Unbelievable - real buried treasure, yours for the taking...

Hello my fellow geocachers. 

I have a few questions for you:

1. How good are you without your precious GPS?

2. Can you solve clues to find a REAL life treasure?

While we all love the sport that geocaching is, I have a special challenge for those of you who can take it up... 

How about a real life Treasure Hunt where the prize is real treasure (gold, jewelry, gems, etc.) instead of the usual McDonalds Happy Meal toys?

The value of the treasure in this article is claimed to be anywhere between $1 and $4 Million!!

There’s a big catch though – you will need to find this treasure by solving clues and will not have the exact coordinates for any location given. You will need to feel your way around. But the prize is big – over a Million Dollars big. 

Intrigued? Read on....

Forrest Fenn's Hidden Treasure

Forrest Fenn, a Santa Fe antiquities dealer, who was heavily influenced by lost treasure books he read as a boy, was diagnosed with cancer in 1988. After a long bout of cancer treatments, the doctors told him the cancer could return. 

During his illness, he came up with the idea to fill a bronze chest full of treasure for anyone to go find. He is rumoured to have filled the chest with "treasure" including gold coins,  nuggets, rare coins, jewelry, a Spanish 17th century gold-and-emerald ring and an important bracelet with turquoise beads excavated in 1898 from Mesa Verde, along with a jar holding his autobiography.  He also added some hair he pulled off his head and added it to the jar with his autobiography for scientists to make DNA, Carbon-12 and other tests to learn more about him.

Fenn admitted that the treasure is hidden somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe, higher than 5,000 feet above sea level, it's not in Nevada, Idaho, Utah or Canada, and it's hidden over 300 miles west of Toledo, Ohio.

He wrote a book, Too Far to Walk, which includes a pullout map, which he said shows the area in which the treasure is hidden, but without the usual “X marks the spot”.
Note: This is an affiliate link - it won't cost you anything but I would receive a small commission if you buy through this link. If you prefer not to use this link, please search amazon.com directly for this book.

There might not be an X marking the treasure's location, but the two-page map, made especially for Fenn's book, includes the 24-line poem with clues to the treasure's location.

The poem was originally published in Fenn's memoir, The Thrill of the Chase, which went viral and sold on eBay for $400.

The treasure has not yet been found. Fenn said, "It's difficult so it won't be found right away, but it's easy enough so that it's not impossible to find it." 

Clues 

This poem written by Forrest Fenn contains nine clues that if followed precisely (as claimed by him), will lead to the end of his rainbow and the treasure. 

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.

From there it's no place for the meek,

The end is ever drawing nigh;

There'll be no paddle up your creek,

Just heavy loads and water high.

If you've been wise and found the blaze,

Look quickly down, your quest to cease,

But tarry scant with marvel gaze,

Just take the chest and go in peace.

So why is it that I must go

And leave my trove for all to seek?

The answer I already know,

I've done it tired, and now I'm weak.

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.

Fenn also provided these additional four clues later::

Clue #10

The treasure is hidden higher than 5,000 feet above sea level.

Clue #11

No need to dig up the old outhouses, the treasure is not associated with any structure.

Clue #12

The treasure is not in a graveyard

Clue #13

The treasure is not hidden in Idaho or Utah

Can you be the one to solve this mystery? Are your geocaching skills good enough - even without your GPS and cache location? Can you solve his clues and prove yourself worth of the million+ dollar treasure?