possible! Thanks for sharing! Enjoy!

Six Questions with Brett:

  • 1Q) When did you first hear about the Outlaw Cache and begin searching?

I guess it was about 2 years ago Kevin approached me about the Outlaw Cache.

  • 2Q) What inspired you to decide it was the Outlaw Cache you and your gang would take down?

Well, it was initially Kevin’s baby, but it really became a fun group activity.

  • 3Q) Can you share the clues that took you to that location? And was it an X marks the exact spot, or a more general area that the clues led you to?

Well, the reason Kevin approached me in the beginning was the map.  I have been into map reading and orienteering for aa long time and am finishing up a GIS degree at SRU right now.  It wasn’t exactly an “X” unless you think of it more like solving for X.  Given the map and the clues, it was some mathematics and measuring that at least got our boots on the ground at Wistar.  From there it was just pounding the clues in our heads and having a lot of group discussions on their interpretation.  Matter of fact, I don’t know if we ever figured out the “key”. LOL

  • 4Q) What did you enjoy most about the search? And while searching the location, did you find any other unique items?

We found a lot of the things you’d expect to find like forged nails and hardware, parts of a woodstove etc.  I have to say Ray gets the prize for coolest find by pulling up a 150 lb. furnace or coke oven door.

  • 5Q) What did you enjoy least about the search?

Aside from getting up at 3 in the morning every time we took a trip up there to search, I would put the elevation change at the top of the list.  The old grade where the ore carts went up and down the mountain.  The benchmark on the railroad bridge crossing Wistar Run reads 735 feet and the old narrow gauge railbed you climb to sits at about 1500 feet.  That means about 800 feet in about 1/2 mile.  To put that in perspective, you gain about a foot for every step you take.  The climb was the hardest part.

  • 6Q) Since this Cache is found, is there another cache or hunt you have your sights? As a finder of one of H’s hidden TreasureMan Caches, do you have advice on how to go about finding them?

Advice? form a team, several heads are waaaay better than one, and the more detectors you have working an area the odds go up. Oh, and don’t tell anyone what you’re up to. LOL

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