Finding Forrest Fenn 3rd Edition (July 2017)

By The Wolf

In 1988, at age fifty-eight, the eccentric millionaire and former art gallery owner, Forrest Fenn was diagnosed with kidney cancer and given a twenty percent chance to live three years. Determined not to simply go away after reluctantly accepting his fate, he carefully hatched a scheme to take his treasure and head out into the mountains north of Santa Fe to die. Against all odds, he managed to defeat the cancer and at eighty years of age he kept his promise, hid the treasure and wrote a poem describing the mystical location.
Shot down twice, this retired Vietnam War fighter pilot and self taught archeologist has learned one of life’s most important lessons; his history and special secrets are contained within the 850 year old treasure chest. He has boldly dared anyone to take up his challenge to go out and find the treasure chest.
If you have ever dreamed of treasure hunting and wondered about the mystery and intrigue; this book will bring you along with The Wolf and his wolfpack on an exciting adventure and their quest for Forrest Fenn's hidden $1 million treasure somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe.
Experience the resonating emotions of failure and triumph through each satiracle adventure with The Wolf and his mission to understand the man behind the treasure and his ultimate quest to discover Forrest Fenn's secret.

The third edition contains an updated 71 point checklist for verifying a searcher's solution plus an appendix based on The Wolf's vast search and rescue experience. He discusses treasure hunter safety and the psychological effects of gold fever which were satirically illustrated in this book.

Visit https://www.findingfenn.com/books for more information.

All revenue received through this book sale is donated to cancer research and the Terry Fox Organization.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Wolf
• Release date: Jul 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311318602

The Wolf

The Wolf is a Canadian search and rescue pilot born in Alameda, Saskatchewan with degrees in Computer Science and Economics, and a recently acquired Masters in Physics (Space Science).A cancer survivor, The Wolf wrote a book detailing his treasure hunting experiences and has pledged all revenue will be donated to cancer research through the Terry Fox Organization.

Book preview

Finding Forrest Fenn

The Wolf

Published by The Wolf

Edited by Emily Fornwald

Book Cover by Blake Freitag

Copyright 2015 - The Wolf

Visit: https://www.findingfenn.com

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. IF you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Finding Forrest Fenn

Foreword

Begin it Where…

The Thrill of the Chase

Jordan and The Wolf’s Excellent Adventure

Gina and Blake Join The Wolf Pack

Poem Before Book

Quest for the Key

The Wolf Returns

We Shall Never Surrender

My Hunt with Alex

While I Wait

What is Special?

Fenn the Architect

CE5

Do or Die

After Word

Appendix: Searcher Safety from a Search and Rescue Perspective

Foreword

In 1988, at age fifty-eight, the eccentric millionaire and former art gallery owner, Forrest Fenn was diagnosed with kidney cancer and given a twenty percent chance to live three years. Determined not to simply go away after reluctantly accepting his fate, he carefully hatched a scheme to take his treasure and head out into the mountains north of Santa Fe to die. Against all odds, he managed to defeat the cancer and at eighty years of age he kept his promise, hid the treasure and wrote a poem describing the mystical location.

Shot down twice, this retired Vietnam War fighter pilot and self taught archeologist has learned one of life’s most important lessons; his history and special secrets are contained within the 850 year old treasure chest. He has boldly dared anyone to take up his challenge to go out and find the treasure chest. Follow The Wolf and his family as they accept this challenge and experience the up and downs of the thrill of the chase…

Begin it Where…

I woke Alex up and instructed him to get dressed and confidently said, It is time to action plan B. 

Plan B, Dad?  No-no-no, not plan B! Alex desperately pleaded with disbelief.

Alex, we have no choice; it is now or never!  Everyone has a little Indiana Jones in them and now is the time to play out that fantasy! I retorted, convincingly.

Alex reluctantly stumbled out of bed and dressed. I instructed him to gather the supplies and meet me at the car. I hastily stuffed my backpack, complete with a special infrared flashlight and survival knife.  We ferociously vaulted into the car where I rocketed the engine to life and began to navigate the narrow and winding mountainside’s thinly graveled road. Under the full moonlit sky, we reached the locked green gate marked with a No Trespassing sign. I eased the car into a hidden alcove, killed the engine, and started to unload our supplies from the trunk while Alex attempted once more to talk some sense into me. He grumbled something about The Wolf and full moons and then he resorted to the, I-am-going-to-tell-Mom card to no avail. It was as if I was under some hypnotic spell and there was no turning me back.

Come hell or high water I am getting that treasure tonight! I yelled.

We began the strenuous walk up the steep, private road to the quarry and Alex asked, Where are you going? as I walked right past the quarry entrance.

I said, That’s too easy; we are going to do this Harrison Ford-style.

Alex once again shook his head with disgust, acknowledging that we were past the point of no return. I detected him grumbling faintly from behind as we trundled all the way up to portal two—the second quarry entrance that was created back in the early 1900s.  We emptied the backpacks. I anchored the rope and tossed it over the steep quarry embankment and a few seconds later I could hear it strike the quarry floor some ninety feet below.  I cracked a few infrared emitting glow sticks and tossed them over the edge. I secured my belay harness, pulled out my night-vision goggles and placed them on my head.

Where did you get those? Alex asked in dismay.

Never mind; I know some people, I said nonchalantly.

What do you mean you know some people?  What else are you not telling me Dad? Alex questioned nervously.

Not to worry son, I have this under control, I stated confidently, as I inserted my ear buds, handed him the hand-held, VHF radio and conducted a communications check.

Loud and clear, came Alex’s muffled voice over the tiny speaker.

Toss me The Staff, I instructed as I threaded my carabiner with climber’s rope, straddled the fence and faced him in the rappelling position and said, The next time you see me I will be forty-two pounds heavier!

I gave him a smirk and a wink, cued the Mission Impossible music and down I went, leaping like Spider-Man from one six-foot marble scant to another until I reached the bottom.

The Eagle has landed. I confirmed over the radio that I was secure.

Just hurry up! Alex demanded.

I clicked on my infrared flashlight and surveyed the area. I quickly located the perceptible hole and blew out the dust. I took out the crystal skull, fixed it to The Staff of Khonsu, inserted it into the hole and twisted it until it locked in place. I checked my watch — 3:42 a.m. — and waited as the moonbeam entered through the large window-like opening in the cave wall. The crystal began to glow and shot a rainbow out the of Crystal of Thoth’s left eye at a 222 degree radial across the raised ledge onto the irrefutable blaze.

Below it, in a small, partial cave-like indentation was a glint of reflected light that caught my attention. I scurried over and ducked under the rock overhang. There it was, a small wooden rectangular box with the initials FF carved on the top of it. The box was nailed shut and I picked it up and estimated its weight as that of a curling stone.  I frantically searched my backpack for my pry bar but, in my haste, I had mistakenly left it in Alex’s backpack. Anticipation was killing me. I yelled over the radio, Alex, I got it, I got it!  We’ve done it! I have the treasure and I am coming up. Alex nervously whispered back over the radio and warned me to keep my voice down. I was perplexed by his lack of enthusiasm; he certainly didn’t sound like someone who had just found $2 million. My excitement couldn't be contained any longer, so I stuffed the wooden box in my backpack and commenced my ascent to the top. Instantly, the rope went limp.

What the…?

Then I instantly felt helpless as I lost control of my balance and rapidly rotated backwards. I lost my footing and began to free fall, and time instantly slowed to a near halt as I seemingly left my body and saw myself slammed aggressively against the cavern wall as I careened like a rag doll from one rock outcrop to another. It felt like an eternity before I struck the bottom with a horrible thud. Fortunately, my backpack absorbed most of the blow, and I briefly lost consciousness.

When I regained consciousness, I could see a thin, six-inch marble shunt protruding from my left forearm. I welcomed the pain as I pulled it from my flesh, and blood spurted about a foot with every heartbeat. The pain was excruciating. I struggled to pull out an emergency compression bandage, and I winced as I jammed it into the deep wound. I hastily concocted a makeshift tourniquet from the remaining rope when I noticed that the end was cut smooth, like something had sliced right through it. I called back to Alex over the radio—no response. I desperately mustered enough strength to crawl to the edge of the escarpment and lowered myself down to the ground level. I remembered seeing an old wooden fire escape in the quarry during our tour, so I stumbled my way to portal three and began the arduous ascent.

I reached the top completely exhausted and almost passed out due to my copious blood loss, but the adrenalin kept me moving as I staggered down the hill. Alex was surprised to see me come from that direction, and then he became stupefied as he realized what had happened. I yelled, Give me the pry bar!

He placed his hand into his backpack and fumbled inside for a few seconds before handing it to me. I jammed the sharp edge into the seam of the wooden box with my good arm and Alex tore the wooden container apart. We simultaneously froze for a moment, gasping in surprise. Neither of us spoke for several seconds. I placed my hands on the eight-hundred-year-old bronze chest, carefully caressed it and then slowly opened the lid. We were speechless as the euphoric waves of endorphins pounded our brains with each heartbeat. Our jaws dropped as we viewed for the first time the gorgeously glinting … 

Suddenly, I heard the distinctive clicking sound of a pistol hammer cocking that sent shivers up my spine. I twirled around and tried to shade the beam of the flashlight that attempted to blind me.

What the …?

The Thrill of the Chase

Now I suppose you are curious as to how we got ourselves into this situation. It all was spring break, 2013, and my wife Gina and youngest son Blake arrived in New York City. The city that never sleeps has always been very special to us because Gina and I spent our honeymoon here some twenty-one years before. Blake is an Ottawa Senators fan and a goaltender for our local AA hockey team. Once a year we take in an NHL game and this year we watched the New York Rangers take a pummelling from our Ottawa Senators. The New York fan base is quite strong and there might have been only five Senators jerseys in the entire arena. A Senator’s team photographer spotted Blake and took some photos of him to add to their team website and he was invited by a security guard to watch his team enter the ice surface.

That experience alone made our trip worthwhile and that is where our guy fun stopped and the family time began. There are thousands of things to do in New York City like visit the Statue of Liberty. This Lady was a gift from France and is the tallest statue in the United States. She holds a torch in her right hand that represents a beacon of hope for the many immigrants looking for a new start from the many of the world’s troubles.

The plan that day was to visit The Today Show set. The male contingency of our party was not exactly showing the same level of enthusiasm as we did for the hockey game. I reasoned with Blake, Life is about balance and it is important to try your best to enjoy it for we do not want to ruin the moment for your mother, and you know how important she is to you!

We ate lunch near the Rockefeller Center and I noticed a particularly large family eating dinner across from us and I thought it was some sort of a family reunion. After we finished eating, I waited for Gina to return from the washroom and I noticed this sizeable family exiting the restaurant. The father was quite friendly and introduced himself as Jim Bob and asked what we were doing in New York. I explained and he handed me a signed family photograph. Apparently they were the Duggars — one of America’s largest families — who are known for the reality TV show, Nineteen Kids and Counting.

Gina returned and was unknowingly in the bathroom with the Mrs. Duggar and when I explained who they were, Gina became quite excited and said, I thought she looked very familiar! I knew I recognized her by her hair style. My wife has these special talents.

Our tour of the city was very enjoyable even though Gina became ill and we were only able to take in a couple other venues such as Spider-Man. With the many things to do in New York, visiting the Today Show set was not even close to being on my list, but I must admit it was interesting to see where and how they created the show.

The following Monday, I caught the same cold bug as Gina and was stuck recuperating on the couch. Gina insisted we watch the Today Show so we could relive our recent tour. The show began advertising some eccentric from Santa Fe, New Mexico who hid a treasure worth millions of dollars in the Rocky Mountains. From that moment, the Today Show took on a whole new interest for me and Gina was relieved that she wouldn’t have to listen to my constant whining anymore.

From the moment he spoke, I was hooked and instantly Googled the poem. It read simply enough and I always dreamed as a little boy of searching for a lost treasure. Most may think he is crazy or that he absolutely didn’t hide it or it is a publicity stunt, but it didn’t matter because he electrified my imagination and jolted my dormant sense of adventure. I was looking for a reason to spend some time with my oldest son Jordan because he enjoys fishing and I couldn’t imagine a better setting for a father-son bonding vacation.

While on the mend, I invested three intensive days of labour into solving all nine clues. I needed to wait for Jordan to book time off work, so I used that lull to search for some nearby places to hike, fish, and find back up search locations in the unlikely event that my original hunch was incorrect. By the time we were ready to depart, I had amassed ten possible interpretations or solutions, each of varying clue interpretations. I was so sure it we would succeed, I was already deciding what to do with the windfall; planning press releases, drafting a poem for Forrest, etc. I felt like I was one of The Three Stooges writing checks just because we bought a lottery ticket! 

Jordan and The Wolf’s Excellent Adventure

On the flight down, I handed Jordan Forrest’s memoir The Thrill of the Chase to read. I explained that this book summarizes Forrest Fenn’s life, but it also contains subtle hints to help us solve the clues that lie within his poem. It contains many stories about his child hood days and clearly illustrates how Forrest’s free spirit was inherent early on in his life. I passionately talked about the chapter "My War for Me," which discussed Forrest’s time as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War and how he learned one of life’s great lessons: he was no more important than anyone else; his time on earth is short, his sole purpose in life is for the serve and provide enjoyment for others.

I asked Jordan to look for things that stuck out in his mind as abstract or odd that might help us home in on Mr. Fenn’s subtle hints. Jordan singled out the childhood story about Forrest’s huge ball of string that was so large it couldn’t fit through his bedroom door and then suspiciously disappeared. When Forrest asked his mother where it went, she ignored his question and simply peered out the window looking for the postman.