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This is the first time I'm hearing of this treasure - fun stuff! Reading the poem, the first place that popped into my head is Brown's Canyon National Monument

This is the first time I'm hearing of this treasure - fun stuff! Reading the poem, the first place that popped into my head is Brown's Canyon National Monument, just outside of Salida, Colorado. https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/browns-canyon-national-monument https://www.fs.fed.us/visit/browns-canyon-national-monument It's just 3.5 to 4 hours north of Santa Fe, is an area with multiple hot springs (Mt. Princeton, Poncha Springs, etc.), and downstream (Arkansas River) you go through Bighorn Sheep Canyon and the Royal George. It's just an amazing area on this Earth.

logfromblammo 10y ago
So maybe go to Nathrop, CO, put your raft on Arkansas River where Chalk Creek, Gas Creek, or Cottonwood Creek joins it, then go downstream past 2 Class IV rapids (Canyon Doors, Pinball) and "put in" below Browns Creek. There is a rail line there, so if you are squeamish about whitewater, it probably wouldn't be difficult to portage around the 12 named rapids on that section of the river. You could probably park at Hecla Junction and reach the search area by land. Below Widowmaker (IV) rapids is an intermittent creek bed ("no paddle") to the west, that runs into some trees surrounded by big boulders ("heavy loads"). I'd start at 38.668777 N, 106.055444 W and follow the dry creek bed up to at least 38.670606 N, 106.063440 W, myself, but I'm not likely to ever visit that part of the country. If you find the chest there, send me a gloating postcard. The place appears to be surrounded by ATV trails within 200 feet, so it's likely the guy just claimed "someone has been within 200 feet" because people are within 200 feet of it frequently, just from riding the trails.
- developer2 10y ago
  I suspect that 200 feet off any walkable/drivable path is too easy for such a treasure. It's more likely within 200 feet of a river/stream/creek - the assumption being that there are people canoeing past without getting out and traversing overgrowth with no obvious man made paths. The only detail that really matters in terms of whether someone can ever even find it is whether it is buried. If it's buried with no markers, the odds of stumbling upon it even with a metal detector are so incredibly low.
  - logfromblammo 10y ago
    If I were nearly 80 years old, I'd skip the shovel, and either drop it in a natural crevice or dump it underwater. Then mark a blaze on a vertical surface, so that it's only visible from ground level. Also, 200 horizontal feet does not account for terrain. 2/3 of the way across a football field is not equivalent to 200 feet across a hedge maze.
    - developer2 10y ago
      I love your way of thinking. Assuming proper waterproofing, hiding it underwater would be the most unexpected thing you could do. I'm a smart guy and that thought hadn't occurred to me, even if I only dedicated 3 minutes of my time to the process. The majority of people would naturally assume it's on land; to place it in the water automatically ruins the consensus assumption.
      - turc1656 10y ago
        Weird. This is the very first thing I thought of. That, or properly secured way up in a huge tree. How many people are looking up, right? Although, the tree thing doesn't fit with his ability as a ~80 year old to put it up there. I believe the reason my mind first went here is because of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn - in the climax of the film Spock analyzes Kahn's movements and informs Kirk, "his pattern suggests two dimensional thinking."
        logfromblammo 10y ago
        You also have to account for wildlife and weather. You wouldn't want a big blow or a bear to knock your chest down and scatter the contents. But you're correct that most people don't look in all directions when they walk. Underwater was actually the first thing I thought of. Why a bronze chest, after all? Gold doesn't corrode, and bronze doesn't float. I recall tales of WW2 military units tasked with cleverly camouflaging things. Technology has progressed. You can now take a photograph of terrain and print that exact photo onto a cloth which can then be epoxied over a fiberglass form and decorated with local surface features. So I could make a fake fiberglass rock large enough to cover a 10" cube, perfectly camouflage it with a custom print shop order and about $80 in supplies, and anchor it to the ground. You might not realize it was a treasure cache even if you tripped and landed with your face one meter away from it. But that's not necessary if you just control sight lines.

logfromblammo 10y ago

So maybe go to Nathrop, CO, put your raft on Arkansas River where Chalk Creek, Gas Creek, or Cottonwood Creek joins it, then go downstream past 2 Class IV rapids (Canyon Doors, Pinball) and "put in" below Browns Creek. There is a rail line there, so if you are squeamish about whitewater, it probably wouldn't be difficult to portage around the 12 named rapids on that section of the river. You could probably park at Hecla Junction and reach the search area by land. Below Widowmaker (IV) rapids is an intermittent creek bed ("no paddle") to the west, that runs into some trees surrounded by big boulders ("heavy loads"). I'd start at 38.668777 N, 106.055444 W and follow the dry creek bed up to at least 38.670606 N, 106.063440 W, myself, but I'm not likely to ever visit that part of the country. If you find the chest there, send me a gloating postcard. The place appears to be surrounded by ATV trails within 200 feet, so it's likely the guy just claimed "someone has been within 200 feet" because people are within 200 feet of it frequently, just from riding the trails.

developer2 10y ago
I suspect that 200 feet off any walkable/drivable path is too easy for such a treasure. It's more likely within 200 feet of a river/stream/creek - the assumption being that there are people canoeing past without getting out and traversing overgrowth with no obvious man made paths. The only detail that really matters in terms of whether someone can ever even find it is whether it is buried. If it's buried with no markers, the odds of stumbling upon it even with a metal detector are so incredibly low.
- logfromblammo 10y ago
  If I were nearly 80 years old, I'd skip the shovel, and either drop it in a natural crevice or dump it underwater. Then mark a blaze on a vertical surface, so that it's only visible from ground level. Also, 200 horizontal feet does not account for terrain. 2/3 of the way across a football field is not equivalent to 200 feet across a hedge maze.
  - developer2 10y ago
    I love your way of thinking. Assuming proper waterproofing, hiding it underwater would be the most unexpected thing you could do. I'm a smart guy and that thought hadn't occurred to me, even if I only dedicated 3 minutes of my time to the process. The majority of people would naturally assume it's on land; to place it in the water automatically ruins the consensus assumption.
    - turc1656 10y ago
      Weird. This is the very first thing I thought of. That, or properly secured way up in a huge tree. How many people are looking up, right? Although, the tree thing doesn't fit with his ability as a ~80 year old to put it up there. I believe the reason my mind first went here is because of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn - in the climax of the film Spock analyzes Kahn's movements and informs Kirk, "his pattern suggests two dimensional thinking."
      - logfromblammo 10y ago
        You also have to account for wildlife and weather. You wouldn't want a big blow or a bear to knock your chest down and scatter the contents. But you're correct that most people don't look in all directions when they walk. Underwater was actually the first thing I thought of. Why a bronze chest, after all? Gold doesn't corrode, and bronze doesn't float. I recall tales of WW2 military units tasked with cleverly camouflaging things. Technology has progressed. You can now take a photograph of terrain and print that exact photo onto a cloth which can then be epoxied over a fiberglass form and decorated with local surface features. So I could make a fake fiberglass rock large enough to cover a 10" cube, perfectly camouflage it with a custom print shop order and about $80 in supplies, and anchor it to the ground. You might not realize it was a treasure cache even if you tripped and landed with your face one meter away from it. But that's not necessary if you just control sight lines.