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Grab some coffee, read my bullshit thoughts. Provide feedback, be frank.

Justin’s book and poem share the title, “Beyond The Map’s Edge.” Typically, a poem's title sets the tone, provides context, encapsulates themes, and serves as a gateway to its deeper meanings.

What is the context of this title? IMHO, it originates from a rather shocking place. That’s dripping in deep sarcasm, FYI. Time for a spoiler alert 🚨: Forest FUCKING Fenn, (FFF, for short).

Below is the transcript, but you can listen to FFF for yourself for a minute or two here (29:25):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBJxGpKgJ0U&t=1765s

Interviewer:
What do you say to people who say you're crazy, or a public nuisance, or that you're like getting people to dig up outhouses, graves, national parks, or any of that kind of stuff?

Forrest Fenn:
“I pretty much agree with them [chuckles].”

Hold the fuck up! Did FFF just agree to a crazy question- yup. Jack Stuef has two videos on YouTube, this interview is one of them and he’s the one that pointed out this time-stamp and this moment in his video comments.

Forrest Fenn (continued):
“I mean, how can you be a maverick? You know, I hope somewhere in my distant past there was a pirate because I have that instinct in me, I think. I mean, I don’t— I never wanted to break the law, but I wanted to bend some of them a little bit. You know, how do you know where the edge is if you don’t go out there and look? I’m not the type of person that you’ll find walking down the centerline. It’s just not part of me.”

Interviewer:
“Do you feel like you want to inspire other people to have those feelings or to do things that are a little different than they would normally do?”

Forrest Fenn:
“I don’t know that I can inspire anybody. I mean, a personality is a personality. If you don’t have it, then you could just laugh and go play Canasta, you know? That’s the way a lot of people are. But I have inspired some people because they’ve told me that by email. You know, I would never have gone to Yellowstone or Yosemite or to Bandelier if you hadn’t lured me out there with this treasure story.”

From this, we find the context. Forrest viewed himself as a maverick—perhaps even a pirate—because of shared traits like rebellion, independence, and adventure. Both embody a spirit of nonconformity and risk-taking, driven by a desire for freedom and a history of defying societal norms. This theme of pushing boundaries and operating beyond one’s comfort zone resonates deeply.

Justin captures this sentiment in his introduction’s closing sentence:

“You might find clues to my treasure scattered through these pages. You might just find a story about a kid who never quite grew out of his treasure-hunting dreams. Either way, what you won’t get is some ghostwritten memoir where every failure leads to a perfect lesson. What you will get is an obsession laid bare—complete with bear encounters, algorithm failures, and one very patient dog. And Netflix’s *Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure* series? I left some hints there, too. It’s waiting just beyond your comfort zone. Beyond your map’s edge.”

There you have it folks, be a pirate, a maverick, or FFF himself. If you don’t like those options, Justin has provided you with new examples, how about the Hardy Boys- often portrayed as mischievous, funny, and adventurous young detectives. No? Maybe, you better identify with a mischievous animal like a Racoon? Is that better? Justin said it himself, he enjoyed the occasional urge, “to STOKE the embers of mischief” (emphasis mine).

"Stoke" primarily means to fuel or poke a fire, figuratively encourage strong emotions (e.g., "stoke fear"), or signifies high enthusiasm ("stoked"). I read that shit as “stroked” initially. 😂

Anyhow, Justin provides clear examples like “breaking into a military base”, his “counterfeit email” to the Bursar’s Office, his “illicit midnight street races” and plenty others. What’s with all the mischief and loophole talk about in the books?

Forrest encouraged you to “bend the rules.” Does Justin want you to “find the loopholes”? This is context I perceive and view the image of Justin and his brothers as young outlaws in The Conquistador Conquest. Bandits, mischievous - and apt to explore. In that chapter, the phrase “Are we going in the right direction?” is italicized. Let’s go back to FFF and his answer above.

To distill the essence of the Q&A above, when asked if he (FFF) wants people to dig up a national park, Forrest essentially responds with a resounding, “Yup, I agree.”

Dog rules, park fees, etc - have you ruled out the hiding location based on your moral reservations? Aka, “Justin would never bury it in a National Park” or “it can’t be hidden there, cause they don’t allow dogs.”

Listen- I AM NOT asking you to do anything illegal, immoral or unethical, nor am I suggesting Justin is implying you have to- but one fact stands out: FFF’s treasure was buried in a National Park. If you had reservations and you searched for FFF’s treasure, he said it himself - a personality is a personality. And allegedly, Justin refused to use his “secret weapon” and employ Tucker. Would things be different if Justin was more like Jack and held less reservations? 🤷‍♂️

So I can be really clear, follow Justin’s advice in The Treasure Trail:

“Whatever it is, embark on this journey with the spirit of Tucker wagging his tail at the sheer possibility of it all, my father’s wisdom as a guiding light, my grandfather’s resilience, and with my brother’s sense of wonder as your compass.”

To spell it out further, use his father’ wisdom as a guiding light, particularly when he told Justin, “sometimes the real treasure is the federal crimes we don’t commit along the way.”

About wisdom - it’s interesting that Justin elected to carry over this theme. Both Justin’s and FFF's poems explore the theme of wisdom, highlighting its elusive nature. FFF suggests that wisdom comes through experience (“if you’ve been wise and found the blaze”), while Justin emphasizes the need for introspection (maybe) to uncover it (“wisdom waits in shadowed site”).

In “Seventeen Dollars a Square Inch,” Forrest Fenn uses the word “wise” and states he is “twenty-five years north” of someone, which is an unconventional way to reference age. The sentence is “After all, he was twenty-five years north of me, age wise, and a person who…”

Forrest and habit of such word play, for example in Me In The Middle, Forrest writes:

“My brother Skippy came along two years later, then it was my turn, followed by my little sister June. There were two years between me and both of them so I was in the middle and that was significant because I felt somehow surrounded. You can laugh at that if you want to, but think of it this way: Skippy was older so I looked up to him, and June was younger but I couldn't look down to her because my father wouldn't allow it.”

FFF, just dropped bars, he said June was younger but he couldn’t look down on her because his father wouldn’t allow it!

Talking about BARS and being a Middle
Child:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WILNIXZr2oc&ra=m

Sorry about the detour. You’re probably asking….So FUCKING what?

Forrest's unconventional phrasing—like being "twenty-five years north"-subtly emphasizes the idea of age as a form of wisdom, suggesting that life lessons accumulate over time in unique ways. His playful word choices often disguise deeper meanings, inviting readers to engage with the text on multiple levels. This echoes Justin's approach, where he invites readers to ponder their own experiences and the shadows of wisdom that linger just out of reach. Awaiting a journey. Justin’s exploration of wisdom closely mirrors Forrest Fenn’s insights, emphasizing that true wisdom often emerges from experience and introspection.

In “The Treasure Trail,” Justin’s father’s remark about federal crimes humorously suggests that the adventure itself holds as much value as the treasure. Both authors highlight that wisdom isn’t linear; it resides in the unexpected twists and the courage to embrace risks. Their works encourage stepping beyond comfort zones, suggesting that the real treasures may lie in the experiences along the way.

In the end, Embers of Mischief ignite a call to adventure, urging us to venture beyond the map’s edge. Justin and Forrest Fenn remind us that true treasure lies in the courage to explore the unknown and challenge norms. Embrace the thrill of discovery; wisdom often waits just beyond convention. Dive in, take risks, and let mischief guide you to hidden gems. Or don’t, you decide- right, Frank?

“From the vantage point of my warm, comfortable spot on mother earth, I could see off into infinite space and the eternity of time. In just a few hours, I thought, some of us are going to make that leap into eternity. And I will be one of the instruments of that voyage. I may also be one of the travelers....It's going to happen sooner or later. But if today is my day-I'm going to have a cup of coffee first.” - E. Haney

“We’d built our walls too high—his granite silence, my need to prove myself.”

In "The Postal Pilgrimage," Justin reflects on a jar of rattlesnake rattles that encapsulates the intricate relationship he shared with his grandfather, Leaden Posey. On one side stands Justin, grappling with an urgent craving for validation; on the other, his grandfather embodies an impenetrable granite silence, creating an emotional chasm neither knew how to bridge.

“Life has a funny way of planting you where you need to grow,” Justin acknowledges in the opening line of “Mom’s House.” This sentiment resonates powerfully with the rugged backdrop of Leaden’s upbringing, where resilience was not just a virtue but a necessity. Farming or cattle ranching—perhaps both—was the life, and it was hard. Picture growing up amid the relentless challenges of ranch life near Animas, New Mexico, during the Great fucking Depression. The stakes were high, and the struggles were real.

Leaden’s early exposure to grueling labor and adversity forged a stoic demeanor that would define his interactions and relationships. This legacy of emotional fortitude cast a long shadow over Justin’s upbringing. I think of grandfather Fitzwater’s constellation of awards; in "The Living Legend," Justin recalls wearing his grandfather's service medals: “I remember the weight of them against my chest, how important they felt, though I didn’t understand their meaning. I wonder what Grandpa Wayne thought, watching me play at being him. I was pretending at wearing his strength, while having no idea what strength really meant.”

In my opinion, family history loomed large, and that pervasive silence served both as a shield and a barrier, creating a weight that was both protective and isolating.

Blah, blah, blah, maybe you’re thinking who fucking cares? I’m not sure- I was thinking of the current state of affairs and this was part of my thinking. But what the hell does it all mean? In the current state of affairs, Justin finds himself in a shitstorm, desperately trying to prove himself. Did you see his math theorem? Is his over intellectualized explanation a wall stemming from the need to prove himself? No fucking clue. It feels like a fall from grace, like he flew too close to the spotlight, Icarus incarnate.

I hope he remembers his vision and finds a way to overcome this setback. I hope he taps into that granite grit that runs in his veins.

I’m grappling with the present situation; is this a production or part of “The Project”? I was supposed to learn about “the creator”—did I misinterpret that or go too far?

“It’s about understanding the mind of the person who hid it—their story, their obsessions, the places that shaped them.”

What if I disagree or have questions that don’t align with the narrative being pushed? I never expected Justin to be flawless; to me, his imperfections are far more compelling than his precision. But are these obfuscations part of the magic show, or are they merely walls?

If I call bullshit, am I ruining a magician’s trick?

Ultimately, Justin’s story reveals that the walls we construct—whether of silence or ambition—can protect yet isolate us. We are but islands of consciousness, until we build a bridge of understanding, through trust and trust only comes from vulnerability and authenticity. Don’t mind me while I dig my toes on my island. Just know you were invited.

A moon must crest to offer its light - unf

Fair warning, views expressed might be controversial or offensive, with creative liberties. BUT it’s the internet, log off and water your plants. I rambled, read it for entertainment, don’t take it as fact or do. There’s certainly truth within.

This production must keep moving; we can't afford to pay the film and production crews indefinitely, and we certainly can't “end the hunt” with a cipher still unsolved!

Alright, cipher: box checked.

We’ve reached the next gate, and the stage is now set for the next drama to unfold.

We began at Dillon, where there were no security guards. Justin took the time to connect with each individual searcher. Hearts were won—swooning, appreciation, admiration. This was our first glimpse of the exposed hand at play: cameras, lights…

Action. Take your positions.

Welcome to The Posey Show.

In Episode 2, we find ourselves at Seekers Summit, conducting interviews. The Cipher Solver was interviewed—how serendipitous! Or perhaps good orchestration, depending on your perspective. This time, it was a shorter meet-and-greet; we need to keep this train rolling. Send Froggy to the back of the line and inform everyone that no more people can meet Justin. Froggy’s million-dollar smile wins hearts as he turns people away.

Q&A Time!

Let’s update the stats!

- The number of people who have asked Justin to verify their solution before heading out was 24,101; it’s now 277,428. [Ema gasps.]

- Those who told Justin they were 100 percent sure: from 13,388 to 119,644.

- Bribe attempts: from 32 to 1,221. (That’s a lot of unreported white-collar crimes, Justin.) He undermines the seriousness by saying he “appreciates the enthusiasm.”

- Blackmail attempts: up from 3 to 80. (Another serious crime.) Ema says, “Oh wow.” Justin calls it a “valiant effort.”

- Tracking attempts—a “new category” that “didn’t exist”—is now at 19.

- Search and rescue operations: increased from one to 16.

Justin finishes categorizing his alleged 398,408 different events. A staggering number.

Ema chimes in, “People, we’re smarter than this.” The irony in her statement seems to escape her—in her rush for moral superiority and indignation towards “gen pop” while blindly accepting “The Build Up.”

We set the tone for the shift; it’s no longer “safe.” Cue the “people went nuts” sound bite. We now have guards escorting Justin for this next phase of hype building for the production. Don’t get me wrong—fun was had: dances, smiles, drinks, music. Great times! But that’s not part of The Posey Show. In this next phase, no one is interested in boring; there must be a narrative: a beginning, a buildup, and a resolution.

Those stats during Ema’s lecturing mom talk—that was the buildup. Things have picked up pace. Don’t even think to question how precise those new stat numbers are; Justin is a genius. He is beyond reproach, he is unreprovable.

Ignore the fact that the cipher was too heavy with noise or fog to see the resolution; it needed encouragement, guidance, last-minute hints in a public setting but meant for the private few.

Overambitious? Probably. Never mind Justin waiting a year to let everyone know the cipher was essentially unsolvable with the "two extra dinner guests.” Alas, poor excuse, but let’s blame Netflix, of course. In your own home, you can set a clock to whatever you need before you speak to a guest.

Yet…a year with his cipher code containing bugs, let’s call it layer deuce. The script required a code built for “grenade-type precision”—close enough and powerful enough to cause chaos. Boom.

Back to the numbers: have you ever seen Mr. Beast count to 100,000? Me neither—apparently, it took him 40 hours:

[Mr. Beast Counting to 100,000](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xWcldHxHFpo&pp=0gcJCVACo7VqN5tD&ra=m)

This motherfucker must have elves. Imagine sorting through emails to distinguish between those contacting him to verify solutions and those sending blackmail attempts, etc. Sure, algorithms—specialized programs he wrote—whatever “resolution idea” you need to believe he’s being truthful in your eyes. The devil is in the details, and you have to fake it till you make it; you must sell the narrative.

Here are some numbers regarding Justin’s followers on social media, providing a pulse check on potential “searchers”:

- YouTube: about 1,830

- TikTok: about 2,650

- Facebook: about 10,000

- X: about 12,000

- IG: about 21,600

LOL, he has almost as many bribe attempts as he has YouTube followers. I wonder what algorithm he needed to capture, “give me the fucking money, I know about your hunt bunnies” emails or whatever a bribe looks like. 😂 Damn, what is a bribe? So many nuances; I thought I knew, but here’s what it says:

Bribery is the corrupt offering, giving, soliciting, or receiving of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or employee.

Doesn't the number raise your suspicions? Maybe even in a “are those fucking grid coordinates, bro” kind of way? Those numbers seem inflated to me. They build hype and tension before release.

Is this year one of ten? Of course not. But perhaps year one of two or three. I don’t know if we’re 90% or 20% done. But it feels like we’re at least 50%, or more.

The story is greater than the facts! Look how crazy it was, how many bribes he received, whatever. But we already knew this! If the Gold and Greed documentary was about truth, then Rudy Greene would have found the stick, log, or book, and there would be no need for Justin to be made the star of the show by misleading people into pbelieving he found the final location. But, “bad editing” made it confusing, or whatever excuse. Gold and Greed was filming until April of 2024; don’t believe me? Pause the news story articles on his laptop in the garage scene. The stick found by Rudy was TWO years prior.

Never mind Tucker failing his only mission during The Fenn Hunt. Tucker confirmed the wrong location. Justin and others provided it to the “community” as proof. Did his failure make the show? Of course not; it doesn’t fit the “narrative.” I could go on, trust me. The point is, “it doesn’t matter who you are; it only matters who they think you are.” That was Forrest Fenn’s number one rule (rule #1). He had many rules; check them out if you're interested: [Fenn's Rules](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xVY8ugAisl8).

So what if Breaking Bad was fictional? It was an incredible show! There’s nothing wrong with fiction or taking creative liberties in documentaries. It’s akin to how Logan Paul leveraged Netflix for his fight, navigating traditional systems by labeling it an "exhibition fight." Similarly, the documentary employed a "creative treatment of actuality." I realize that might have lost some people, but that’s the essence of my perspective. The story is greater than the actual facts. “It only matters what you believe.”

Returning to rules, Forrest Fenn’s number one rule applies to this hunt's context: it’s a story, a narrative, where facts fade as fiction fixates our focus on fantasy. Entertainment is more important than eXactitude (wink for my friends).

When Justin was asked on X if all of his chapters (recollections) were considered accurate and truthful, this was his reply:

“Well, that's rather like asking someone to remember their dreams with footnotes. Of course, they’re true—to the best of my recollection.

Memory, I've found, is less about accuracy and more about survival. We remember what we need to remember, the way we need to remember it, which means my childhood summers were definitely longer than yours, my mother's occasional disappointment more acute, and that time I wet myself in first grade probably more traumatic than Watergate.

But these small betrayals of fact serve a larger truth—the story of how we became who we are, told by the only witness unreliable enough to make it interesting. So yes, forgive any minor inaccuracies. The heart remembers what the head forgets, and sometimes that's the most honest thing of all.”

What’s another name for “small betrayals of fact”? Lies? Yep.

I won’t dive into the complexities of memory and how it shapes our identities. Justin suggests that memories are often subjective and influenced by personal experiences, emotions, and the need for survival. Hence my comment about “mental mechanisms” in my lengthy post earlier.

Reddit user Puzzle-headedPoem shared this excellent video (around 9:30): [Video Link](https://youtu.be/Ca\_RbPXraDE?).

I won’t delve into memory theories, but many of you would be interested in his description of “real-time” or “just-in-time” recollection of memories.

This brings us to our next Forrest Fenn Rule: Imagination is better than knowledge.

Did you catch Justin’s reference or movie quote from “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”? It’s been a while, but I think it goes, “Adventure waits for no one”—maybe in episode 3? Its most famous quote is:

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life."

I can tie all those concepts back to messages in BTME, but I’ll leave that to you. Regarding imagination, this movie is about the power of imagination as a coping mechanism for a mundane life, ultimately highlighting the shift from passive daydreaming to active engagement.

Returning to Justin’s statement, “that's rather like asking someone to remember their dreams with footnotes.”

An asterisk (*) is a punctuation mark used to indicate a footnote or to provide additional information at the bottom of a page.

Speaking of footnotes, let’s look at Forrest Fenn’s writings in Important Literature:

“Not a day passes that I don't question myself about what lies just ahead and whether or not I can make it happen like it's supposed to be. Now, near the end of my seventy-ninth year, each day tests me in a different way, and I know that before too long I'll make my last flight to where even memory itself will never have been. Sooner or later, each of us will be nothing but the leftovers of history or an asterisk in a book that was never written. So now I sit here past midnight beside my juniper fire, reflecting back to the year when my awareness took its first few steps.* ”

This passage explores aging, mortality, and the search for meaning, contemplating daily challenges and the inevitability of being forgotten. The passage ends with an asterisk (*).”

When writing about the Vietnam War, Forrest writes:

“After all of the bullets and rockets and bombs had finished flying through the trees and across the skies, there was nothing left for us but the memory of 58,266 Americans whose names have been etched, chronologically by time of death, on that shiny black war memorial, which is constantly being washed clean by the tears of a million visitors. In another generation or so most of those names will be but an asterisk in the history of a forgotten war, a curiosity to wonder about, like the Lincoln Memorial.”

I humbly suggest that an asterisk is a footnote. Furthermore, I propose that Justin’s 42 is Fenn’s asterisk (*):

ASCII Code 42: In the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)—a foundational computer coding system—the decimal number 42 is the numerical designation for the asterisk symbol (*).

Back to Fenn…in his third memoir, Once Upon a While, I believe on page 82, he writes about the 4th U.S. Cavalry and Quanah and his warriors. What stands out is that the “footnote” takes center stage and is bigger than the paragraph—see the picture. The U.S. Cavalry section is small while the Native American footnote is the “main dish.” They’re juxtaposed. Forrest took the footnote and did not erase the memory or “marginalize” the Native Americans. He not only takes them out of the margins but juxtaposes their description. For example, Trooper Greg is buried and marked with rocks, but Quanah is portrayed as strong and fierce.

Put simply, the reality of what the Native Americans experienced is largely forgotten—they ARE the asterisk, the forgotten, the marginalized. Their memory reduced to footnotes of American conquest. Forrest Fenn spent his time resurrecting their memory through objects.

Yet, Fenn was villainized as a “grave robber” by the same government that systematically undermined Indigenous sovereignty and rights through policies of forced removal, land dispossession, and cultural assimilation, leading to lasting socioeconomic and cultural impacts. And that’s putting it nicely. It didn’t matter who the Native Americans were; it only mattered how they were portrayed and what people believed (Think Rule #1). The identities of Native Americans were overshadowed by stereotypes; they were labeled "savages," stripping away their humanity and complexity. Forrest remembers and honors the Native American warriors by writing a legthy footnote.

The theme of mortality is woven through Forrest Fenn and Justin’s writings. For Forrest, we encounter this in his story “My War For Me.” Forrest told us,

“I wrote a story that’s in my memoir that’s called My War for Me. If you don’t do anything else, read that story.”

In that story, while in a remote area near a waterfall surrounded by tall grass, Forrest Fenn tripped and fell face-first. As he pushed himself up, he found himself "nose-to-nose" with a "rude aluminum grave marker." It was a grave marker for a French soldier from the French Indochina War. The image of this marker in the middle of nowhere left a lasting impression on him regarding life, death, and "conflicts piled on top of conflicts." Forrest wrote that he remembered the man's epitaph clearly

("If you should ever think of me / when I have passed this vale, / and wish to please my ghost / forgive a sinner and smile at a homely girl")

- but never made any mention of the soldier's name, which seems surpassingly strange in a story, in part, about the desire to be remembered after we die.

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" by Ernest Hemingway is featured in Forrest Fenn's book The Thrill of the Chase, specifically within a chapter where Fenn discusses "Important Literature". Fenn often used literary references, such as this novel about war, love, and life's fragility, to hint at the themes of his treasure hunt—adventure, life, and death.

I’m not quite connecting the dots here for you or diagraming the parallels for you and some might be thinking who gives a fuck about Fenn or his rules? I humbly suggest they’re the key. I’ll use Justin’s words here:

“The word “handheld” rang through my thoughts like a bell, and suddenly I saw what everyone else had overlooked: rules weren’t walls, they were riddles waiting to be unraveled.”

That reminds me of the “extra line” in the BTME audio book that states that the “difference between fantasy and reality isn’t a wall, it’s a map waiting to be drawn.”

Let’s not forget… “Because sometimes the best way to close one chapter is to write a whole new book of riddles.”

We find ourselves the whirlwind of The Build Up, we’ve witnessed the transformation of a treasure hunt into a spectacle, where the lines between truth and narrative blur. From the intimate interactions at Dillon to the escalating chaos at Seekers Summit, the production thrives on drama and spectacle, keeping audiences hooked while raising eyebrows about authenticity. The staggering stats—whether about bribes or blackmail attempts—serve more as entertainment than credible indicators of reality, reflecting the show’s reliance on sensationalism.

As we navigate through the layers of storytelling, we find ourselves questioning the very nature of memory and truth. Justin’s reflections reveal a deeper truth about human experience: that our recollections are often colored by subjective perceptions rather than objective accuracy. This notion resonates with Forrest Fenn’s exploration of mortality and the forgotten narratives of marginalized groups, particularly Indigenous peoples, who are often relegated to footnotes in history.