The Golden CD has been found! Congrats to Elyse and Brian who teamed up, worked together, and found the treasure hidden by BornTalent! I love their incredible story on how it went down. You have it all! The excitement of researching, the ‘aha moments’ on solving clues, the obstacles of retrieving a treasure on the ground, the disappointment of not first succeeding, and then the grand finale of FINDING THE GOLDEN CD!
What is awesome, BornTalent is continuing the hunt for those who want to experience much the same! Sure, there might not be the $2,000 grand prize at the end (that has been rewarded), but it isn’t always about the ‘cash’. The journey, satisfaction, excitement, and feeling of accomplishment in solving a hunt is often just as powerfully felt and part of the ‘treasure’!
So even though the complete details of the discovery are not revealed (yet), Elyse and Brian share enough details for us to realize this was an Excellent Hunt! And one we can share in too! Who might discover the GoldenCD location next? (More details on that here)
Thanks so much to Elyse, Brian, and BornTalent for leaving us with this next adventure! And to quickly say, BornTalent is planning another hunt, The Music Box! Horray!….. But, first, let’s learn more about finding the Golden CD treasure from Elyse and Brian! Congrats to them! Enjoy!
Six Questions with Elyse and Brian:
- 1Q) First Congrats! What inspired you to take up The Golden CD treasure hunt Challenge? Had you worked on other hunts before?
Elyse: Thank you Jenny. Honestly, I feel like you’ve taught me everything I know! I’ve always loved puzzles and riddles. I was even into cryptograms in elementary school, but I never jumped into armchair hunting until I discovered MW and downloaded the Sacred Scarab. I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew that I loved it.
Intro to Codes & Ciphers was a game-changer; it’s my go-to textbook/life manual now. My burning question for you is, how are you’re not solving every single hunt out there?! I mean, when I approach a new hunt, the very first thing I do is ask myself WWJD? (the J obviously stands for Jenny). Last year, I joined the MW forum and actively participated in the Digital Buried Treasure $1000 Hunt. I began to pick up some smaller hunts and found that I was able to crack more puzzles as my skills improved. I came in 2nd place on DBT Mini Hunt #3 and ended up solving DBT Mini Hunt #4. I ordered the Golden CD as soon as it came out, but I was in the middle of moving and didn’t pick it up again until recently.
- 2Q) Can you share the thought process of how you worked through the clues and how you put things together to be confident of a solution? Did the clues take you to an exact spot?
Elyse: There was just something about the lyrics where the locations seemed familiar right off the bat. I transcribed the CD’s lyrics myself, which took several hours. It was slow-going, but the pace allowed me to digest the words at a deeper level than if I’d just read them. From there, it all came together quickly. The thing about this hunt, is that if you were on the right track you would absolutely, irrefutably KNOW IT.
I recognized some references from personal experience. Tracking the lyrics on Google Maps/Street View led from one giant “aha!” moment to another. This all happened in a matter of hours; it was absolutely bonkers. I had been messaging Captnkush about it, and he basically witnessed me solve the hunt in real time. I blasted through Song 3 (On the Way). When I thought I had the correct starting point of Song 4 (Finally Here), I started focusing on areas that would be accessible by foot, and with some good search bar choices, I stumbled into specific lyric locations where the wordplay made sense. As one thing after another fell into place, I sat there stunned, realizing I had just reached the end point of a major hunt within a few hours, waaay before I’d anticipated. I obviously wasn’t there in person (spoiler alert, the Golden CD is not in California) and that’s the part that ended up being the most challenging.
This is where my longtime friend Brian comes into the story. I think it went something like, “Hey Brian, do you still have your car? Would you be interested in helping me go get this CD for some cash?” Well, I missed something important the first time Brian drove 45+ minutes, then hiked into hot, buggy woods solely on my gut feeling. Fortunately, he was unfazed by an unsuccessful treasure grab, and we realized by being BOTG, he would be responsible for interpreting the final verse/s of the hunt. For round two we decided to split the prize and worked together to comb through the lyrics (with even more “aha!” confirmations) before Brian hit the road again one week later.
Brian: I had never even dreamed of doing such a thing, but I’ve always loved logic puzzles, hardcore escape rooms, etc., so when Elyse wrote and asked if I’d be willing to take a little road trip, I was deeply into it. Also, all my work for the next six months had been cancelled due to the pandemic, so I had both time and a need for some additional income. 🙂 She sent me maps and the lyrics, along with her thoughts on what clues meant what, and she’d seemed to have pinpointed a very specific area and a landmark that seemed to be the place. I made the rookie mistake of a) parking where I was told, and b) making a direct beeline for what seemed to be the spot. After poking around for a while, it became evident that the Golden CD wasn’t there, despite being in what seemed to be the space, so once my cell service came back, I sent Elyse photos of where I’d been, just in case it had gotten picked up by someone who didn’t know what they’d found, and had to head home. And shower for about an hour.
- 3Q) Only a few get to experience the Thrill of finding treasure! Can you share some of those feelings with us? Had you ever thought of giving up? Was it worth the effort of the Discovery?
Elyse: I was so nervous during our second attempt; it was definitely a ‘now or never’ situation. I played the part of mission control, texting Brian as he visually confirmed each lyric with a photo. Once we reached the end of the verse, we were in a different location than our first attempt and things were looking positive. Brian worked out the final steps on his own and called me via video chat, poor reception and all, ecstatically clinging to some rocky mass that seemed precarious at best. He described what he’d found during the last 15 minutes of radio silence and ripped away a layer of duct tape to reveal a dark opening.
Inside, there was a box marked with TGCD. We both freaked out. It was an amazing feeling of accomplishment, especially since I was still feeling guilty (mostly for making Brian go hiking) from the first attempt. Since this hunt came together so quickly, I was never frustrated or considered giving up. In general, I think persistence is the quality that will win the majority of armchair hunts. I’m the kind of person who never gives up. As far as effort, it was Brian who had to hike miles, twice, through hot, muggy weather and swarms of bugs. I was just perched on my couch, yelling at him to stick his hands into areas where he most certainly shouldn’t have!
Brian: I was so disheartened during the first attempt, because it seemed like all the clues were pointing to the exact spot we’d predetermined, and I just knew there was something that I must have missed along the way. I couldn’t imagine that the clues that had been so evident might be pointing to another area that wasn’t as clearly labeled on the map, so for attempt #2, Elyse found another way into the area that involved [edited by Elyse for spoiler content].
Instead of trying to get to a predetermined location, I was just letting BT guide me, using all the guideposts Elyse had worked out. It all just checked out, and I knew I was close. I saw what I thought was the same area I’d been in before, just coming from a different direction, but when I arrived, I realized that it was a totally different spot with similar landmarks. I just knew we were in the right place, and then [edited by Elyse for spoiler content] and instantly called Elyse with the one bar of service I had…she started trying to work out a potential clue, and I reversed the camera and pulled the tape away, and we both lost our minds.
- 4Q) Besides claiming the treasure, what did you like most about The Golden CD treasure hunt? Did you enjoy the style of clues contained in a musical CD?
Elyse: I loved the concept, and I am SO EXCITED to hear that Born Talent is working on a new hunt, The Music Box! I most enjoyed breaking down the double — and sometimes triple — meanings behind his lyrics. I think it’s even more challenging if you have to transcribe the lyrics yourself. I think BT has something quite unique going on, and when folks find out how deep and specifically instructional the Golden CD verses are, they’ll be impressed. I hope he can take his future hunts virtual, so more people can get involved.
Brian: I thought the concept was so clever, and being a musician myself, I loved the skill it took to not only create an incredibly complex guide, but to make it rhyme.
- 5Q) What did you like least about the hunt? What part was the most challenging?
Elyse: I don’t think there’s anything I liked “least” except the fact that I wasn’t personally able to go BOTG due to the pandemic. The most challenging part was having to call on a friend for a ‘favor’ who had no experience or previous interest in armchair treasure hunts. I felt awful when Brian came up empty-handed on his first trip; I was absolutely convinced I knew the final location. I was also worried that he’d get poison ivy or dengue fever, or maybe even fall down a canyon and die of exposure and it would all be my fault! After our first attempt came up short, Brian and I had to seriously collaborate. I already had my game brain on, but Brian had to change the way he was approaching the hunt (i.e. going to a spot on a map where I told him to look) and actually study the lyrics, knowing that discovering the final location depended on his ability to interpret the directions woven into the lyrics. Another obstacle was the lack of cell phone reception in this location. So, I’d hear from Brian and then he’d just cut out for a while as he was navigating the terrain.
Brian: The hunt itself was actually incredibly fun…I feel like I got to slide in at the end after most of the work was done, but the actual physical search, especially on the first attempt, was challenging. I couldn’t be sure if I was just not looking hard enough, or if I should be digging through some dangerous-ish materials to find it. Also, hikes in mid-summer in a face mask can get pretty toasty. But once we were in the right spot it was incredibly satisfying. And I got some ice cream on the way home.
- 6Q) Now that this is solved, and treasure claimed! (congrats again), do you plan on working on others? Would you recommend new people to get involved in this exciting hobby of Armchair Treasure Hunting?
Elyse: Jenny, I’m ready to dive in all the way. As long as I’m able to dedicate the time, (and for now I have plenty of time) I’m pretending that I’m in the MW version of The Amazing Race and I’m taking on ALL of the hunts — going down the entire ‘unsolved’ list one after another. I’m focusing on the newer hunts first, just because with time as a factor it’s more of an even playing field, but eventually I’d like to attempt the ‘classics.’ Brian was sort of dragged into treasure hunting because he lived in the right place, had a car, and is a good enough friend to think “there’s a hidden treasure and I totally know where it is” is a good enough reason to take a road trip, but I sincerely hope he developed a taste for it. In my experience, I’ve found it difficult to inspire friends to get involved, but I think there’s a great community on the MW forum and I look forward to tackling future hunts with the folks there.
BornTalent describing the continuing adventure for The Golden CD: