SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — This weekend, the $25,000 bounty from the 2023 Utah Treasure Hunt was finally claimed — a whole 51 days later. Although its officially over for the season, many are still seeking to decipher the riddle behind the poem hiding its location.
To offer some closure to those who participated in this year’s hunt, co-creator and organizer Dave Cline has shared a video breaking down each piece of the poem.
Utah Treasure Hunt: 2023 Poem Breakdown
Begin your search where time was transcendent
Crack open the books they’re interdependent
As hunters did their research on Utah history, these lines are reportedly there to indicate that they should be searching for important locations that are “transcendent.”
Said to be even more helpful, the word “they’re” tells hunters to look for more than one location to uncover further information.
Lift up your eyes and look for the mark
Hike to the tree that stands without bark
David states that the “tree without bark” is a metaphor for a monument — one he claims should have first led hunters to Ensign Peak Trail in Salt Lake City.
It’s there that they would find a plaque including the number of the monument with “43” in large lettering, which is important to note.
Pass the grain tower that looks out to the west
Not more than an hour you’ll know by its crest
Two weeks ago, one of the shared clues included the scrambled “lorem ipsum” placeholder text, giving hunters a subtle hint to study their Latin. Upon further inspection, hunters could then deduce that the word “grain” is a Latin root word for “granite.”
Also from a previous clue, the word “hour” was reported to have several meanings.
According to Cline, its first meaning is that the hidden chest is about an hour from where one would park their car.
The second meaning takes from the 60 minutes within that hour, which the creators say meant the treasure is roughly 60 feet off the trail.
Finally, the monument itself is 60 feet high — pointing hunters to This is the Place Monument in Salt Lake City, facing to the west.
Look down at your map to not wander with thirst
Remember two less than on top of the first
You’ll know you’re close where it’s time to frown
“On top of the first” would lead hunters to the first monument, at Ensign Peak, where a 360-degree cylinder sits. By subtracting two from 360, hunters are given their second number for measurement, 358, which goes along with the first number, 43.
In the final set of clues, creators Dave and John shared that the word “frown” is vital to solving the riddle. This frown is said to be a symbol — namely the math symbol indicating where two lines intersect, A and B.
By plugging in each measurement from the monuments into an online map, using them as degrees, two lines will intersect along the Mueller Park Trail in Bountiful.
What points towards heaven but is upside down?
Get off the road at the airplane without wings
Search from the shoulder and fortune it will bring
Looking closely at a map where the two points intersect, the trail path looks very much like a church with an upside-down steeple and two walls.
With two of the weekly clues referencing popular films, Back to the Future and Lord of the Rings, clues can be taken for further lines.
The airplane without wings in Back to the Future points to Twin Pines Mall and “old man Peabody,” who in the film used to grow pine trees.
“Get off the road” is a famous quote in the Lord of the Rings film, telling treasure hunters that the treasure is just off the road, said to be hidden under the roots of a pine tree, just like the famous scene in the film.
The word “shoulder” signifies that the pine tree will be located on either shoulder of the “church,” about 60 feet off the trail.
In the end, after tireless research and three separate trips to Utah this month alone, an Iowa woman by the name of Chelsea Gotta solved the riddle and discovered the hidden chest with $25,000 in Bountiful.
No word yet as to when the next Utah Treasure Hunt will launch, but other adventures from Dave and John — including a QR code hunt rumored to release this fall — can be found on their website.
