Chasing the Thrill of Fenn's Treasure (Fiction, Part 5)

This is Part 5 of a work of fiction. Please check my blog for the other parts. This chapter will not make sense unless you've read Parts 1-4 first!

Brody did not seriously believe that Forrest Fenn's treasure was in New Mexico. He'd read the Thrill of the Chase book and concluded that Fenn's spiritual home was probably much further north in the Rocky Mountains, not this close to Santa Fe. Nevertheless, Santa Fe was where this story began, because it was Fenn's home base and the place where he had raised a family and built his business. There were probably more treasure seekers searching this region for Fenn's treasure than any other.

It was the logical place for Brody to start his quest.

After picking up a used SUV he could take into the areas he wanted to search, Brody was excited to get started. He packed some food and lots of water, heading north on Highway 84 out of Santa Fe, then switching to northeast towards Taos. “Agua caliente” is Spanish for “hot water” or “warm water”, so it fit with the clue in Forest Fenn’s poem to begin the search for his hidden treasure “where warm waters halt.”

As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.

Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.

From there it's no place for the meek,
The end is ever drawing nigh;
There'll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.

If you've been wise and found the blaze,
Look quickly down, your quest to cease,
But tarry scant with marvel gaze,
Just take the chest and go in peace.

So why is it that I must go
And leave my trove for all to seek?
The answers I already know,
I've done it tired, and now I'm weak.

So hear me all and listen good,
Your effort will be worth the cold.
If you are brave and in the wood
I give you title to the gold.

When most people think of the Rio Grande River, they think of Texas and the border with Mexico. But the river begins in Colorado and flows south through New Mexico before it ever gets to Texas or Mexico. Along one section of the New Mexico Rio Grande, there is a canyon called Agua Caliente. But if you head northwest from Santa Fe instead of northeast, there is a town called Agua Caliente also.

Brody began in Agua Caliente Canyon, though he was pretty sure the area had been picked over already by treasure hunters for any possible clues. Fenn had said the area where the treasure was hidden had both pine and sagebrush, but here the scrubby bushes were punctuated by tall cacti.

From a parking spot, he took a narrow trail up the hill and then down into the canyon, dodging mountain bikers. He walked down the canyon to the right, thereby fulfilling the first two lines of Fenn’s poem. To get down into the canyon and over rock faces, he used ropes and simple climbing gear. Between the rocks, the water cut a narrow path.

How far was too far to walk?

Like most students of the chase, Brody felt sure that Forest Fenn had not gone too far into the bush, perhaps a few miles. Fenn was nearly 80 years old when he hid the treasure, though he was a better hiker than most octogenarians. Fenn stated publicly that it had taken him two trips on foot to take both the box and all of its treasure to the spot he had chosen. It was almost certain that he hadn’t used climbing ropes for this task.

At some point, if the seeker is on the right track, nature should reveal other clues as the proverbial onion is peeled. The “home of Brown,” “no place for the meek”, and “the blaze” are examples of some later clues in the poem that should represent actual places. It’s easy to imagine a “blaze” in any light-colored hillside or high ridge where the rising or setting sun might rim the land with burning gold or red for a few minutes per day. But what did those clues really mean to Fenn?

Most Fenn treasure hunters twist what they see and projecting their own ideas to fit it with the poem. It's hard not to, but thinking too hard will tie you up in knots. If you squint hard enough, you can see Bigfoot also. In reality, nature does not often bend to a person’s will.

Brody was a big believer that there would be clear natural features (probably geological, which would be the most permanent). When he saw them, he’d know what they were. That should happen without people twisting the meanings too far.

However, Brody admired anyone who went out in search of the treasure. And a lot of seekers lived in New Mexico or neighboring states, so getting here might be easier than getting to Wyoming or Colorado. And there were others who lived or took a vacation further up who might not have the time or the money to search for the treasure down here. As Forrest Fenn said, the main point was to get people out of doors, exploring the mountains, and experiencing nature. Most would never come close to the treasure. But Brody knew he could find it.

He spent a day looking around the canyon area

Brody focused on the “home of Brown” clue, which seemed like the next one that should be explicit enough to connect with something tangible in the landscape. Fenn had said that it wasn’t associated with a man-made structure. Yet aside from the colors in the rocks, Brody couldn’t come up with any matches. The rock formations above were red, while the bedrock exposed by the stream was more gray than brown. Likewise, there was no obvious source of "the blaze" or anything else suggested in the poem.

Continuing on, the canyon opened up. The river itself spread wider than it had appeared coming down the hill. This was an area where previous seekers had reported that they’d had trouble crossing the river. There is quite possibly some water in the area Fenn described, but an octogenarian probably would not be fording dangerous water. Later, Brody saw a ‘No Trespassing’ sign. It was highly unlikely that Fenn placed his treasure on private property, since that would create title questions. Brody decided to turn back and try again in a new spot tomorrow.

His first day of the chase had not yielded promising results. But Brody hadn’t expected success during this phase. Success lay further up in the Rocky Mountains, along with the end of warm waters.

This was Part 5 of a fictional story

Please check my blog for the other parts. The picture above is a montage made by the author based on images from the Forest Fenn books, Thrill of the Chase (One Horse Land & Cattle Co. 2010) and Too Far to Walk (same publisher 2013) and public domain material, including the border photo of the Yellowstone River. Here is a link to Fenn's book; I do not make any profit from recommending it. https://www.collectedworksbookstore.com/product/thrill-chase-forrest-fenn I simply thought the whole saga would provide an interesting background for this novel.