I Found The Forrest Fenn Treasure Near Dinosaur National Monument

Mark Tracy

As I have gone alone in there
And with my treasures bold,
I can keep my secret where,
And hint of riches new and old.

New riches refers to the Forrest Fenn treasure. Old riches refers to Dinosaur National Monument and the surrounding tri-point area of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming with its ancient relics and fossils.

Wilson Place

Begin it where warm waters halt
And take it in the canyon down,
Not far, but too far to walk.
Put in below the home of Brown.

The warm waters of Flaming Gorge Reservoir halt at Flaming Gorge Dam. From the dam, the cooler water of the Green River continues down a canyon and passes Browns Park and a historic century-and-a-half-old home, the Wilson Place. (the word 'place' appears in the next line of the poem: "From there it's no place for the meek") Just below the Wilson Place is the confluence of Vermillion Creek and the Green River.

From there it’s no place for the meek,
The end is ever drawing nigh;
There’ll be no paddle up your creek,
Just heavy loads and water high.

You can't paddle up Vermillion Creek because its water is being drained off for agriculture and never reaches the Green River. However, above the agricultural area, the flow of the creek resumes and there is the high water of Vermillion Falls. The word 'loads' in the poem may be a reference to the Gates of Lodore and Lodore Hall, near the Wilson Place.

Vermillion Falls

If you’ve been wise and found the blaze,
Look quickly down, your quest to cease,
But tarry scant with marvel gaze,
Just take the chest and go in peace.

'The blaze' is Vermillion Falls which sparkles when the sun is shining. Just above Vermilllian Falls is the Douglas Draw. (note that the word 'draw' appears in the poem's line: "The end is ever drawing nigh") About a hundred yards downstream from Vermillian Falls, lying on the ground by some 'tarry' greasewood shrubs, I found an ox skull. Was the ox skull a metaphor for 'the chest'?

Thinking that the ox skull might be something more than a metaphor, perhaps a marker, I dug several feet down into the earth to find only more earth. From this I concluded that Fenn had determined that whoever found the skull should be content with not being a millionaire, but rather with the time spent outdoors in 'the thrill of the chase'. However, I have a somewhat different take. For me, the real treasure is the hope that my experience will prevent others from wasting their time and risking their health with Fenn's colossal ruse.

What was not there

Links:

Fishing on the Edge of the Outlaw Trail

Dinosaur National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

Butch Cassidy & The Outlaw Trail — History In River Rafting Country