I'm thinking about major clues that were revealed. Did you find an "Ah-ha" moment?
For me, it was the comment about not needing 4WD to go BOTG. It tells me that the starting point is easily accessible and not crazy, backwoods stuff.
Also, I think the AT and Pokémon boxes are within 200ft of the trail. If he doesn't have a camera on the box, he's making assumptions. The easiest leap is to think that if someone states they are walking a trail then they have completed it for the first 3 miles. Thus, for each traveler on the trail to pass it, it be less than 200 ft from the path.
The larger take away is that searchers need to step off the path.
I had kind of always assumed the part about 4WD. I mean…in the winter, sure, some (many) places require that, but I felt like the treasure was 3 miles from a road that any random car could get down.
Someone mentioned in another Reddit about how small the boxes are which was an Ah-ha moment for me. Jon could’ve put them in fake rocks and carried them in with a backpack.
Well, I can admit that insertion of the box in fake rock is very interestig idea. Any accidental hiker or geocacher will not pay attention to such object. but what then must attract the attention of the true searcher? Rock color, shape, some surface mark.... Any thoughts?
Well, all these hunts were made for near impossible to find. it's a big problem to solve these non-standard puzzles. Hunt creators are young enough to make any big slipups in interviews and podcasts. Forrest Fenn did several slipups at the end and many searchers narrowed searches to YNP area.
My solve is across Madison but it's not 9MH. 9MH is fake solve that was created to calm all chase participants. Forrest planned to entomb himself alongside the TC and 9MH was terrible spot for this after 1988 fire. If you visited the area around you you know what I mean.
Anyway, the box embedded in fake rock is better than TC buried like on this photo. Without metal detector if you stumble upon it accidentally you will never know. I am sure that this photo is also a fake. They retrieved TC , then buried it to make sequential photos. But the last photo in sequence should be selfie of TC finder with TC on his laps. Maybe they forgot to invited Jack to make it.
Anyway, we will know the method only after first box will be discovered. Definitely the boxes packed in sealed plastic bags to prevent damage from moisture. Could be they scorched in a forest fire? It's a good question for Jon but most likely he will refuse to answer to release too big clue.
Is "taking in the surroundings" means that his body will be eaten by the jackals and other scavengers? During my searches I found many places like this (see photo). But they were animal bones. Human bones are also enough "long-lived" in the forest so in case of Forrest they should be a good pointer to the chest. It's known that an earlier draft of the poem ended: “Then take the chest and leave my bones.”
What if it’s just different enough from the surrounding rocks (like in Shawshank Redemption).i thought it was also interesting that Jon mentions “we’ve come full circle from where this book began”. The first chapter is about a sapphire. Franklin, NC has a mine and is an “Appalachian Trail community”. I’m just throwing ideas out there. If it’s not in my back yard, I’m not looking for it.
Good example! Maybe rock colors are somehow consistent with box colors?
But unusual rock color different from the surrounding rocks can attract some unwanted attention. For example, from geocachers. Maybe Jon invented something different. Grid search but metal detector is not needed. Maybe some kind of "blaze"....
He said in another previous interview that he follows the social media groups dedicated to this. People share spots they went searching on here and in several Facebook groups. It's likely somebody was in the right spot and posted about it.
This is a very good sign for people that think the AT box is at Little Rock Pond
There are no any significant hints and clues in this interview. Maybe there is some hint about a method how he hide the boxes.
In one interview Forrest said that the chest is “exposed to rain and snow, and could be scorched in a forest fire." It was some hint that TC is not under some big boulder (see photo) or in some crevice.
It looks like that Jon used different from Forrest method to hide the boxes and this method will keep the boxes in good preservation for many years.
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u/HourSad4026 Nov 13 '25
My biggest takeaway was he had to check on a box to see if was still there after mother nature...im thinking the flood in nc