What's a 79 or 80 year old man capable of?

[Old Pilot]

That could be a relatively meaningless question. Here's why . . .

One particular 79 year old man is very near death, lying somewhere, suffering from malnutrition and disease.

A different man, 80 years old, is a billionaire, surrounded by servants, many modern conveniences, and an occasional doctor/nutritionist.

The point is, we don't know what Forrest's limitations were at the time he (purportedly) hid the TC in the Rocky Mountains.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the gold and other valuable goodies.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the empty bronze chest.

The poem includes the word "wise". I think he wanted searchers to use their wisdom. So . . .

It wouldn't be wise to assume that he hid the chest within 200 feet of a logical and legal parking spot. (He said he wants sweaty bodies searching for the chest).

I can imagine him doing a little "trespassing"/illegal parking . . . he wrote about some of the mischief he did. If you think he absolutely, totally, invariably always "played by the rules", think again. Why would he be asking for "indulgence"/forgiveness if he was perfectly pure and free of guilt associated with violation of some rule(s)/law(s)?

I'm not assuming that Forrest, while older than 78 years, hiked more than a mile, generally uphill, carrying about 20 pounds of trove material, twice in one afternoon, in thin air.

But I have concluded, based on my solve, that he could have gotten the trove transported to a very isolated place where it's legal for searchers to hike. He may have had hired/paid help shlepping the stuff; possibly somebody in physical condition similar to Shiloh's helped carry the goodies most of the way from a sedan to the hidey spot, and Forrest carried the goods the last few yards. Fenn could have even used a snowmobile to transport the goodies most of the way from the nearest road to the hidey spot. This doesn't have to be extraordinarily complicated . . . but Fenn didn't want to just (figuratively) "hand the treasure to someone on a silver platter". He expected that an eventual successful solver would have a challenging solve, and a challenging (retrieval) task to do. I mean, after all, if Fenn worked more than a couple hours accumulating the goodies and promoting the hunt, it doesn't seem unlikely that the "winner" would have to put in at least a few hours of effort in order to receive the benefit and enjoyment (of ownership). As always, all part of my oPInion.

[Rose Livingstone]

It is my opinion that anyone reading these blogs has spent way more than a 'few' hours on this. And by 'few' I mean at least three but not many.

[Sarah Seedling]

It is my opinion that anyone reading these blogs has spent way more than a 'few' hours on this. And by 'few' I mean at least three but not many.

Ya It would be crazy insane to think that someone could have solved in a year or less maybe even before they really got started

[Cyrus]

Why, you ask me, should this tale be told
To men grown old, or who are growing old?
It is too late! Ah, nothing is too late
Till the tired heart shall cease to palpitate.

Cato learned Greek at eighty; Sophocles
Wrote his grand Oedipus, and Simonides
Bore off the prize of verse from his compeers,
When each had numbered more than fourscore years,
And Theophrastus, at fourscore and ten,
Had but begun his "Characters of Men."
Chaucer, at Woodstock with the nightingales,
At sixty wrote the Canterbury Tales;
Goethe at Weimar, toiling to the last,
Completed Faust when eighty years were past.

These are indeed exceptions; but they show
How far the gulf-stream of our youth may flow
Into the arctic regions of our lives,
Where little else than life itself survives.

[Round Peg, Square Hole]

The crazies might conclude f delivered the chest by hellichopper to 9MH, and that's what flattened all the trees.

[BigOnus]

I will be following in his footsteps...

[wwwamericana]

Forrest said he wasn't putting an "x" on the map but that it would be there in spirit. Aged like a fine wine or a smooth whiskey.....

[wwwamericana]

Hot coffee in a cold cup...

[In My Opinion]

I guess this question probably threw me off most because I come from the Appalachian mountains and compared Forrest to the 80 year olds in my family. I to this day still have many uncles that are mid 80s and hunt full time and could jog across that river carrying 20 pounds. That to me made me believe Forrest would have no problems at all hiding the treasure. I have met though on the other hand some at 79 or younger already on walkers. I guess in my mind I always though of Forrest as a avid arrow head hunter and a man grew up in the country that was in decent shape at 80.

[pws111]

That could be a relatively meaningless question. Here's why . . .

One particular 79 year old man is very near death, lying somewhere, suffering from malnutrition and disease.

A different man, 80 years old, is a billionaire, surrounded by servants, many modern conveniences, and an occasional doctor/nutritionist.

The point is, we don't know what Forrest's limitations were at the time he (purportedly) hid the TC in the Rocky Mountains.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the gold and other valuable goodies.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the empty bronze chest.

The poem includes the word "wise". I think he wanted searchers to use their wisdom. So . . .

It wouldn't be wise to assume that he hid the chest within 200 feet of a logical and legal parking spot. (He said he wants sweaty bodies searching for the chest).

I can imagine him doing a little "trespassing"/illegal parking . . . he wrote about some of the mischief he did. If you think he absolutely, totally, invariably always "played by the rules", think again. Why would he be asking for "indulgence"/forgiveness if he was perfectly pure and free of guilt associated with violation of some rule(s)/law(s)?

I'm not assuming that Forrest, while older than 78 years, hiked more than a mile, generally uphill, carrying about 20 pounds of trove material, twice in one afternoon, in thin air.

But I have concluded, based on my solve, that he could have gotten the trove transported to a very isolated place where it's legal for searchers to hike. He may have had hired/paid help shlepping the stuff; possibly somebody in physical condition similar to Shiloh's helped carry the goodies most of the way from a sedan to the hidey spot, and Forrest carried the goods the last few yards. Fenn could have even used a snowmobile to transport the goodies most of the way from the nearest road to the hidey spot. This doesn't have to be extraordinarily complicated . . . but Fenn didn't want to just (figuratively) "hand the treasure to someone on a silver platter". He expected that an eventual successful solver would have a challenging solve, and a challenging (retrieval) task to do. I mean, after all, if Fenn worked more than a couple hours accumulating the goodies and promoting the hunt, it doesn't seem unlikely that the "winner" would have to put in at least a few hours of effort in order to receive the benefit and enjoyment (of ownership). As always, all part of my oPInion.

Forrest may have appeared to be in perfect shape, but he was very limited on physical activity. His cancer involved either the inferior or superior vena cava, don't remember which one. Part of the vein had to replaced with a vein from his leg, and as a result he could not do anything that would raise his blood pressure very much or he risked causing the graft to fail and he could bleed to death in minutes.

He also had a permanent handicapped parking permit.

[wwwamericana]

Remember how proud he was of that sign at the school? His Father had his own spot right up front cuz he was the principal. I think Forrest has been ready for quite some thyme to relinquish his spot to someone...

[Suzy]

Remember how proud he was of that sign at the school? His Father had his own spot right up front cuz he was the principal. I think Forrest has been ready for quite some thyme to relinquish his spot to someone...

Forrest must have dreamed of having his own sign, just like his father. It's almost as if I can see it now, the letter "f" carved onto some far-off, isolated post. I know, it's not truly real. It's imagination - the principal of the thing.

[Trailblazer99]

That could be a relatively meaningless question. Here's why . . .

One particular 79 year old man is very near death, lying somewhere, suffering from malnutrition and disease.

A different man, 80 years old, is a billionaire, surrounded by servants, many modern conveniences, and an occasional doctor/nutritionist.

The point is, we don't know what Forrest's limitations were at the time he (purportedly) hid the TC in the Rocky Mountains.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the gold and other valuable goodies.

We don't know how far he walked, carrying the empty bronze chest.

The poem includes the word "wise". I think he wanted searchers to use their wisdom. So . . .

It wouldn't be wise to assume that he hid the chest within 200 feet of a logical and legal parking spot. (He said he wants sweaty bodies searching for the chest).

I can imagine him doing a little "trespassing"/illegal parking . . . he wrote about some of the mischief he did. If you think he absolutely, totally, invariably always "played by the rules", think again. Why would he be asking for "indulgence"/forgiveness if he was perfectly pure and free of guilt associated with violation of some rule(s)/law(s)?

I'm not assuming that Forrest, while older than 78 years, hiked more than a mile, generally uphill, carrying about 20 pounds of trove material, twice in one afternoon, in thin air.

But I have concluded, based on my solve, that he could have gotten the trove transported to a very isolated place where it's legal for searchers to hike. He may have had hired/paid help shlepping the stuff; possibly somebody in physical condition similar to Shiloh's helped carry the goodies most of the way from a sedan to the hidey spot, and Forrest carried the goods the last few yards. Fenn could have even used a snowmobile to transport the goodies most of the way from the nearest road to the hidey spot. This doesn't have to be extraordinarily complicated . . . but Fenn didn't want to just (figuratively) "hand the treasure to someone on a silver platter". He expected that an eventual successful solver would have a challenging solve, and a challenging (retrieval) task to do. I mean, after all, if Fenn worked more than a couple hours accumulating the goodies and promoting the hunt, it doesn't seem unlikely that the "winner" would have to put in at least a few hours of effort in order to receive the benefit and enjoyment (of ownership). As always, all part of my oPInion.

regardless carrying weight or not he did not walk very far. i would say its all withing half a mile there and back. I like the way you think. i don't see him crossing a stream or walking rugged territory.

[Suzy]

But he was a Maverick. I can’t imagine him branding anything…except his countertop. I imagine his response was, “boy I’m in trouble now!’ As Mrs. Peggy walks in haha.

I'm guessing that's when imagination turned to the better.

[jan_v60]

I think he drove his car (probably a 4x4), following maintenance tracks and then walked not more as 1 mile (probably less than 500 feet, to the hiding spot, following height lines as flat as possible. So there were no human trails in a “close proximity” (whatever that last expression means: 100 feet or 1000 feet, or ????). But I do not think he hided the treasure close to a parking lot.