But, anyway, he beat the odds and survived the cancer so the plan didn't materialise. He didn't care if it took hundreds of years before someone found it. He had the idea to take some of the treasure he'd accumulated in the business dealings and scavenging and hide them to create a modern day treasure hunt, and then die there with his treasure so that whoever found the treasure would also find his bones. The doctors told him the prognosis wasn't good. Then he got cancer and thought he was going to die. It's a memoir by a quirky, charismatic and rascal of a man who grew up in nature in and around the Rocky Mountains (well western Texas, but they went to the Rockies for an extended stay every year), was a fighter pilot in Vietnam, and then became a self-made entrepreneur dealing arts and antiques (despite not really caring about the arts but had always loved scavenging for treasure and found the art business suited that interest) in New Mexico where he hobnobbed with politicians and assorted celebrities (Jackie O. Then, last year I heard the treasure had been found! What nerve for someone to go and do that before I ever got around to trying to! It gave me the belated push to finally order the book the entire hunt was announced in and read it, and while I might be a little late to the party of reading it now the hunt is over, I still really enjoyed it. Not enough to rush out and buy the book containing the clued poem and other hints (actually, anyone wanting to rush out and buy it would've had to rush out to a little bookstore in New Mexico, it being the only physical location it was sold, but I still could've rushed to the computer to order it sent to me), but enough to think about it off and on for a decade, and occasionally read up online on some others' adventures in trying to solve the puzzle and searching in person for the treasure. So when I heard about Forrest Fenn's real hidden treasure, gosh, about ten years ago now I was enamoured.
![forrest fenn the thrill of the chase forrest fenn the thrill of the chase](https://i2.wp.com/clubthrifty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/The-Thrill-of-the-Chase.jpg)
Not enough to rush out and buy the book containing the clued poem and other hints (actually, anyone wanting to rush out and buy it would've had to rush out to a little bookstore in New Mexico, it being the only physical location it was sold, but I still could've rushed to the compu I've always loved adventure, since I was a little boy wanting to go explore the land where the wild things are. News sources reported Forrest's passing on the September 9th when the information was made public.I've always loved adventure, since I was a little boy wanting to go explore the land where the wild things are. At this time of great loss, we end with some of his own words from the book that started so much adventuring:Īnd when my tackle box is closed at last and the cadis hatch is gone, I will rest through all of time and space, pillowed down and scented in, with a smile that comes from remembering the special things that brought me to that final place, one of which was knowing Peggy was there, somewhere, waiting for me. He was pronounced deceased at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Monday September 7, 2020, at about 5:04 p.m MDT. Forrest Fenn passed on away at the age of 90. It is with great sadness that we bring this news. The Final Chapter in The Thrill of the Chase Has Ended I’ll be back to answer some questions, in any case. The first step for me will be to try to make that happen.Īs for the legacy of Forrest’s chase, I suppose it is in many ways in my hands, as wrong as that feels.
![forrest fenn the thrill of the chase forrest fenn the thrill of the chase](https://cbsnews3.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/05/20/1aa4b57c-c642-41a4-bdec-3dce45116d4e/thumbnail/640x480/cbc24a44142023c0206f1a847c3a448d/fenn-map-poem.jpg)
![forrest fenn the thrill of the chase forrest fenn the thrill of the chase](https://www.coinworld.com/images/default-source/news/treasure-map.jpg)
It should belong to a person or institution who will fully appreciate owning such an incredible thing.īut Forrest had a final wish for where he thought the treasure should end up. The gold glitters, but brighter still are the embedded hopes and dreams of all the many thousands who searched for it. The treasure is a unique piece of American cultural history.
#FORREST FENN THE THRILL OF THE CHASE FREE#
I’m the kind of person who feels burdened by possessions and most free adventuring the world out of a carry-on suitcase, so the treasure and I will have to soon part, and I will offer it for sale (minus the turquoise row bracelet returned to Forrest, of course). And at the end of the day, for all our similarities, Forrest and I couldn’t be less alike when it comes to collecting. Alas, I’m a millennial and have student loans to pay off, so it wouldn’t be prudent to continue to own the Fenn Treasure.