All of Forrest Fenn Clues can be solved from home?

[Jenny]

dalneitzel.com/2017/02/25/scrapbook-one-hundred-sixty-six-2/


I was reminded of the following Q/A this morning by a friend. Forrest basically says we can 'solve' all of the clues from home. But what does it mean to 'solve' them- in theory? Is it just we understand the meaning to the clues of the poem, and know what we are to do once BOTG?

Here is the Q/A:

– How much progress can be made by someone just thinking and searching the Internet from home? (Another way of saying this: How many clues can only be decoded in situ?)

FF: All of them, in theory, but not likely in practice. A searcher must go to the site to find the treasure.


If we consider Forrest also said that GE couldn't help with the last clue, and a physical presence was needed to complete the solve, there seems to be some contradiction. But is there?

It helps to know something about Rocky Mountain geography when making plans to search for my treasure. Rocking chair ideas can lead one to the first few clues, but a physical presence is needed to complete the solve. Google Earth cannot help with the last clue.
mysteriouswritings.com/six-questions-with-forrest-fenn-and-the-thrill-of-the-chase-treasure-hunt-double-charmed/


It seems to me, while we may in theory know what the last clue will be (and to me it is the Blaze), in practice this can't be completed until we 'see it' once BOTG. So both statements- that 'ALL clues can be solved from home' and No, BOTG is needed to complete the solve' is correct.


How are you taking the statements?

[goldilocks]

This Q&A also says the clues can be solved from home but you need to be on location to retrieve the chest:

Hi Forrest, we are now aware that the poem is a map. If the poem is a map and will tell us exactly where to go, why couldn’t the little girl from India get past the first two clues? I think it’s because after solving all nine clues from home, the ocean prevents her from journeying to the precise location to retrieve the treasure chest. ~ Lagerta the Bold

Dear Whoever Asked This Question,

Thanks for answering it for me. f


It sounds like the last clue is the final specific piece of the puzzle we need to solve to recover the chest and it can only be determined on site. I remember Sassy explaining how she found the last clue of the David Blaine hunt. There was a riddle and it had the word routes in it. She figured out that she had to find roots of a tree, where the treasure was ultimately found. She had to be on site to determine where the roots were, even though she had an idea of what she was looking for before she left to retrieve it. In our case I am hoping we will know what we are looking for before we get there.

[Jenny]

It has to be asked why couldn't the LGFI get closer than the first two clues? Seems it is because the Question doesn't say she has the internet, so not google earth, which might mean the first two clues are labeled on a map, all others not....BUT they can be 'solved' by GE....except the last one can't be completed?

mysteriouswritings.com/mw-answers-forrest-fenn-treasure-little-girl-from-india-and-botg-question/

5Q) Your treasure hunt has inspired people worldwide to discover history, culture and nature, but many people, (even in the US) might be deterred because they don’t live near the Rockies or can’t afford to travel. Should they be deterred? Can a little girl in India, who speaks good English, but only has your poem and a map of the US Rocky Mountains, work out where the treasure is? And would she be confident as she solves each clue, or only confident when she has solved them all?

A)I wish I had another treasure to hide in the Appalachians. The little girl in India cannot get closer than the first two clues. There are many disabled people who are deeply into maps and geography, and they are having a lot of fun.

[goldilocks]

...or simply we have to be on location to solve the last 7 clues.

[Deleted]

I think it would be safe to say that Forrest did create the poem from home, so in theory it can be solved at home, as long as you are on track with his solve method.

[longfellow]

I think the complete solution can be put together from home, but it would be highly unlikely if a person were not using Google Earth. I don't think Forrest really contemplated searchers using Google Earth when he designed this, but it is very helpful.

Still have to go BOTG to "look quickly down," though.

[harrytruman]

Apr 8, 2020 13:09:21 GMT -5 Jenny said:

It has to be asked why couldn't the LGFI get closer than the first two clues? Seems it is because the Question doesn't say she has the internet, so not google earth, which might mean the first two clues are labeled on a map, all others not....BUT they can be 'solved' by GE....except the last one can't be completed?

Personally, I think the LGFI can't get physically closer than the first two clues because (like someone in the Appalachians and people with certain disabilities) she can't put in below the home of Brown.

I think she can read the poem over and over, read TTOTC slowly (identifying the two good hints, some additional subtle hints, and two aberrations), identify the nine clues in the poem, use "rocking chair ideas" to figure out the "first few clues," have fun with maps and geography, study the nine clues and marry them to a map, analyze one important possibility, consider the "what ifs," think about "the one good clue" she can figure out herself (but hasn't), think and plan and use logic, look at the big picture, and do all of the other things Forrest has explicitly advised searchers to do (or told us we can do) prior to going BOTG with confidence and retrieving the treasure.

Of course, we also now know that the LGFI can get (mentally) closer than the first two clues if she doesn't "let her thinking . . . get in a rut." In other words, physical distance and a lack of access to anything other than the poem and a map of the Rockies are not preventing her (or anyone else) from getting mentally closer than the first two clues.