Don't Let Adventure Pass You By

When I was a sophomore in high school, I stumbled across a bizarre news story while surfing the internet one day. Forrest Fenn, an eccentric art dealer living in Santa Fe, announced that he had hidden a multi-million dollar treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Fenn was diagnosed with cancer in 1988, and he believed that he had little time left on this earth. Inspired to leave a legacy smothered in adventure and enigma, he loaded up an antique chest with gold and precious jewels. He then smuggled the considerable fortune away deep into the wilderness.

In Fenn's memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, he penned a poem, and within it, several clues to the treasure's location. A clever reader, he claimed, would be able to solve the puzzle and claim the reward for themselves. Here are the first couple of stanzas:

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.

Begin it where warm waters halt

And take it in the canyon down,

Not far, but too far to walk.

Put in below the home of Brown.

You can imagine the adrenaline shot this story gave to a teenage writer and adventure junkie like me. A sharp, clever, game-loving millionaire? Hidden treasure? A mystery embedded within poetry? This was the Westing Game, Ready Player One, and Indiana Jones all wrapped up into one. The problem was that I was still a teenage kid with no money. I also had little experience in hiking, mountaineering, or treasure hunting, for that matter. So much of the adventuring in my youth was done vicariously through books, movies, and video games.

After graduating high school, I went on my own way into the world. While living out my regular old life, I had always kept a small piece of mind dedicated to maybe one day taking a stab at going rogue and becoming a sort of pirate of the American West. I pictured myself trekking out to the Rockies and hunting for buried jewels in the vast wilderness, scouring Fenn's poem for clues and clashing with rival fortune-seekers. For years, chasing after the mysterious treasure of Forrest Fenn became a pleasant daydream for me.

However, as the years went by, the thrill of the chase waned in my mind, giving way to worries about college, work, and family. Eventually, I had all but forgotten about Fenn's high-stakes gambit. Life had gotten too busy for me to daydream about poems and riddles and gold beyond my wildest imagination. That treasure would probably never be found, anyway.

Except it was. Two years ago. I found out about it last night.

Twelve years after I'd read about the Forrest Fenn treasure hunt, I found myself once again surfing the internet late into the night on New Year's Day. I stumbled across an article that made my eyes bulge out of their sockets: In 2020, a 32-year-old college medical student and hobbyist treasure hunter found Fenn's treasure buried somewhere in Wyoming. A passionate amateur had solved the decade-old mystery that had occupied the adventurous side of my brain for years!

I went down a rabbit hole catching up on all the news on the treasure. What I found absolutely floored me. Forrest Fenn had actually survived to meet the person who discovered his fortune. There is so much more to the story, but I can't do it justice here. More of the tale is detailed in Daniel Barbarisi's novel Chasing the Thrill. I'll leave a link to an article he wrote below.

Last night, while I read about the discovery, I couldn't help but feel like I'd somehow missed out on something grand. I realize that I likely wasn't the one guy in America who might have had the right stuff to solve the riddle and become an overnight millionaire. My chances probably wouldn't have been any better than anyone else's, if I'm honest with myself. After some research, I learned that more than five people died throughout the 2010s in their efforts to uncover the mystery. I know my reckless self pretty well. In hunting for Fenn's treasure, I likely would have ended up sniffing around in places that I shouldn't have. The odds are very high that I'd have gotten into deep, deep trouble.

Still, twelve years passed, and I never even took my shot! I'd all but forgotten about the treasure, yet when I found out that some other dude got to it first, I was so disappointed in myself for sleeping on the opportunity. I bungled a once-in-a-lifetime chance for adventure. I don't have many regrets in life, but I wish I could at least say that I was one of those crazy guys who hunted for Forrest Fenn's treasure...at least once

Seeing as I discovered this story in the New Year of 2023, I made myself a vow. I am going to keep my eye out for eccentric millionaires in the world who publically challenge the world to find their buried treasure. In the 1 in a million odds that these very specific circumstances occur, I promise that I will AT LEAST throw my hat in the ring.

More importantly, I vow this: In every journey that I embark on this year --as a teacher, as a coach, as a writer -- I will not allow the doors of lifetime opportunities to slam in my face. I will take risks. I will be bold. And I will not let adventure pass me by.

Happy New Year!

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*Read more about the history of the Forrest Fenn treasure here!

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