THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!!

[Sal O'mander]

I've made no secret of the fact that I believe Jack is a proxy hired by Forrest to bring an end to the chase and buy time for the person who genuinely solved the poem.... But the question remains, who is this solver and when, if ever, will they come forward?
Many have claimed to be this mysterious solver but no one, to the best of my knowledge, has yet offered up any sort of convincing evidence... Obviously, no one who feels confident enough to declare themselves the solver is going to lay out their solution for all to see before they've had the chance to either confirm or debunk their solution... And who would believe them anyway? But isn't there anything that could be said which might sway the opinion of the masses without giving away the farm? Would it even be wise to attempt to do so?

If you truly believe that you might be the solver then prove it! There must be something that convinced you, beyond all doubt, which isn't so revealing as to give it all away.... And it has to be more than just a good solve.... Those are a dime a dozen... What is it specifically that gave you cause to be convinced that you, among all others, could be the one?
In the end, after all, there can be only one....

[Suzy]

I like your ideas Sal. But if what you say is true, what could be the reason for them not coming forward?

[NadiyaM]

I like your ideas Sal. But if what you say is true, what could be the reason for them not coming forward?

those that think they are the solver are like a pack of wolves howling at the moon....no one can believe them except themselves....the sloppy Chase ending has left doubt in even the soundest minds......those more challenged would find fault in anything but themselves as the true finder.
I hope the photo forensics produce enough fact to either solidify or disprove the finding of the chest....it sure does not seem that we are going to get a believable closure from either Jack or Forrest's family...((...

[Suzy]

those that think they are the solver are like a pack of wolves howling at the moon....no one can believe them except themselves....the sloppy Chase ending has left doubt in even the soundest minds......those more challenged would find fault in anything but themselves as the true finder.
I hope the photo forensics produce enough fact to either solidify or disprove the finding of the chest....it sure does not seem that we are going to get a believable closure from either Jack or Forrest's family...((...

I'm not sure closure could ever happen in the middle of winter. Ice and snow covering the Rockies would be a major deterrent for anyone. Let alone, what if the treasure was under some frozen log or rock? Hey, maybe that's where a Jack Hammer comes in. LOL

[Sal O'mander]

I'll get the ball rolling here.....
While I've never openly made the claim that I am the solver I'm certainly open to the possibility that I could be....
When Forrest first made the announcement that the chest had been found my immediate reaction was one of disappoint and sorrow... I thought it was all over... But then I began to notice peculiarities... Beginning with the found announcement itself.... Why no photos? Why was Forrest, great story teller that he was, so brief in his statement? Why did he seem to be quoting me?

You see, back in May of 2020 I had sent Forrest an E-mail.... It's not something that I did with great frequency, in fact, I never sent him more than a dozen in total over two years time... And I had never really said anything to him about the treasure hunt... Most of what I sent were stories about experiences I'd had while boots on the ground or tales of adventures from my youth.... Much like the things he himself wrote about in his scrapbooks.... They were simply meant to entertain him and to let him know how much I appreciated everything he had done for all of us... But in this particular E-mail I was anxious to return to my search area.... I'd had an epiphany over the winter which clarified the clues and led to what I believed to be a breakthrough!
I opened up to Forrest in a way that I had never really done before... After all, I wasn't even sure that it was genuinely him that I had been writing to..... I told him a bit about my personal history and struggles, I told him that I was a small business owner from Ohio and that I had Asperger's .... I told him how much I was looking forward to going back out West and that the clues in his poem had led me to a precise location where I had identified on Google earth what I believed would be the blaze... I provided him with a detailed description of what I believed it to be and where in relation to it the chest would be found.... I explained to Forrest that even if I did not find the chest I had good reason to think that there would be many other treasures there to find.....
I thanked him again and told him how the chase had delivered me from a deep depression and told him that the chase itself was worth more than any amount of gold...
Two weeks later I wrote him again.... To inform him that because of covid and some other unforseen family circumstances... I would not likely be able to go boots on the ground that summer.... And for the first time ever he replied....
" Good luck to you and your family sir. f"

Anyone who can't find the similarities in what I wrote Forrest and the things he said in his found statement either doesn't want to see them or isn't trying hard enough.....
Does this make me the solver? Not in my mind.... But it sure did give me reason to begin to look at things from another angle!

[Sal O'mander]

I like your ideas Sal. But if what you say is true, what could be the reason for them not coming forward?

I don't think the solver fully knows who they are....
i certainly can't make that claim with any degree of certainty.... And even if I could, who would believe me?

[Sal O'mander]

those that think they are the solver are like a pack of wolves howling at the moon....no one can believe them except themselves....the sloppy Chase ending has left doubt in even the soundest minds......those more challenged would find fault in anything but themselves as the true finder.
I hope the photo forensics produce enough fact to either solidify or disprove the finding of the chest....it sure does not seem that we are going to get a believable closure from either Jack or Forrest's family...((...

I understand your scepticism Nadiya, I really don't believe that either Jack or Forrest's family have anything in the way of conclusive answers to offer us....
until the "solver" figures out who they are we probably wont get any....

[Star Shadow]

Just for fun...
https://youtu.be/BC3uLYCtHC8

[Redneck Express]

I don't think the solver fully knows who they are....
i certainly can't make that claim with any degree of certainty.... And even if I could, who would believe me?

Don't you get it man?!?
"I'm the solver, he's the solver, she's the solver, we all the solver! Wouldn't you like to be the solver too???"

[Sal O'mander]

Just for fun...
https://youtu.be/BC3uLYCtHC8

Ha,ha....
Not my normal sort of thing.... But that was fun!!
Thank you Star!

[Walking Among Lions]

I don't know but I have a gut feeling that the Shy Guy on Youtube is probably the true finder. Something about his videos makes it appears he knows more than he is capable of revealing at this time. I'm trying to follow along but he makes sense with the ciphers and anagrams in Jack's email and in the Dal's Age scrapbook also being a cipher/anagram. I'm also trying to find other cipher's and anagrams in the poem and scrapbooks. So far, not much help.

[Mr hand]

its better to burn out than to fade away

[colokidd]

Why would anyone feel the need to prove to be the solver? To me, it’s a nothing to gain and potentially everything to lose proposition.

[Sal O'mander]

Don't you get it man?!?
"I'm the solver, he's the solver, she's the solver, we all the solver! Wouldn't you like to be the solver too???"

i dig it!
Forget that I even mentioned it...
Everyone gets a solver trophy!!!
No proof required.....

[Sal O'mander]

I don't know but I have a gut feeling that the Shy Guy on Youtube is probably the true finder. Something about his videos makes it appears he knows more than he is capable of revealing at this time. I'm trying to follow along but he makes sense with the ciphers and anagrams in Jack's email and in the Dal's Age scrapbook also being a cipher/anagram. I'm also trying to find other cipher's and anagrams in the poem and scrapbooks. So far, not much help.

I've watched all of his videos WAL but I just don't see any specific details to prove any of his claims....
Jack's E-mail anagram could be directed towards anybody...