Post by sadcom on Apr 18, 2018 18:08:39 GMT -5
Curiosity killed the cat. The fabled "blaze" is an old fireplace in the woods.
April 17, 2018
In order to understand the material, that I am posting, you need to read the introduction to my search:
forum.hintofriches.com/forum...to-home-part-i
, then the analytics here: forum.hintofriches.com/forum...ial-expression (the 1st TOTC poem is on page 2)
It will give you the understanding of how I arrived at the clues and the first BOTG search that I have done on March 12-13th. There are photographs and quotes in those posts that I will not repeat here. The 2nd TTC poem is published here: forum.hintofriches.com/forum...ues-a-new-poem
There are also youTube flicks posted here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV5O...FeF03r7hEC0ulE with more to come from this trip.
After the 1st search, I spent about a month fighting my confirmation bias, reading what other searchers post and challenging the status quo. After the Eureka moment, I realized that the first 5 solves were, indeed, correct. The Eureka is the change of direction in the search!
Canyon down / up your creek
Canyon down / up your creek
Canyon down / up your creek
Between solves #5 and #6, as they are numbered below, the search reverses the direction!
1. hint of riches new and old - Santa Fe
Hint from SB17: “Those who solve the 1st clue are more than halfway to the treasure, metaphorically speaking”
2. warm waters halt – Santa Fe water processing plant
Explanation: This water plant will exist for as long as the city of Santa Fe, since it supplies its residents with fresh water. Its huge holding tanks halt the water on the way from the reservoirs.
3. in the canyon down – drive Old Canyon Rd down to
Explanation: it is about half mile down the canyon
4. the home of Brown – natural preserve, Beavers’ habitat
Explanation: in the 1st post
5. Put in below – park at Dale Ball trailhead parking lot
Explanation: in the 1st post. The appearance of the Fenn’s family did not go unnoticed. It gave me an assurance that I was getting uncomfortably close.
After the “direction reversal”, the other clues lined up.
6. no place for the meek – no trespassing signs stop all meeks. Read definition of meek.
Explanation: I saw “no trespassing” signs at the Eastern edge of the natural preserve warning about fines and punishments earlier… and I turned back. I was meek… It is not a safety issue, but obedience to the authorities.
This is where the story of the last BOTG trip starts. I did not drive this time. Instead I took a flight from IAD to DEN to ALB, rented a car in Albuquerque and arrived at the Dale Ball “North” trail park around 6:30pm on Saturday April 14th. There was an hour left before the sundown, but I was resolved to get to the destination of the blaze. At this point I did not know what it is going to be and only aimed at a bright spot, visible on Google Earth about 900’ North from McClure reservoir. There is a creek that enters the reservoir that needs to be followed up. Also, I thought that on Saturday night it is less guarded… Boy, I was wrong.
I am not going to get into the details of the manhunt. There are multiple cars parked along the access road that will intercept any intruder. Even on Saturday night... I made back safely to my hotel by 3am.
7. end is ever drawing nigh – road weaves left and right along (another words, it is crooked)
8. no paddle up your creek - upstream Santa Fe river
9. heavy loads and water high – by two dammed water reservoirs
Explanation: I treated the plural word load as more than one. Hence, my desire to get to the 2nd reservoir.
I decided to approach my destination from the direction where no guards were to be expected. I would drive Northwest on state road 475 (known as Hyde Park Rd) and from Black Canyon RW park would hike my way down South, along a canyon that dug its way to McClure reservoir. I already reviewed that approach as my plan B, when I had been researching the area back at home.
I will skip all the details of the hike and tell you what I found a few hundred feet away before reaching McClure reservoir:
Right in the middle of these woods, about 200’ from the path, running along the creek, there was an old fireplace standing. It must have been built by a trapper to warm his cabin in 1700s or 1800s. At some point the next fire burnt it down and there was nothing left from it but this stone structure. If you measure the distance form it to Mr.Fenn's house on Old Santa Fe Trail, it comes exactly to 66,000 links
10. the blaze – a fireplace from a burnt down trapper’s cabin
Hint: from "Thrill of the chase": "come and see my shining palace built upon the sand" - it is at the very end of the book...
Hint 2: TC could be wet – through the chimney the rains are getting inside the fireplace
Hint 3: TC is not hidden underneath a “building or structure”. Fireplace would not be considered as “building or”.
Explanation: “if you have been wise” would mean that you analyzed the meaning of ‘blaze” and attached it to the blazing fireplace, when wood was burning in it. Not just been wise by solving the previous clues…
11. But tarry scant – old ashes and coals with a mix of rusty cans. I cleaned it good, pulled the ashes out, revealing a stone floor. It was covering the back half, though, with the front slab part missing. I excavated it for about 10 in and did not find what I was looking for. I dig a foot in front of it. Since it was “hidden but not buried”, I thought it should be inside, so was no point digging all around it. And “look quickly down when you find the blaze” means – in the immediate proximity of it. If you spot it 100’ away, you could be anywhere. Since Mr.Fenn wanted to hide his dying body in there, this is where TC should have been too....
***
Then, the next day, when I was on a flight home, dozing off, half awaken, half asleep, when my unconscious mind pushed this idea for me to digest. Why would someone broke the top of the chimney and ripped off the steel liner from its inside? That would be quite an overkill for any vandal, wouldn’t it? What if the explanation is really evident – TC was placed inside the chimney’s flute with tarry scant obscuring it from view!
I can offer several plausible versions, why TC was not in there. My choice would be #1
1) In June 2016 firefighters from multiple states descended on that area to put down a serious blaze. They, quite by accident, could have stumbled on that fireplace and looked inside. They would know nothing about Fenn’s TOTC story. www.krqe.com/news/mcclure-fir...res/1019774522
www.sfreporter.com/news/2016...ity-watershed/
www.abqjournal.com/796895/fi...reservoir.html
-------
2) In June 2016 Mary Wolf sells her store to a new owner. Who is Mary? She owned “Collected Works” bookstore in Santa Fe since 2007. If she knew that TC was found, all Fenn’s book sales would go into decline and the store would have lost a big part of its sales. How did she know, that is the question! A firefighter walked into her store one day, maybe?
3) Santa Fe water authority security chased after a searcher/trespasser. They stumbled on the abandoned fireplace and found the treasure chest. After that, the security was really tightened to prevent anyone ever from going to this place.
4) Mr.Fenn's family retrieved it. The appearance of this controversial photo in September 2016 hints at that possibility www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re5wJBUu2-Y&t=823s
The 1st hike on April 14th is about 15 miles and 2nd hike on April 15th - 13 miles. Black X marks the spot of the fireplace.
PS. Since I have not received any confirmation from Mr.Fenn yet, so I am making my discovery public. Anyone can ask him that question, if this was indeed the location of his famous treasure chest. Just word your question appropriately...
April 17, 2018
In order to understand the material, that I am posting, you need to read the introduction to my search:
forum.hintofriches.com/forum...to-home-part-i
, then the analytics here: forum.hintofriches.com/forum...ial-expression (the 1st TOTC poem is on page 2)
It will give you the understanding of how I arrived at the clues and the first BOTG search that I have done on March 12-13th. There are photographs and quotes in those posts that I will not repeat here. The 2nd TTC poem is published here: forum.hintofriches.com/forum...ues-a-new-poem
There are also youTube flicks posted here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lV5O...FeF03r7hEC0ulE with more to come from this trip.
After the 1st search, I spent about a month fighting my confirmation bias, reading what other searchers post and challenging the status quo. After the Eureka moment, I realized that the first 5 solves were, indeed, correct. The Eureka is the change of direction in the search!
Canyon down / up your creek
Canyon down / up your creek
Canyon down / up your creek
Between solves #5 and #6, as they are numbered below, the search reverses the direction!
1. hint of riches new and old - Santa Fe
Hint from SB17: “Those who solve the 1st clue are more than halfway to the treasure, metaphorically speaking”
2. warm waters halt – Santa Fe water processing plant
Explanation: This water plant will exist for as long as the city of Santa Fe, since it supplies its residents with fresh water. Its huge holding tanks halt the water on the way from the reservoirs.
3. in the canyon down – drive Old Canyon Rd down to
Explanation: it is about half mile down the canyon
4. the home of Brown – natural preserve, Beavers’ habitat
Explanation: in the 1st post
5. Put in below – park at Dale Ball trailhead parking lot
Explanation: in the 1st post. The appearance of the Fenn’s family did not go unnoticed. It gave me an assurance that I was getting uncomfortably close.
After the “direction reversal”, the other clues lined up.
6. no place for the meek – no trespassing signs stop all meeks. Read definition of meek.
Explanation: I saw “no trespassing” signs at the Eastern edge of the natural preserve warning about fines and punishments earlier… and I turned back. I was meek… It is not a safety issue, but obedience to the authorities.
This is where the story of the last BOTG trip starts. I did not drive this time. Instead I took a flight from IAD to DEN to ALB, rented a car in Albuquerque and arrived at the Dale Ball “North” trail park around 6:30pm on Saturday April 14th. There was an hour left before the sundown, but I was resolved to get to the destination of the blaze. At this point I did not know what it is going to be and only aimed at a bright spot, visible on Google Earth about 900’ North from McClure reservoir. There is a creek that enters the reservoir that needs to be followed up. Also, I thought that on Saturday night it is less guarded… Boy, I was wrong.
I am not going to get into the details of the manhunt. There are multiple cars parked along the access road that will intercept any intruder. Even on Saturday night... I made back safely to my hotel by 3am.
7. end is ever drawing nigh – road weaves left and right along (another words, it is crooked)
8. no paddle up your creek - upstream Santa Fe river
9. heavy loads and water high – by two dammed water reservoirs
Explanation: I treated the plural word load as more than one. Hence, my desire to get to the 2nd reservoir.
I decided to approach my destination from the direction where no guards were to be expected. I would drive Northwest on state road 475 (known as Hyde Park Rd) and from Black Canyon RW park would hike my way down South, along a canyon that dug its way to McClure reservoir. I already reviewed that approach as my plan B, when I had been researching the area back at home.
I will skip all the details of the hike and tell you what I found a few hundred feet away before reaching McClure reservoir:
Right in the middle of these woods, about 200’ from the path, running along the creek, there was an old fireplace standing. It must have been built by a trapper to warm his cabin in 1700s or 1800s. At some point the next fire burnt it down and there was nothing left from it but this stone structure. If you measure the distance form it to Mr.Fenn's house on Old Santa Fe Trail, it comes exactly to 66,000 links
10. the blaze – a fireplace from a burnt down trapper’s cabin
Hint: from "Thrill of the chase": "come and see my shining palace built upon the sand" - it is at the very end of the book...
Hint 2: TC could be wet – through the chimney the rains are getting inside the fireplace
Hint 3: TC is not hidden underneath a “building or structure”. Fireplace would not be considered as “building or”.
Explanation: “if you have been wise” would mean that you analyzed the meaning of ‘blaze” and attached it to the blazing fireplace, when wood was burning in it. Not just been wise by solving the previous clues…
11. But tarry scant – old ashes and coals with a mix of rusty cans. I cleaned it good, pulled the ashes out, revealing a stone floor. It was covering the back half, though, with the front slab part missing. I excavated it for about 10 in and did not find what I was looking for. I dig a foot in front of it. Since it was “hidden but not buried”, I thought it should be inside, so was no point digging all around it. And “look quickly down when you find the blaze” means – in the immediate proximity of it. If you spot it 100’ away, you could be anywhere. Since Mr.Fenn wanted to hide his dying body in there, this is where TC should have been too....
***
Then, the next day, when I was on a flight home, dozing off, half awaken, half asleep, when my unconscious mind pushed this idea for me to digest. Why would someone broke the top of the chimney and ripped off the steel liner from its inside? That would be quite an overkill for any vandal, wouldn’t it? What if the explanation is really evident – TC was placed inside the chimney’s flute with tarry scant obscuring it from view!
I can offer several plausible versions, why TC was not in there. My choice would be #1
1) In June 2016 firefighters from multiple states descended on that area to put down a serious blaze. They, quite by accident, could have stumbled on that fireplace and looked inside. They would know nothing about Fenn’s TOTC story. www.krqe.com/news/mcclure-fir...res/1019774522
www.sfreporter.com/news/2016...ity-watershed/
www.abqjournal.com/796895/fi...reservoir.html
-------
2) In June 2016 Mary Wolf sells her store to a new owner. Who is Mary? She owned “Collected Works” bookstore in Santa Fe since 2007. If she knew that TC was found, all Fenn’s book sales would go into decline and the store would have lost a big part of its sales. How did she know, that is the question! A firefighter walked into her store one day, maybe?
3) Santa Fe water authority security chased after a searcher/trespasser. They stumbled on the abandoned fireplace and found the treasure chest. After that, the security was really tightened to prevent anyone ever from going to this place.
4) Mr.Fenn's family retrieved it. The appearance of this controversial photo in September 2016 hints at that possibility www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re5wJBUu2-Y&t=823s
The 1st hike on April 14th is about 15 miles and 2nd hike on April 15th - 13 miles. Black X marks the spot of the fireplace.
PS. Since I have not received any confirmation from Mr.Fenn yet, so I am making my discovery public. Anyone can ask him that question, if this was indeed the location of his famous treasure chest. Just word your question appropriately...
