How is Forrest Fenn’s Treasure Chest Thought to be Hidden?

With lots of people searching ‘Boots on the Ground’ for the Forrest Fenn Treasure Chest, you might wonder in what ways they expect to find the treasure chest?  In a crevice, on a high ledge, or buried deep?

Searchers know they have to first follow the nine clues in Forrest’s Poem. These clues will lead a searcher to the precise location of not necessarily the buried treasure, but his hidden treasure.  Forrest has been very adamant about never saying it is ‘buried’.  He is known to have said numerous times;

“I have never said I buried the treasure so please don’t say that. I hid the treasure, but that does not mean it is not buried.”

He has further explained:

“If you look the word burial up in the dictionary, it talks about sepulchering, about entombing, and there’s all kind of definitions.  Quite frankly, it’s very confusing.  So I don’t want to answer the question whether the treasure chest is buried or not.  Let me give you an example: if I laid the treasure chest on top of the ground, and some weeds blew in there and covered it up, now is it buried or isn’t it?  Is it sepulchered?  Is it entombed. So, it’s best not to go there I think.  The clues will lead you the treasure and whether it’s buried or not, you can find it if you find the blaze as a result of starting with the first clue.  That’s what you have to do.”

So whether buried or not, following the clues will take you to the spot. But at that spot, how is the chest hidden? Below are some ways searchers feel the Treasure Chest will be found once on location.

It seems the number one way searchers feel the treasure chest will be found is in a similar manner that Forrest describes an item was hidden in his Too Far To Walk book. Section 40, of TFTW, titled Charmay and Me, has Forrest describing a special cavity with hidden items under a capstone.  It is believed by many that the treasure chest will be hidden under the surface in this way.

Forrest describes this ‘special place’ in both Too Far to Walk and in his other book, The Secrets of San Lazaro Pueblo.  Here is a summary of his discovery from the books:

“It was about noon on a cold winter day in 1989 when Charmay and I were completing the final work in a room………because the wind was brisk, we decided to have our soup and sandwich there in the room where no one had eaten in more than 500 years.  It was a rewarding moment………….While sitting on the floor and leaning against the south wall, I placed my cup of hot soup on the round piece of flagstone.  It sounded a little empty and different from what I had subconsciously expected….…………..  I carefully removed the five broken pieces of flagstone, one at a time……to our astonishment, we discovered a black, plain-ware jar that had been buried up to its rim under the floor.  Inside the jar rested a rectangular, painted bowl, and both of them contained corn kernels…….”

The following image, which was included in both books, demonstrates how the jar was hidden.

While it is hidden, and under the surface, it isn’t necessarily buried. Is this why Forrest continues to say, ‘it isn’t buried’? Technically, it isn’t. But it is definitely not going to be accidentally happened upon.

Further support for this method is found in the first MW Six Questions.  Forrest says, ‘get out in the mountains and turn a log over to see what’s there’.  In the above method, we possibly turn over a flat stone (instead of a log), pinpointed by the Blaze, to find the treasure.

However, not all agree that is how the treasure chest will be found.  For reason of the above comment, others feel the chest will be found under a log.  Possibly a petrified piece of wood. However, even this way would be similar to the above. The chest would be buried/hidden under the surface, with a log overtop as a cover.

Still others feel it might just be secreted under a tree.

The main reason searchers think this is because of the following Featured Questions posted on MW. They were:

Q) Mr. Fenn, Yogi Berra was asked by his wife, “Yogi, if you die before me where do you want to be buried? Montclair, New York or St. Louis?” He is known to have answered, “surprise me”.   So if Peggy comes up to you and asks, “Forrest, if you die before me where do you want to be buried?”  What would your answer be?”   ~Joe

A) Joe, thanks for the question. I have no desire to be buried in a box. It’s too dark and cold for me, and too lasting. I would rather go into the silent mountains on a warm sunny day, sit under a tree where the air is fresh and the smell of nature is all around, and let my body slowly decay into the soil. What can be better than that? f

The above, along with Forrest commenting in the FQ below, that he still wants to die with the chest, suggests it might be just under a tree.

Q) Is the chest hidden in the (exact) same spot that you would like your bones to be found, or is it a short distance away for reasons beyond your control? ~ Phil

A) The spot is the same, but in less than two months I’ll be 84 and that means many of the things to which I once aspired are no longer available to me. I still anticipate, but I may be unable to grasp such a transient pleasure before my trail shows signs of growing too weary for the journey. To make that success would be the boldest move I ever made and to that end I just want it all the more.f

Other top ways the treasure chest is thought to be hidden is buried under a Carin, hidden in a rock crevice or overhang, behind a waterfall, up on a ledge out of normal view, or deeply buried with the Blaze being the only thing marking it.

One thing is certain though, if you follow the nine clues correctly, there shouldn’t be any trouble in finding the treasure chest or knowing where it is.

Forrest said in Scrapbook 78:

“I have not said that a searcher was closer than 12 feet from the treasure. It is not likely that anyone would get that close and not find it”. 

He’s also said in another MW FQ:

Q) Mr. Fenn: How far is the chest located from the blaze? ~ casey

A) Casey, I did not take the measurement, but logic tells me that if you don’t know where the blaze is it really doesn’t matter. If you can find the blaze though, the answer to your question will be obvious. Does that help?f

And remember, at the spot Forrest said the following:

“If I was standing where the treasure chest is, I would see trees, I’d see mountains, I’d see animals, I’d smell wonderful smells of pine needles or Pinon nuts, sagebrush, and I know the treasure chest is wet.”….

Best of luck with all that you seek!  Always Treasure the Adventure!

A printed compilation of all the Forrest Fenn Material shared on this website, MysteriousWritings, is found in the book, Armchair Treasure Hunts: The Quest for Hidden Treasures.  This informative book can be found here – a signed copy.

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