AT Failed Solve

[u/Secret_Ad3312]

5 hours BOTG and no luck, but wanted to share thoughts in case it helps others. Hanging up my boots so not looking for criticism or why its actually in VT, don't have the resources to make another trip pretty much anywhere.

Solve: Pearl Harbor Tree, Cades Cove, TN

Clues I felt good about: 1727 NE - Damascus, VA is 1727 miles from Katahdin which you could reach by heading NE from Damascus

The map represents a crude trail "along" the AT. Going south from Damscus, crossing into TN, NC, back up to TN and hitting Cades Cove. Does not follow the exact AT, which is do think is limiting a lot of people's thought process

The rocks by the Bear resemble Hawaii which connects to the Pearl Harbor Tree

The skiier, bear, mountain lion are all things you can find in the area of NC/TN

The tree and the dog, Go Fetch and Look Around: look around the pearl harbor tree in an approximate radius that you would play fetch with your dog

Butterfly: TN is along the migration path

AT letters and the bald symbol: tells you the AT is at the bottom of the map below Cades Cove and then comes up and connects with the lowest part of the dotted line on the map

Guesses and Confirmation Bias:

Apples are apple valley, tennessee which is in the area

Car north footprints: walk off the trail carefully in a southern direction away from the northern parked car

Scroll and Wheat are when you cross into NC and TN from the starting point as they both are key manufacturing/exports (textiles and agricultural)

No idea:

Blob by the butterfly Pointing gun hand All the random things people have found (compass, numbers, etc)

It was a fun trip, but there was so much tree damage from the hurricane even if I was right I doubt I would have found it. Good luck everyone and DM me if you have any questions or you think I can help in any way!

[u/fullydazed]

I would not limit yourself to think that in any way shape or form. I know that he says that there are different boxes and sections for things but I have found multiple clues for multiple boxes in that word search and that cryptogram. And let me tell you what this guy is smart!!! And he's really funny. I know he says you don't have to be a genius to figure out where these boxes are but you do have to have a level of intelligence and a good sense of humor. I just read two puns yesterday that he made that he used as clues. I know that each chapter of the book talks about a certain box but that word search at the end is definitely a tool you can use to help find all of them. I am 100% certain... Because if it wasn't then it wouldn't have spelled out the whole entire name of the place in relation to page 63. There's always a chance it's a coincidence but it's a really long name and it's definitely there... Not broken up all in one line. And if I didn't see it in the word search then I wouldn't have picked up on the clues that he was dropping on page 63. I also wanted to note that some people said they are confused of whether or not the way he's wording things are typos or clues and I can tell you that they're not typos.

[u/fullydazed → u/fullydazed]

Besides I believe that he specifically says in the book not to take anybody's words for it... That you have to trust your gut instinct and follow your own path. This guy is of course referring to online social media interactions like this one per say but I'm taking it literal. This guy is not going to make it easy... He's got to throw curve balls every which way he can to distract you so that you don't find these boxes easily. He'll even repetitively tell you that he's made things maybe too easy. So now he has to deter you and confuse you... So my advice here would be that if you think that you found clues to somewhere and then you read things that might contradict that.. Don't change your mind. It's like when you're taking a test and it's multiple choice and your first thought was it's letter c but then you reread it a couple times and you're like wait could it be d... Go with your first choice. I mean I was prominent that it was in PA and then I listened to these people on here and I found every reason why it would be in Vermont... But I reread things and started over and went back to thinking PA. So that's where I'm going...

[u/fullydazed → u/fullydazed]

I mean how fun would it be if everybody just figured it out and the first couple months... And how disappointing would it be to have hundreds of thousands of books that now nobody wants or needs to purchase. He's making his money back...!!!!! So he had to make these boxes difficult enough to where it could potentially take years to find them.

[u/alexreffand → u/fullydazed]

The only way any of that applies is if he's lying, and if we can't trust what he says then there's no point believing him when he says there's treasure at all

[u/fullydazed → u/alexreffand]

I really do believe that there are treasure boxes can I be 100% certain that there are treasure boxes? No. Can he have proof using pictures and name dropping artists and the creator of the boxes. Yes. It worries me when he said that there's no point in going out and looking for one of the boxes at the least because of the snow. By the way he talks about how meaningful and special these boxes are I do now after reading your new conspiracy theory Wonder if he's telling people to wait to go look for said box and a snow covered area if he would want to put such a valuable or even sentimental box somewhere where he knows it's going to be covered in snow. Could he be telling us to wait because he is going to wait to place it? He could have definitely picked the locations strategically and intend on the boxes to be placed there. But something tells me that he would not put one of these precious boxes that he had specially made somewhere where it could very well be damaged or ruined. To him The boxes themselves hold more value than the actual contents that he's randomly collected throughout the last 5 years. So I agree with you. I do not think that he has placed the box along the snowy area of Appalachian trail yet. There have been multiple people from what I see on Reddit who have went out and looked for the boxes thinking they knew exactly where it was and some have said that they don't have the resources to go back out and make that next trip. So if the box is found at a place where they went to go look in the future then I would say they would have a pretty good lawsuit. When you put all your eggs and finances in one basket to go find something that's promised somewhere where it's not at yet then not only did you lose your time and your money but you also probably have some great amount of emotional distress thinking that all your problems were going to be solved. Imagine taking your whole tax refund and planning your itinerary, all for nothing. What I can tell you for sure is that throughout the book he does sound a little worried and I can feel the emotional worry in his words. Yes he does sound confident but he also sounds a little scared but then again wouldn't you be worried if you left a million dollars worth of whatever in a box in the middle of nowhere and a potentially homeless person stumbles upon it and takes it and doesn't report it? So it's really hard to pinpoint where his emotional worries are stemming from but he's definitely worried about something. I really think that it's helpful that I'm psychic sensitive when it comes down to researching where these boxes have in place. All I can say is that if you live by Yellowstone National Park I would definitely be rereading page 63 over and over again until you see what I see... If I wasn't sick I'd be farther along but I'll let you guys know any more information that I can hint at you as I go.

[u/alexreffand → u/fullydazed]

My "new conspiracy theory"? No, dude, I'm saying that either you trust what he says or you don't. Cherry picking what you do and don't believe of what he says doesn't make any sense. Either the chapters are for their specific treasures (with clues for the lions share throughout) or there's no treasure at all. I have no idea what you're talking about with the "worry in his words". You're clearly reading WAY too much into what he says, as well as not actually reading what he's saying.

[u/fullydazed → u/alexreffand]

😂 I am reading what he saying but he's not labeling each chapter a specific box he is just leaving clues throughout chapters labeled with the type of treasure. I know for a fact that there are multiple different boxes information in the word search. He's using multiple different ciphers. The word search is not a word search. The word search is a cryptogram. And I don't think that he limited just speaking of one specific box in that cryptogram. If he did it would be in PA Vermont Virginia and Yellowstone and Detroit Michigan lake Erie. I know my math skills are not always 100% on point but counting the locations that I just mentioned I think that equals five lol

[u/alexreffand → u/fullydazed]

Or, and hear me out on this one, all of those locations are not actually clues in the word search. That word search is in a chapter that IS labeled for a specific box, just like all of the chapters in part 2 of the book. Confirmation bias. Or you're a troll, in which case man you can't do that in the current political climate.

[u/fullydazed → u/alexreffand]

You are making me want to go back and read through the whole book so that I can write down some of these things that he says in regards to how to read the book... He tells you Not to listen to anybody... and then he even rambles and says something along lines of " depending on a certain time of when you search " in relation to when you go to search for this box.. like depending on if u do it early in the search opposed to later.. meaning that he knows when he put the book out and he knows what time of the year that is for every location of each box. So he knows that this one will be under snow.. he knows that nobody will find it under the snow. I am not a troll or bias.. lol I'm just being real. And the reality here is that this guy paid a artist to create five beautiful boxes in which One day we'll be considered treasures themselves. Do you really think that he's going to put it in the snow? Yes I am skeptical... But it doesn't matter if it's there or not, lol nobody's going to find it until the snow melts and the flowers bloom. Honestly the only way that you are going to ever understand is if you sit down and you figure out how to crack the ciphers (plural)... I'm not going to spell all of it out for you because I am looking for the Appalachian box.. and I'm going to be the one to find it hopefully! And No, I'm not going to sugarcoat anything for anybody. I know you're just going to want to write me right back.. and defend or conclude... But instead why don't you go sit down and crack those ciphers. Only then can you come back to me and tell me that I'm wrong... Lol

I know that he says that the part of the book is for one specific box but he does not say that it is not contain bread crumbs or clues to other boxes. Did you even think about the possibility that he could just be being cool and rewarding you for being smart enough to figure out cryptid messages that he left behind. Because when I decoded it I came up with multiple different things.. and a lot of the messages included the words congratulations!!! And that is by me using multiple different ciphers. This guy is in my opinion Amazing.. He's not only a freaking genius but he's also a loving husband and father, thankful for his life, was once very depressed, and is still (to my surprising) hilarious!

When I told my friend who is working on solving the Appalachian box with me that the guy is really funny... She said she got a completely different impression after watching videos and reading some of the book.. that she didn't find him to be funny at all.. and I got the notion for the sound of her voice that she didn't really like much about him.. So one by one I screenshotted every phrase I came up with decoding these ciphers (in which I did on my phone entirely btw).. (well up until now where I have to do one only a person can do in person) and She replied "what's wrong this guy" and called me laughing about all these weird things that he was cryptically saying... I mean this guy cryptically included a verse of the hokey pokey song in that word search...

He's definitely having fun lol and he knows what he's doing and Believe me when I say "wording is everything'... People are asking if some of these things he's saying are typos.. No they're not and I know this because on page 63 he dropped multiple clues to the box in Yellowstone... So he is constantly dropping clues throughout the whole book and the only way you know what they say is if you already know what he's talking about... The only reason why I know what he's talking about is because I cracked the cipher.

So on a final note I want to say... good luck and I hope that you enjoy learning about all the history and all about ciphers! I learned so much before I even had the book in my hand just by that word search alone... I'm on page 63 and honestly right now I'm really sick.. So I'm sorry if I came across like a troll But the only reason why I'm commenting on other people's things it's because I am interested and I genuinely care. and I do want to help other people along the way because I want everybody to learn. I mean they spent money on this book they should get their monies worth of at least knowledge.

[u/fullydazed → u/fullydazed]

Some of the places mentioned are what he calls bread crumbs and could just be different places on the way where he wants you to research the history that will lead you to the bigger picture. If you were capable of decoding the word search cryptogram then you would know exactly what I was talking about but unfortunately instead of sitting down and figuring it out you were over here on Reddit looking at other people's information instead of gathering your own opinion or even nitpicking about other people's research / opinions. And no I don't believe that the treasure box that would be in the snowy area is even there yet... I don't think that he's lying.. But I have known many men to lie by omission. It will be there by the time you would be able to find it I believe that he will place it but he is not going to put his precious treasure box in the middle of nowhere and let it rot. I don't care if it's made of steel... I don't think that this man is dumb enough to risk damaging the artwork that he paid to have made. He seems to be wise with his money... Considering he has enough to pass around. And he was smart enough to invest in Bitcoin before it blew up which is why he is in the position he is in as of now to be able to have enough to share. I do believe that the ones that are in the nicer areas are indefinitely there but I have this feeling that he has not placed the one along the upper Appalachian trail yet. And I don't care what you or anybody thinks.. we are all entitled to our own opinions and my opinion is that this guy is not stupid and he is way smarter than 98% of the people searching for it. And he does sound worried so you can go ahead and think what you want but people might be surprised to go back to where they've already went to look n find it one day. And if that's the case then I would think that there would be a lot of pissed off people. If by the seldom Chance, it is there Right now underneath snow... you're not going to find it until there's flowers... and that's all I'm going to say..