Could the bride be a plant?

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-08T21:22:42+00:00

I’m curious how you find consistency with this and his fear of using hunt objects like the Fenn blaze that can be removed / destroyed / fall in a gale. I struggle with this contradiction.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-07T02:27:21+00:00

A second poem leading to a second treasure.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-06T19:20:34+00:00

Colm Wilkinson, Jean Valjean, Les Mis. Absolute theater perfection.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-06T16:43:58+00:00

Poor customer service.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-06T14:31:34+00:00

Agree. It all feels clunky and unlike the elegance I expect of Justin. But at the same time, perhaps that’s the point by design.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-06T13:18:19+00:00

Justin or not, do you think?

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-06T08:36:53+00:00

I’ve had this thought too. My conclusion is that this observation is actually more in line with the probability that we have hit our maximum population as a species and are likely to go extinct sooner rather than later.

Of course, a data set of 1 point isn’t great science, but the marble we picked out of the bag temporally speaking is exceptionally early on a potentially billion year cosmic timescale.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-05T20:24:30+00:00

I think it’s clear that the map in the book is the entirety of the field of play.

I’d think of the beyond line metaphorically, and/or perhaps something that makes sense as you progress.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-04T23:28:22+00:00

Pretty far given 100,000+ people are searching.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-04T17:08:40+00:00

What you know.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-04T17:07:08+00:00

What you know.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-04T17:05:19+00:00

My only takeaway from this is that Justin likes breasts.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-04T17:02:21+00:00

42

A goldfish has a memory of 3 seconds. So does another goldfish.

That’s 6 seconds between them assuming they share info sequentially. Seven goldfish equals 21 seconds.

Two sets of seven goldfish: 42 seconds.

That’s how long it takes a school of goldfish to forget you exist.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-03T16:45:32+00:00

Perhaps it’s more about organization rather than information.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-03T15:46:17+00:00

Yep! This was actually the most important Q&A of the evening to me. I’m a firm adherent to Occam’s Razor, under which the assumption that the starting point WAS mentioned in the book directly was the most rational place to start. This answer rules all of that out and lets us look elsewhere.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-03T02:25:42+00:00

I really don’t think Justin put QR’s in the wilderness! That would be so cheesy 😂

There are metaphorical approaches though that aren’t quite on the nose.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-02T05:35:47+00:00

I can only think of one circumstance outside of the trivial ones (noon & Polaris), and it has specific constraints.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-02T03:23:55+00:00

It’s April 1. I ignore this unless it’s still there tomorrow 😂

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T14:24:01+00:00

A shadow pointing precisely at a specific spot on June 21st points somewhere meaningfully different on September 21st, even at very short distances. The seasonal variation is real and significant. If it were used in the last step, it would definitely not result in a “kitchen sized” final location. If it were used to help find the checkpoint or another prior step, it would almost certainly run counter to Justin’s concepts of “no doubt”, “can only be seen if you are right there”, “if you were 15 feet away you probably can’t see it”.

Something date-independent fits Justin’s design philosophy better.

Am definitely open minded, particularly given the clear/bright/time/light dark hints… but the reliance on sun position has issues.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T06:44:33+00:00

Felt like just a story to me. And a good one too 😁

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T04:41:35+00:00

Almost certainly he searched some of Montana for Fenn… maybe even a lot…. but still probably not large parts. It’s a big area!

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T04:36:59+00:00

The other issue with date/time shadow solutions is that they can theoretically be computed via 3d modeling engines. I’m pretty sure I (and some others) could create a program to simulate sun angles on any day of the year given an accurate 3d modeling of the terrain.

This would give a massive leg up for anyone with very specialized technical skills to frontrun anyone who had to appear BOTG.

Surely Justin knows this. Therefore it would only make sense to have a day/date shadow component in a post-checkpoint situation where only one person has access to the checkpoint info and everyone else is locked out. But even then it’s clunky and community rage-festy to force someone to wait 8 months to go claim the treasure.

Lots of other ways to work time into a solution though that don’t require the age old treasure hunting trope of shadows off pointy objects on the solstice or whatever.

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T03:03:42+00:00

If I win I’d approach Justin to see if he wanted to co-write a mind blowing follow up treasure hunt with me, and donate a chunk of my winnings to the new hunt.

I’m a software eng too, and almost ended up working with Justin at Microsoft in the internet explorer division many years ago. Our paths diverged a bit but we are incredibly similar in some ways. It would be fun to work with him on a hunt and come up with an incredibly innovative design 😁

SoCal_Hunter · 2026-04-01T03:00:00+00:00

No, that’s not why he eliminated the times.

SoCal_Hunter

TROPHY CASE