u/AGrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I have spent the last few days at my solve location and had a very promising spot I really wanted to check out. Everything seems to fit according to the poem especially the “what you seek you already know” line/clue and seems to be in an area where multiple searchers have been before.

Many of you have probably found yourself in the same boat in a different spot.

The problem I’m wrestling with right now is: Is it worth it to go back?

The area I attempted to get to is less than 2 miles from any parking area. The spot you leave the normal trail to head toward this specific spot is approximately 1/2 mile from where you park.

Thinking this easily fits the parameters of the hunt, I set out to check the exact spot.

Once I turned off the known trail (at the 1/2 mile mark), I quickly realized this would not be an easy 2 miles since the elevation change is significant. Many hikers would consider it a 2-2.5 on difficulty scale.

Even though it was difficult, I reached the summit and went towards the spot I mentioned earlier. I was not able to make it mainly due to snow on the ground and nearing the point of no return (didn’t want to be in the wilderness when it was getting dark).

Justin has said if you find yourself drinking multiple bottles of water along your journey then you are going too far. This hike definitely requires bringing a good amount of water with you but the round trip can be completed in about 5-6 hours.

During the hike I had to navigate downed trees and lose gravel. Have a few bumps, bruises and scrapes from small stumbles especially coming back down. No serious injuries but I could see someone hurting themselves significantly if they weren’t very careful.

Also, the spot I was attempting to get to at the top is along a ridge line which has steep angles on both sides. To get to it, you would need to traverse this ridge (there’s no other way to get there without climbing gear).

Is this too far to hike? (According to his drinking multiple bottles of water statement)

Is this too dangerous by Justin’s standards? (He says it a somewhat curated experience and is not dangerous)

Would he have been able to make this journey four times within 24 hrs? (This is tough hike for an average person. Could he do it on a healing broken tibia?)

I trying to convince myself it is not worth going back up there but the solve fits so well I’m having a hard time letting it go.

I did not find anything I would consider a checkpoint except maybe a “face” on a granite boulder (and I think that’s a stretch). If I were to go back up, I would think the checkpoint might be along the ridge line I mentioned. There’s snowmobile tracks on the summit so folks have been close to that area before.

Please help convince me one way or the other.

Thanks, be safe and good luck to everyone searching!

Now the part that matters most.

Solving this cipher does not bring anyone closer to the treasure. Not a step. Not an inch. The answer is a nod to the vessel that is part of the treasure itself — flavor, atmosphere, a wink. It does not point to a location, a region, or a coordinate. I am stating this plainly because it will be misread, mis-shared, and mis-extrapolated otherwise.

Two realities I want to address while I have everyone's attention.

First: expect fake finds. As the hunt progresses, bad actors will stage them. Photoshop is cheap, AI-generated imagery is cheaper, and attention rewards the loudest voice in the room regardless of whether that voice is telling the truth. A genuine find will be verified through proper channels. Anything announced through random social posts, anonymous accounts, or breathless DMs deserves the skepticism that kind of source has earned. Do not fall for it.

Second: AI is real, and it is becoming a factor. As multimodal vision capabilities mature, AI-assisted image analysis will offer some marginal edge to those who use it — a marginal edge that I do not believe will prove decisive, but one I will not pretend doesn't exist. The hunt was built to reward human reasoning. I debated for a long time about whether to include this cipher given that landscape. I included it. We are where we are.

A clarification on something I said earlier.

When I said the tech clue would be the last clue I would confirm until the treasure is found, the underlying promise still stands: I will never confirm any clue that gets someone closer to the treasure until after it is found. Confirming today's cipher answer does not break that promise, because the cipher does not get anyone closer to the treasure.

My policy stands. I will never nudge, hint at, or confirm anything that gets someone closer to the treasure — meaning the poem clues. No "you're getting warmer." No knowing silence. No raised eyebrow. Only after the treasure is in someone's hands, and not a moment before.

Hunt sharply. Hunt safely. Trust your own eyes.

— Justin