Oh, and without even a college degree was able to start from scratch his own art gallery in the heart of Sante Fe.and became virtually a self-made millionaire. Forrest has seen his share of adventures having spent his early years visiting Yellowstone National Park, fighting in combat zones, exploring Native American sites (he actually owns his own archaeological site, even though some might say is controversial) and has battled with and beaten cancer. He also states in his book that when he buried it (don't get hung up on the word buried, for apparently the box may be "exposed to the elements") he intended the search to be "difficult though not impossible." Forrest has shared in television interviews, as well as, in his book that he wants to encourage people to get outside and to explore in nature. The chest contains gold nuggets, double eagle coins, ancient relics, Forrest's autobiography, and even reportedly a piece or two of his own hair.among other items.įorrest wrote a book titled, The Thrill of the Chase, wherein he shares a poem he wrote that includes nine clues that if followed "precisely" can lead anyone to the treasure. Yes, there is literally a treasure chest (an ancient bronzed 10x5 box) buried somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of Santa Fe. Fenn, developed a strategy to be able to leave a part of himself tied to this earth perhaps forever-or at least until some brave, lucky human finds his treasure. Likened to a modern day Indiana Jones, Mr. You can read more about the map on Benchmark Map’s site here or on Forrest Fenn’s website here.Whether in romance or treasure hunting there is definitely something found in the thrill of the chase.įorrest Fenn, a retired Airforce pilot turned art and relic collector, surely thinks so. Of course, x doesn’t mark the spot but the map includes the poem Fenn wrote that contains clues.Ī beautiful map that accompanies a fantastic real-world search for hidden treasure. This is cartographic treasure and as a limited edition print simply adds to the story.Īs of the date of writing no-one has found the treasure. At this scale there’s no way one could use it as a map to genuinely search out the treasure but just to look at the area and ‘know’ it’s in there somewhere is part of the thrill. Colours are used to delineate the public lands and typography is selected to match the feel of a treasure map. They then produced a limited edition fine print poster of 100 copies, each personally signed by Fenn.īenchmark’s beautiful cartography is brought to bear on the map with a layout that frames the Rocky mountains as the detail fades from the background the shape of the natural features over-riding any administrative jurisdictions. Benchmark Maps, award winning publishers of maps and atlases, worked with Fenn to produce a fold-out map which was incorporated into a more recent book ‘Too Far to Walk’. this, then, is a real world search for hidden treasure and what better way to augment the search than provide a map. The book and a poem he wrote provide clues to its whereabouts and he promises that the finder of the chest can keep the contents. Author and collector Forrest Fenn’s remarkable book ‘The Thrill of the Chase’ was published in 2010 and explored not only his life but also his secretion of a large treasure chest somewhere in the Rocky Mountains north of his home in Santa Fe, NM.įenn has placed $1 million in gold and gems inside a bronze treasure chest and hidden it.
But sometimes the imagination is based in a real world and supports the readers quest to find something amongst the rocks, trees, pastures and streams.
indeed, MapCarte has already included three exquisite examples for Winnie-the-Pooh ( MapCarte 14/365), Treasure Island ( MapCarte 36/365)and The Hobbit (Mapcarte 247/365).
Maps of imaginary places are highly sought after as works of art and are used frequently to illustrate works of fiction in print and on film.