It’s always exciting to chat with other avid treasure hunters! Johannes has been involved in the treasure hunting community for numerous years – as both a creator of hunts and in questing for hidden treasures of other hunts! He has gained the experience for what makes an awesome Quest and has put his knowledge to use in offering TC Treasure Hunts and, now most recently, The Ruby Hunt!
Who doesn’t want to find hidden Treasures?!
Let’s learn more about how you can!
Six Questions with Johannes:
- 1Q) First, Congrats Johannes, on your recent discovery of the hidden Treasure chest in CopperDan’s Magic Box treasure hunt! It was quite the find, and I’m sure an exciting moment for all the crew involved! Can you share more about the adventure, and how you felt upon its discovery? Is it this feeling you strive to provide others through the creation of your own hunts?
Thank you! It was an exhilarating moment for sure. I think there were a lot of things racing through all of our minds; we were ecstatic, stunned, relieved—but most of all, I think we felt gratitude.
One of the very first things we considered was the investments Dan had made in this hunt—in planning, effort, energy, and of course his own money—so we were very aware of the gap between folks’ expectations and what played out in reality; we figured there would probably be some bittersweet feelings associated with our putting such a quick end to a hunt in which so many rightly saw the incredible potential.
Of course, all that aside, we were freaking out: jumping up and down, pumping fists, screaming nonsense at the top of our lungs… we did the whole bit. It was bedlam at 1500 feet.
We actually made a short film documenting the adventure, which explains things better than I’m able to (and contains a brief cameo from Mysterious Writings!). [The video contains joyful cursing.]
Of course, one thing the footage simply can’t do justice is the experience and challenge of hiking that incredible trail surrounded by beautiful, unspoiled nature, and the gorgeous, sweeping vistas that greet you at the top. The North Shore of Lake Superior is truly a magical place, and Dan’s choice for a hiding spot was absolutely pitch perfect.
If my hunts create for others even one-tenth the feeling our team had peering into that snowy crevice up on Carlton Peak, I’d be over the moon.
- 2Q) You had started creating hunts years ago through TC Treasure. What inspired the formation of the TC Treasure Hunts and can you share a bit about those and how to get involved?
In the Twin Cities, our “big show” is the Pioneer Press Treasure Hunt, which has been an annual winter tradition in Saint Paul (and Ramsey County) since 1952. My father got me hooked on the hunt at a very young age, regaling me with tales of his exploits searching for hidden treasure in sub-zero temperatures. I would do my best to help him “noodle” the clues, and always looked forward to our pilgrimage to “the spot”—usually after the winners had been announced and the medallion’s hiding place revealed.
The Pioneer Press hunt generally matches up pretty closely with the coldest days of Minnesota’s often brutal winters. It therefore brings out some of the most avid and battle-tested treasure hunters you’ll ever meet. In the 1990s, a group of some of those most fervent followers formed a small but welcoming club called the “Cooler Crew;” shortly thereafter, they began hosting treasure hunts of their own.
In 2015, after one of the shorter “PiPress” hunts in recent memory, I decided to try my hand at cluewriting, and invited the Cooler Crew (and others) to the first “Great Twin Cities Treasure Hunt”—while also bringing the city of Minneapolis into the local treasure hunting fray, hence the name. Since then, TC Treasure has expanded to host multiple hunts per year throughout the seven-county Twin Cities metro area.
To get involved with TC Treasure, hunters can visit our website at TCTreasure.com. Registration for the Great Twin Cities Treasure Hunt is $10 and will open later this month.
- 3Q) What was your first experience in ‘treasure hunting’? What do you enjoy most about the Quest? Is it the challenge, the discovery, the comradeship, or what? What do you hope others get out of the hunts you create?
My uncle used to write treasure hunts for the kids every summer at our family’s annual reunion. I still remember the first clue I ever solved:
With frozen hands as cold as heck
He’ll wrap his arms around your neck
I knew that it hinted at a family photo of my cousins hanging from a giant snowman they’d made in their backyard. My eyes lit up, a smile crept across my face; “I know where that is,” I blurted—and off we ran to crack the next clue.
I’ve been hooked on the thrill of the chase ever since.
For me, treasure hunting ticks just about every box I can imagine; it contains elements of history, literature, science, arts, culture, nature, sporting… the list goes on and on.
It’s just the perfect, comprehensive, multidisciplinary hobby, so my hope for the hunters that engage with my hunts—whether they’re on the trail of the Great TC Treasure or in search of the Seekers’ lost rubies—is that they enjoy that same feeling of becoming more in tune with their passions while exploring the things they love about life with a sense of curiosity, wonder, and excitement.
- 4Q) I love the Prologue for The Ruby Hunt! Great background and set up for a treasure hunt adventure! Please share more on what is certainly going to be an exciting Quest for the only 3 remaining treasures of The Seekers! I can’t wait!
Thank you so much!
The RUBY HUNT is the first treasure hunt I’ve designed with a larger search area in mind, and I’m tremendously excited for folks to start working on this mystery!
The saga begins on Friday, January 15th, and you can learn more by visiting RubyHunt.us.
The hunt is free for all searchers, with clues published at RubyHunt.us/clues on the 15th of each month. Hunters who register for the hunt will receive each clue via email 12 hours before its publication while also becoming eligible for the full reward associated with each jewel!
Taken in sum and properly deciphered, the twelve clues will reveal the secret locations of the three hidden rubies; each has been hidden with instructions explaining how to claim the applicable reward.
- 5Q) How would you rate the difficulty of the hunts you create? Do you feel a new person coming into the treasure hunting community can solve the clues and find one of your treasures? Do you have any advice for those taking up the treasure hunting hobby?
The Great TC Treasure Hunt is designed to be just a bit more challenging—and get hunters thinking more creatively—than your typical local treasure hunt; it is also generally designed to be won by the first hunter(s) to correctly solve the clues and get their boots on the ground.
My goal as a cluewriter is to create hunts that are at once cryptic and familiar, complex yet forgiving, and difficult, but still accessible—and genuinely satisfying to solve.
Rookies have a history of winning nearly as many TC Treasure hunts as seasoned hunters, so I do anticipate at least one winner of the Ruby Hunt will be a first time finder—if not a “true rookie” working on their very first treasure hunt. My advice? “Seekers don’t back down.”
- 6Q) On the website of The Ruby Hunt is listed 12 Clues. Will it take all 12 clues to solve for the locations, or might the locations be deduced before the final clue?
Hmm, tough to say at this point. I think with the Copper Dan hunt we were all just reminded of that old adage “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”
And while the “Seeker” in me is still riding that hunter’s high of being on the winning team, it’s clear to the cluewriter in me that, at least with the best and most worthwhile hunts, the potential for a swift end to the contest is an unfortunate but necessary hazard of the trade. Conversely, there isn’t much fun to be had in a treasure hunt that plays it too close to the chest.
Put more succinctly: “No risk, no reward.”