$2 Million in Buried Treasure is Waiting For You in the Rocky Mountains
Somewhere in the Rocky Mountains there's over 2 million dollars’ worth of buried treasure just waiting to be found. It may sound like something out of an Indiana Jones film, but it's true according to a man named Forrest Fenn.
Fenn collected works of art and ancient artefacts during his time as a pilot in the United States Air Force. After retiring, he and his wife Peggy opened a successful art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
In 1988, Fenn was diagnosed with cancer. Faced with death, Fenn began thinking about his legacy. He filled a chest with gold nuggets, ancient coins, jewels, and an olive jar containing his autobiography. He intended to bury the chest and then take his own life.
However, Fenn went on to win his battle with cancer and waited until he was 80 before venturing out into the Rocky Mountains to bury it. In 2010, Fenn released his autobiography, The Thrill of the Chase. At the back of the book is a poem that contains nine clues as to the whereabouts of the chest. These cryptic lines have inspired thousands to take up the quest.
Fenn’s treasure now has a Wikipedia, Facebook, and Reddit page, and six books have been written about it.
Entire online communities have sprung up around the treasure, where members share information, details of failed expeditions, and their interpretations of the clues. The search has become an obsession for many and two people have even died while searching the Rocky Mountains' Wilderness.
But, 7 years later, the chest remains hidden. Fenn claims that at least one person has been within 200 feet of it, and that many more have been within 500 feet.
Some say that the treasure is a hoax, or that Fenn has since removed it. But Fenn insists that it’s in the same spot as it has been for the past seven years.
Whether or not he’s telling the truth might be beside the point. The title of Fenn’s book is The Thrill of the Chase, not The Thrill of the Find. He’s clearly given people a thirst for adventure.
