Everything But The Blaze -- Madison (Nine Mile Hole)

[Vertigo]

Did anyone search near the Slow Bend? Based on my estimate it would be about 9 miles from Madison Junction. That seems to fit with TFTW.

I didn't search it, but of course I considered it. For me, it's an inferior choice to Nine Mile Hole, for a few reasons:

1. Slow Bend is west of Seven Mile Bridge, where the road is south of the river. If you put in there, the Madison draws on your right, not nigh (on your left).
2. Slow Bend has small rocks in the river bed and shallow water, compared to the heavy loads and water high at Nine Mile Hole.
3. Slow Bend is a well known fishing spot, but it doesn't have nearly the same lore surrounding it as Nine Mile Hole (IMO, as this requires a judgement call)
4. The Big Picture in TTOTC with Forrest's family at all the fishing spots. Slow Bend is not among them.

Also, I don't get hung up on attaching a certain number of miles to "Not far, but too far to walk"

It's a subjective distance that varies from person to person. It can not be quantified. That line of the poem simply advises us to drive.

We don't have to quantify the distance, because the next clue tells us where to put in.

[Vertigo]

Must Listengood, it sounds like you've come around to a general agreement with this solution. (Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth)

If that's the case, here's something I'll throw out there for your consideration. Perhaps it will help us nail down the blaze, which is really what this solve is missing.

I'm a purist, preferring to tackle the mystery with just the poem and broad hints from TTOTC, but I'll make an exception here. In Jack Gets Mail #2, there was this:

Steven asked,
"Sooooo, is there an album or artist that you listened to that sticks out when you reminisce back on your WY adventures ?"

Jack replied,
"Steven, this song gave me chills when I first heard its opening lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpa_IOuz3Y"

The song is "In a River" by Rostam. The opening lines are:

Slide into the cool mud
Underneath the pines
Somewhere to your right or left
Is my body you can find

We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
And I am holding on to you, boy
In the faint light of the stars

What do you think?

[Must Listengood]

Must Listengood, it sounds like you've come around to a general agreement with this solution. (Correct me if I'm wrong. I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth)

If that's the case, here's something I'll throw out there for your consideration. Perhaps it will help us nail down the blaze, which is really what this solve is missing.

I'm a purist, preferring to tackle the mystery with just the poem and broad hints from TTOTC, but I'll make an exception here. In Jack Gets Mail #2, there was this:

Steven asked,
"Sooooo, is there an album or artist that you listened to that sticks out when you reminisce back on your WY adventures ?"

Jack replied,
"Steven, this song gave me chills when I first heard its opening lines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itpa_IOuz3Y"

The song is "In a River" by Rostam. The opening lines are:

Slide into the cool mud
Underneath the pines
Somewhere to your right or left
Is my body you can find

We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
And I am holding on to you, boy
In the faint light of the stars

What do you think?

I think it sounds like Jack crossed the Madison, probably just below 9 mile hole. I think that's exactly what it sounds like.

If you are ready to tackle the blaze, I have some opinions on what it is, based on both Jack, and TTOTC.

[Vertigo]

I think it sounds like Jack crossed the Madison, probably just below 9 mile hole. I think that's exactly what it sounds like.

If you are ready to tackle the blaze, I have some opinions on what it is, based on both Jack, and TTOTC.

Go for it, I'd love to hear! That's actually the main reason I created this thread. I titled it "Everything But The Blaze" because I assembled this within a few weeks of hearing about the chase. However, in three months since, I haven't made satisfactory progress on the blaze.

[Redneck Girl]

I didn't search it, but of course I considered it. For me, it's an inferior choice to Nine Mile Hole, for a few reasons:

1. Slow Bend is west of Seven Mile Bridge, where the road is south of the river. If you put in there, the Madison draws on your right, not nigh (on your left).
2. Slow Bend has small rocks in the river bed and shallow water, compared to the heavy loads and water high at Nine Mile Hole.
3. Slow Bend is a well known fishing spot, but it doesn't have nearly the same lore surrounding it as Nine Mile Hole (IMO, as this requires a judgement call)
4. The Big Picture in TTOTC with Forrest's family at all the fishing spots. Slow Bend is not among them.

Also, I don't get hung up on attaching a certain number of miles to "Not far, but too far to walk"

It's a subjective distance that varies from person to person. It can not be quantified. That line of the poem simply advises us to drive.

We don't have to quantify the distance, because the next clue tells us where to put in.

You are probably right about Slow Bend. The area nearby doesn’t look very promising. Although the fact that Forrest doesn’t mention it in TTOTC could be a hint.

I don’t agree with what you said about TFTW being a subjective distance that varies from person to person. Again, here is an email question I sent to Jack:

Me: Is it possible that WWWH and “Put in below the hoB” refer to the same or close to the same location?

Jack: No, because they are separated by a distance that is too far to walk

Jack’s answer seems to hint that as far as the poem goes TFTW is not a subjective distance. I think you need to have some idea of what that distance is in order to know where to put in. I also think that "put in" is the second clue. People were able to figure it out without knowing hoB. They got it from WWWH, canyon down, and TFTW.

I don’t think TFTW an exact number, however based on what Forrest has said I think it’s on the order of 10 miles. Assuming that WWWH is Madison Junction then that rules out Harlequin Lake. Nine Mile Hole is 5 miles from Madison Junction so as far as TFTW it might be a possibility.

If someone can convince me that it would have been safe for an 8-year old child to cross the Madison River on June 5, then I'll consider your Nine Mile Hole solve to be a serious contender. So far I haven't seen anything.

[Must Listengood]

If someone can convince me that it would have been safe for an 8-year old child to cross the Madison River on June 5, then I'll consider your Nine Mile Hole solve to be a serious contender. So far I haven't seen anything.

This is perhaps the biggest problem with it. I think it's pretty clear Jack crossed a river or at least a big creek, but how do you cross the Madison safely here? According to fly fishing sites, it is dangerous to wade below the lower Nine Mile Hole to Seven Mile Bridge. But that does not include the area between Upper and Lower 9 mile holes. It seems to be much safer just below upper 9 mile hole. But is it safe enough? I see some evidence that searchers tried on the blogs, and some of them thought it was just too dangerous. One made it across but said they wouldn't do it again. Others seem to think if you pick the right spot, it is very doable.

So I guess the question is there one of those good spots just below upper 9 mile hole? Beats me. We need a volunteer to go there in a month and take some video. Maybe give it a try. It would have to be doable for an 8 year old.

But so far, I haven't heard any evidence that points to a more favorite fishing hole than 9 mile hole and there are certainly other aspects that make it a good solve.

[CardanoBlockchain]

So should we assume the 500 foot searchers were driving past on the highway and the 200(s) were somewhere on the river bank? I feel like we can drastically eliminate a lot of forest section. From what's left we could probably find some patches that are around the size of a football field.

[Must Listengood]

Go for it, I'd love to hear! That's actually the main reason I created this thread. I titled it "Everything But The Blaze" because I assembled this within a few weeks of hearing about the chase. However, in three months since, I haven't made satisfactory progress on the blaze.

I'm still looking for the quote from Jack that would help seal the deal on my opinion, but I can no longer find it. I will keep looking. In the mean time, here are some quotes from Jack that can help with finding the blaze:

-<On what is the blaze> I think that could imperil the location if it ever becomes known. Sorry, but there is a hint in the book.

-The poem directs you to a section of forest in which to search for the blaze, but that is something you had to search for. Something like a needle in a haystack is accurate, but maybe slightly easier than that, or at least that was the design.

-“Been wise”…is using the past tense “been” important?
To me, that past tense was jarring. I always wondered if there had been an extra stanza before that he cut out to make it harder, but I forgot to ask him. I think the past tense does help you realize that there is a gap there, the search you have to do for the blaze. And then it’s past tense because you’ve then done everything you need to do to find the treasure at that point.

-I haven’t measured the area I searched. It may have been bigger than a football field, but keep in mind that’s the total limits of what I thought was possible. What I considered to be probable was certainly smaller than a football field, and it was found within those probable bounds.

- I think that may narrow down things too much if I say yes or no, but I can say the whole time I was searching for the blaze and treasure in the forest, I did not step foot on a human trail. He is right that there are no man-made trails in the vicinity, but there are some game trails.

I will keep looking for the one that gave me some confidence in what the blaze is.

[Fennder Bender]

wow vertigo. 24 hrs, 41 posts.
glad you got some sleep in between.
thanks for all the info. good stuff!

[Fennder Bender]

You are probably right about Slow Bend. The area nearby doesn’t look very promising. Although the fact that Forrest doesn’t mention it in TTOTC could be a hint.

I don’t agree with what you said about TFTW being a subjective distance that varies from person to person. Again, here is an email question I sent to Jack:

Me: Is it possible that WWWH and “Put in below the hoB” refer to the same or close to the same location?

Jack: No, because they are separated by a distance that is too far to walk

Jack’s answer seems to hint that as far as the poem goes TFTW is not a subjective distance. I think you need to have some idea of what that distance is in order to know where to put in. I also think that "put in" is the second clue. People were able to figure it out without knowing hoB. They got it from WWWH, canyon down, and TFTW.

I don’t think TFTW an exact number, however based on what Forrest has said I think it’s on the order of 10 miles. Assuming that WWWH is Madison Junction then that rules out Harlequin Lake. Nine Mile Hole is 5 miles from Madison Junction so as far as TFTW it might be a possibility.

If someone can convince me that it would have been safe for an 8-year old child to cross the Madison River on June 5, then I'll consider your Nine Mile Hole solve to be a serious contender. So far I haven't seen anything.

RNG, in regards to the convincing you, the names of nine mile, seven mile, "hole" etc.. indicate just that.
parts of the river where it gets deep. a hole.
these are called holes because compared to the river upstream and down stream the water is more shallow=more current= less fish. sooo you walk along till you find a hole. fish love da holes.
cross away from the holes and it could be crossable by a kid.
it appears in some of the pics there are logs/trees half submerged in the river.
that is how deep it is.
could just be a foot or two deep in some places.

just a possibility.

[thehomeofBrown.com]

This is perhaps the biggest problem with it. I think it's pretty clear Jack crossed a river or at least a big creek, but how do you cross the Madison safely here?

That was my biggest problem with the solve too. I flew out to West shortly after discovering the chase and reading TTOTC. It fits too well. Crossing the Madison can be done safety in June, but not here IMO. There were other pull outs I investigated that seemed to be safer crossing points, but I couldn't make them work smoothly with home of Brown or later clues so I ultimately moved to canyons further downstream.

In working to test this solve now, I think we should keep considering other possibilities for the home of Brown. I'll accept brown trout if it's proven, but I haven't found actual evidence yet. Also, consider that searchers would need to determine this spot with the poem/map/TTOTC. How would we arrive at Nine Mile Hole using just those tools?

[Presque vu]

I think Forrest tells us what to look for as the blaze in this caption..

I can't really read the writing (screenshot) but I think you need to watch the trees, after taking this photograph.
I think the comma is out of place.

Or maybe the trees are watching you..

[Vertigo]

Just posting these here so that videos taken near the proposed location can be found easily. Earlier in the thread, I posted one taken from Middle Nine Mile (i.e. where the middle pull-out for cars is).

This one is taken from Upper Nine Mile (i.e. a little upstream of the upper pull-out for cars). Estimated date of video is early June, 2016.

[Vertigo]

Here's another one at Middle Nine Mile. It doesn't look very deep when this was taken (estimated to be late August, or early September 2015).

At 0:55 the camera goes underwater. Pretty cool view.

[Vertigo]

Driving alongside Nine Mile. Estimated date of video is early to mid April, 2014.

0:00 Drive begins at Lower Nine Mile
0:45 Reaches the Upper end of Nine Mile