Written by 1:08 I thought, “Oh boy. What’s going on here?”
1:28 (1 mug, clock about 5:27) My Phone started dinging and blowing up, getting messages from all sorts of people, and I thought, “Somebody’s making something up.” But then Forrest put up a message on his web page to say that the treasure had been found under a canopy of stars in the lush… forest of the Rocky Mountains.
2:40 ( 1 mug, clock about 5:26) Who found it?
8:29 (1 mug, clock about 5:26) The growing angst in the community was reaching a tipping point where information from Forrest was becoming almost a necessity.
9:08 (1 mug, clock at about 5:26) Despite the frustration, I have to admit, I felt a… a twinge of envy when I saw what was in the chest. Gold nuggets and coins (camera cuts back to Justin after images of treasure are shown, 1 mug, lock has appeared, clock is about 1:33) and all sorts of things that were just dazzling to the eye, it was a big eye-catcher.
10:19 Of course, you can imagine what that looked like to the community. People went nuts.
17:58 (1 mug, clock about 5:25)I remember feeling sadness and some level of disappointment, not in him, but just in the situation and… the real potential that the truth may never be known.
24:50 (1 mug, clock about 5:26) It was like, “Who is this… who is this person?”
26:18 ( 1 mug, clock about 5:26)The video of Jack really did move the needle for me. It was clear that Jack was maybe the only person on the planet who knew the solution. He also made it clear he didn’t wanna give any further information, and so the community did what the community does. They started digging in deep, and they found the Reddit handle that he used from the years prior, allegedly thecondor2, and that meant I could go back and garner a lot of additional information. There were some really interesting tidbits there. Specifically, he calls out Madison Canyon, where I had searched. He calls out Nine Mile Hole, Where I spent lots of time with my brother, and he does so very specifically. And so, thanks to the community and the evidence gathered from other searchers, I went back. I was determined to know where Forrest had hid that treasure.
(Justin apparently on camera from an old video – This is amazing. Look at this.)
Current Justin: I felt that, by finding the location, (Back to Justin in his house, 1 mug, clock at about 4:18) I would actually have the closure that I would need to move on and the… the completion of that pact that I had made to find this. My brother always told me, he says, “If anybody’s gonna find that thing, it’s you,” and, uh, I wanted to make that happen for him. So I returned to Nine Mile Hole, the place where we had searched together, to finish what we had started.( 1 mug, clock is about 5:26) But without that ten inch by ten inch by 5 inch chest out there, what is there? What do you have? Well I had a heavily cropped photo that showed some detritus, pine cones, and that was about it.
(Justin in a video Ok. Into the creek. Let’s see, If anything jumps out.
Current Justin: I had a pretty high confidence that I was in the right general area. But knowing the general area wasn’t enough for me. (Back to Justin’s house, 1 mug, clock at about 5:26) I wanted to point to a spot on the ground and say, “it was sitting right here, and here’s why.” So I kept searching.
(Justin on old video – Come on. Let’s go)
Current Justin: Day after day after day after day.
(Justin on old video – Yeah.)
Current Justin: Twig after twig after twig after twig.
(Justin on old video – Just a crazy man looking for a stick.)
Current Justin: But I just couldn’t find it.
Man off camera: And did you ever consider quitting? You Must’ve.
Justin: Yes.
Man off camera: But did you?
(Justin on old video – Slowly but surely wins the race. We made it to the bank. Okay. All right. Methodical. Start down here. Okay. Gosh, it’s thicker here. Gonna check the other side. Nothing in here looks… remotely close, to me. I’m not seeing any matches. Hello. Ribbon. Oh man. I know I’m right on top of it now. I mean, it must be just right in front of my nose. Wait a minue. Wait a minute. I gotta compare photos. Okay. I think this is it. In fact, it just damn well lines up perfect, guys, I think. I think this is it. I really do.)
Current Justin in house: (1 mug, clock at about 5:26) If you were gonna put me on the spot and say, “What are the nine clues? Walk me through it,” I would say…
Forest recites poem: Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Justin: That’s Madison Junction as the Firehole and the Gibbon converge downstream into Madison Canyon. After that you were driving.
Forest recites poem: Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.
Justin: What is home of Brown? That is Nine Mile Hole. That is the home of the brown trout, where Forrest used to fish.
NOTE ON BELOW: THE SERIES SAYS THIS OUT OF ORDER FROM WHAT IS IN THE POEM! DONT ATTACK ME!
Forest recites poem: There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.
From there it’s no place for the meek,
The end is drawing ever nigh;
Justin: “No place for the meek,” this is going into the woods. You’re off the beaten path.
Forest recites poem: Finally… If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,
Look quickly down, your quest to cease
Justin: I believe the blaze was a tree that has since fallen over and the treasure was buried at the base of the tree. Just sitting there for ten years, only 500 feet from the road. That’s crazy. It is.
(Justin on old video – sobbing – 2016, my brother came to Tellowstone with me. We searched this canyon. We searched. We searched right through here. We walked through here. I… We took a break right here. I just wish my brother was around to see it. But I’m thankful for the time that we had to search together. ‘Cause that’s what this is all about. So here’s to you, Forrest. Thank you. That’s what life is all about. Living it.
35:37 At that point, I felt that I might be in a position where (Back to Justin’s house 1 mug, clock at about 5:26) I could buy the chest, I could buy the treasure, and then, um, re-hide it. (Back to Justin’s house 1 mug, lock has appeared, clock at about 1:34) That’s… that’s basically it.
In Justins car: Yeah. Kinda makes you wonder how I’d ever find a ten by ten by five inch box in the Rockies. Can’t find the Heritage building in Dallas, Texas. There it is. Okay. Hi guys.
Woman: I’m Erin.
Justin: Justin, Nice to meet you.
Woman: Lovely to meet you as well. We’re gonna go right in here.
Justin: Sure. Thank you.
Woman: If you’d like to have a seat right here…
Justin: Okay.
Woman: …we can bring the items in for you.
Justin: Thank you so much.
Woman: And we’re going to turn the lights off as well, so you can see the items a little bit more clearly under these lights. Yeah.
Man: So you can feel the weight of it.
Justin: Jeez! It’s heavy. Imagine that. I mean, It’s so dense. Wow! I mean, I still see the original dirt on it. That is amazing. Did you guys do any sort of restoration on it at all?
Man: Nothing’s been done to anything.
Justin: That’s fantastic. Oh! That is so cool. Wow. And the rusty key right inside. Probably doesn’t work in here any longer. I’d be afraid to try.
Man: I don’t think I’d try.
Justin: No. Wow! It’s pretty crazy. You don’t really realize just how many pieces there are until you start laying them all out. It’s just kind of overwhelming.
Man: For the heft, the two biggest nuggets.
Justin: My gosh, the weight. It’s amazing.
Man: And this is an interesting piece, um, for different reasons.
Justin: It’s just… it’s just so stunning. Oh my goodness. Beautiful. Everything you’d imagine plus more.
Man: Anything else you wanna see?
Justin: No, I think that’ll do it. Really appreciate your time. Thank you.
Justin: What Forrest created was something more than a treasure. It was something magical. It was something pure. It was something… (Back to Justin’s house 1 mug, clock at about 5:26) that captured… your youth. And I wanted a way for others to experience the highlights of what I experienced and to have that classic adventure. I didn’t… uh… I didn’t want that to… end. After I visited the treasure, a verbal offer was made at that time, and uh, it was accepted. And then something changed. It was really gutting when it didn’t work out afterwards. Just this super excitement to just… Bummer.
Safe combination – Starts video at 44 (could be argued 44.5), Left to 26, right to 1, left to 10.5
But, I’m generally not deterred by those situations. There’s always a more creative solution.
Man: What do you mean? What do you have in mind?
Justin: Uh… Well, there’s a new plan.
44:00 Justin in a video: Okay, my stick works. Okay, I think mos… We’re gonna start that over. I think most of us can agree, Forrest’s treasure hunt didn’t have the best ending, but there’s no denying it, the treasure hunt itself was a true adventure. So, I’ve just returned from a different kind of adventure in the American West. This summer, I orchestrated a daring plan. Not to discover a treasure, but to leave one hidden for someone else to find. This is not a parable or a metaphor. It’s a real physical treasure that weighs about 60 pounds. It’s filled with one kilogram gold bars, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, gold coins, even a good sized meteorite. Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without a piece of Forrest, So I included some things from his treasure, like his dragon bracelet, and it’s sitting out there somewhere right now, just waiting for someone to discover it. So consider this the start of the race. The time’s ticking, and we all know true adventure waits for no one. Good Luck. Uh! There’s one more thing you should know. I managed to sneak in some hints during the filming of this Netflix series. No one knows what the hints are besides me, not even the producers, so it’s worth your time to watch and listen closely. I think Lewis Carroll said it best. In the end, we only regret the chances we didn’t take. Happy Hunting.