Forrest Fenn - The Scribbler

Back in 2015, Forrest sent out arrowheads and portions of a mammoth's tusk to treasure searchers who would send him a self address, stamped, padded envelope. I was lucky enough to get both. I even made a nice display for the mammoth tusk based on the scrapbook post I saw on Dal's site. It's still hanging in my living room. 

Like many others, I also received a short handwritten note from Forrest. On each note I noticed a little scribble under the first letter of my name. At first I thought it was just one of those scribbles we all do to get the ink flowing from the pen. But then I noticed the scribbles were strikingly similar. They seemed to have structure or purpose. Of course, after a solid two years of being on the Chase, everything was a clue. I take that back. Everything was a hint. There were only nine clues. That's something else I had learned after two years of following the discussions.

Anyway, gold fever had led me to develop SchizoFennia (skit-suh-fe-nee-uh:  a serious mental disorder in which people interpret reality abnormally as a result of searching for Forrest Fenn's treasure. SchizoFennia may result in some combination of hallucinations, delusions, and extremely disordered thinking and behavior that causes one to interpret anything Forrest Fenn says, writes or does as potential hints or clues that point to the location of his treasure).

And so, I thought Forrest was trying to tell me something. The scribbles must have been some sort of code, some sort of direction, some sort of HINT. I did all sorts of research. I even looked for Native American symbols that might have a similar look. Sure enough, I found one (kind of): water. Well, that would be related to my solve so I made it fit. Needless to say I was pretty excited to have such an inside track to the treasure. 

In early 2017, Dal posted Forrest Gets Mail 15. I've shared the image here for reference. "Obviously," this mail was a creation of Forrest. The "email" was in composition mode. Forrest was trying to send a message, I thought. It was often debated in the blogosphere whether Forrest was trying to send messages to those who knew what to look for. Well, in my SchizoFennia, I received this one. As I looked at this image on Dal's site, I saw the scribble again. But this time, it was in the form of a creek. And in the creek was a rock. And on the rock was an X. It just doesn't get much more exciting than this! I mean just look at the shape of the scribbles again. And then look at that creek. They have the same number of bendy points. It must be intentional, right?  

Anyway, time went by. I went out West and did a couple more searches.

We had a great time exploring and seeing the sights. I would do my searches every morning from 4am to about 7am. Because I had to. But that's another story. I came home empty-handed, but full-hearted. Such grand adventures and great memories for the whole family. I settled into a bit of complacency. Gold fever was gone. It only took about 5 years for my perspective to shift. There were times, though, when the Scribbler would reappear. Someone posted this photo of Forrest signing a copy of his book. I found the X interesting because the whole arrangement was similar to the "Forrest Gets Mail" post. So it got me thinking. 

On my last trip searching for the treasure in 2019, before it was found, I tried to get a new perspective of my search area. Imagine my surprise when I looked at my search area from above and saw this: a little bendy creek with a rock that had an X on the top.

Now that the veil has lowered a bit, searchers have begun to share their stories and their coincidences a bit more openly. Some of us have even started coming to terms with our SchizoFennia. So I was wondering, who else has that mysterious little scribble in a note from Forrest? What do you think it means? Why does he do it? I think maybe that might be the question I'd submit if there's ever another six questions or featured question. 😉

Q & A

Sometimes I get mail from searchers who ask some pretty inquisitively good questions. Here are some examples:

Q: I'm reading your book (Kindle version) and I want to ask if the page numbers mean anything - the reason I ask is that the Kindle doesn't really have page numbers, so I would be missing something if they were important...

My answer: Page numbers are irrelevant and not important.


Q: You narrowed down the search area in one your blog posts. Would you be willing to narrow it down even more? I mean the prize really isn't that big to be searching such a large area.

My answer: I've got to hand it to you for asking. Yes, I'd be willing to narrow it down even more.


Q: Forrest Fenn has said that you have to follow his clues in order and that you probably won't be able to solve past the first couple by using just a map and the poem. Are you willing to say anything similar about your clues?

My answer: Unlike Forrest Fenn's poem, mine has to be "fixed" first, but after that the concept is the same in my view. I'm not sure if I fully agree with the second part of your paraphrasing.


Q: Are you sure the "chest" is still there?

My answer: As I respond to this question...no, I'm not sure. But I will be sure within the next 30 days.



If you have questions you can send them to me via my gmail address... readandseekadventures.

Look What I Found

Searchers for Forrest Fenn's treasure might see a few interesting things in this photo.

As a refresher, take a look at the last stanza from his poem:

So hear me all and listen good,
Your effort will be worth the cold.
If you are brave and in the wood
I give you title to the gold.

We've all seen the "brave" and "wood" discussions. But a "brave" made of "wood" eating ice cream which might be... "worth the cold"?

Hmmm....

Reflections

In March 2013 I learned about Forrest Fenn’s hidden treasure thanks to the Yahoo homepage. It was all a lucky coincidence, however, because that was the default homepage on my Internet Explorer browser and I never use that browser.  I needed to use Internet Explorer for a specific website I was visiting - a site likely built in the 1990s and not updated since. So I popped open the browser and there was a box of gold staring me in the face. 

I read the article, did a little internet searching and in 30 minutes or so I figured I might actually have a chance at finding this thing. That was four years ago today. Some people don’t believe in coincidences. I might not either. 

As I'm about to embark on what may be my last search, I'm reflecting on some of the many things I've learned along the way. 

Inspired by the Chase and Forrest Fenn:

A quest never ceases. It just changes direction.

The end of the rainbow isn’t always the end.

There are some places where you should never go alone, unless you ought to.

If you look too quickly down, you’ll be staring at your feet.

Tomorrow never comes. It’s always today.

Clues are not hints and hints are not clues. And neither will get you very far if you don’t know where you’re going.

If you start at the beginning you’ll likely get lost.

Weather in the mountains can change on a dime.

A blaze is a blaze unless it’s not there.

Attributed to Forrest Fenn:

It is fun to arrange words in such a way that you have to smile at the end of a sentence.

Autobiographers always lean toward the subject.

It is important that I drink a martini at least once a year so I can continue to remember why I don’t like them.

All that I could remember was that I was not supposed to forget something.

He was so busy talking he didn’t hear what I was saying.

One should not let knowing a little bit be a substitute for learning more.

Life has been a rough draft of the place just ahead where the past will come alive again.

Each artifact that is not recovered is a book that will not be read.

Sitting quietly can bring many smiling rewards.

How do you know where the edge is, if you don’t go out there and look?

Having enough money is much better than having a lot of money, because casual cash propagates idle fingers.

Gaining experience isn’t always peaceful.

An interesting phenomena of homo sapiens as a species is that they will find a way to argue a point even when none exists.

(This is something Forrest wrote for Eric Sloane)

Mighty oaks from little acorns slowly grow

Then finally fall and wisp to naught,

But those who plant a seed of words

Live on in groves of human thought.

Sometimes principle is reason enough to abandon logic.

Stay in your job only if you love it.

Get out in the mountains and turn a log over to see what’s there.

Avoid those things that distract you from your self-esteem.

The key word is contentment. If you can find it, everything else has already fallen in place.

Fenn Favorites

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”~ Yogi Berra

When his wife asked him to change his clothes to meet the German Ambassador he said, “ If they want to see me, here I am. If they want to see my clothes, open my closet and show them my suits.” ~ Albert Einstein

“A hero is someone who can keep his mouth shut when he’s right” ~ Yiddish Proverb

“Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school” ~ Albert Einstein

“Intellectuals solve problems: geniuses prevent them.” ~ Albert Einstein

T. S. Eliot said:

We shall not cease from our exploration

And at the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time

Dal Neitzel's website

On September 25, Dal Neitzel featured my book on his website. If you're not an avid Forrest Fenn treasure searcher, you'll want to check out Dal's website. As I've mentioned before, the whole Read and Seek adventure has been inspired by Forrest Fenn and The Thrill of the Chase. My poem, in a sense, is an homage to Forrest Fenn. So go to Dal's website, poke around and see what others are saying about Forrest's poem. You may gain some insight into my poem.

Here's the write up I did for Dal's site:

When I first joined the Chase in March 2013, I thought I had a good chance of deciphering the poem and boosting my retirement fund. Well, more than two years later and after a dozen trips into the mountains North of Santa Fe, I still think I have a good chance of deciphering the poem. The problem is I ran out of ideas. I was content with my solve. Every part of the poem fit together like a puzzle for me. Scrapbooks and interviews only reinforced my interpretation. I searched the same area every time I went out and I couldn't let it go. I suspect this might sound familiar.

So I decided to take another approach. In order to try to get into Forrest's mindset as to what would make a good hidey spot and yet be a retrievable location, I decided to try to replicate what he did. I figured that if I had a place, a poem and a book wherein I could sprinkle clues (er uh hints), I might be able to circle back and figure out where I went wrong with my solution to Forrest's poem from the experience I gained by going through the exercise myself.

The result is my "memoir" which is called "Seek and Ye Shall Find" with the subtitle "A Read and Seek Adventure". The subtitle came later. Initially I started this as a one-off experiment. However, the exercise turned out to be so much fun that if it's even moderately successful, I think I'll do it again with another "Read and Seek Adventure".

There's a poem at the end of my book that needs to be deciphered in order to find the cache I've hidden. I tried to keep the same feel, using some of the same words that Forrest used. The context may be different and the usage may be different, but again, it's my attempt to approach solving his poem from another direction. It's my attempt to put on the shoes (slippers?) of the architect to see if any light bulbs get illuminated.

While my "treasure" isn't worth a million dollars, its value will keep growing until it's found. The main prize is Amazon gift cards that I'm earning using various loyalty and rewards programs. Right now the pot is worth a bit more than $300. The cache contains a dollar bill that must be returned to me as proof that you've solved the clues. Once you've returned the dollar bill to me, you'll receive the posted value of the gift cards.

The cache also contains a few other prizes: an ancient Greek coin (from 350-300 BC), a Roman ring that could be 1700 years old, twenty steel pennies from 1943, a pair of earrings donated specifically for this adventure by Dominique Moceanu (Olympic gold-medalist) and more.

I should also mention that there are two versions of the book available: a full color version and a black and white version. I initially intended the book to be full color because I included a number of photographs from my life and travels that I feel are most enjoyed in color. But when I was done and saw the printing costs I realized nobody would ever buy it. So I created a black and white version to help get the retail down. Other than the color there's no difference between the two.

I began working on this adventure in January and now I'm excited to say that all the parts are in place! My cache is hidden and my book has been published. Somewhere in the Midwest north of Hell (but south of Paradise) my "geocache" is hidden. Maybe you can find it.

You can learn more and buy the book (through createspace or Amazon) here:
http://www.readandseek.com/p/buy-book.html

If you're interested in the color version, you can use code 2LP52X2T [no longer valid] to receive 15% off (if purchased through createspace). But again, the black and white version is exactly the same as the color version and about half the price.

Finally, I think this is another great example of the positive impact that Forrest, the Chase and Dal's website have made on countless lives. Had I not been involved in the Chase, I would have never thought about doing this. If no one ever buys this book, I've already been rewarded enough by watching my kids read through it and ask all sorts of questions about my childhood and growing up. And I feel I've also gained valuable insight into Forrest's poem. There's sure to be another trip into the mountains in the near future!

Thanks for taking the time to read and good luck in the Chase!

-MartinS