There's Treasure Inside

This book and treasure hunt have been a life raft. JCB created something challenging. interesting and hopeful that takes my attention away from doomscrolling. It couldn’t have come at a better time. The puzzles are NOT easy or obvious and will keep clever puzzlers busy for a long time. They come in multiple forms. Even beyond the puzzles, the overall structure of the hunt was well-designed. JCB took care to avoid the problems of previous treasure hunts. It’s designed to encourage people to get out into nature and appreciate the wonderful treasures of our public parks in the U.S. While working out the puzzles, I have been inspired to read books, learn history, and plan family trips to beautiful places. Even getting into shape so I’m prepared for lots of hiking. Best of all, the “what would I do with a million dollars” thinking has got me wondering, could I maybe do that even without the million dollars? Even in dark times, all of us should keep thinking big about how to make the world a better place.

Very interesting book. My son loved it.

I am actively using this book and have hundreds of hours spent on my solve (still yet to be solved 😁). I LOVE IT! So much history told in the stories, I read it DAILY. Rich with multiple layers of clues, puzzles, and word games. This is a fabulous read all by itself, but it actually will lead you to treasure if you’re clever. We have already been boots-on-the-ground several times now. We are having so much fun! You don’t have to be Einstein to understand it or a world-class hiker. The author promises no digging, no swimming or boating, no danger and pretty much anyone can do it. It is simple, yet complex as far as clues go. You have to use your noggin! I enjoy the stories and the parallel context of clues. Your brain will stay actively engaged for hours. The author did an amazing job, it is brilliant in concept and execution. By far, the GOAT of all treasure hunts right now!

John Collins Black is the very best and I love this book. The puzzles, riddles, and endless information is so fun. My family and I had a blast for about a month trying to locate hidden treasure but no luck. Even though we did not find any of the hidden treasure, this book had us spending time together, and getting out to explore some beautiful locations, so thats a treasure onnits own. Even if all treasure is found you should buy this book, it is packed with funny stories, and interesting history.

——- Update (12/31/24) ——- With a little distance from this initial review—and a bit more rereading under my belt—it seems I forgot several lessons that the book covered in detail. I’m not surprised I did. I tend to learn lessons multiple times, the hard way. There’s a lot more to say, but I think for now, as we approach the new year, I’ll leave you with a pertinent quote from the book: “So, if you want to find the treasures, I’ve hidden, don’t demand too much of yourself. You don’t have to find them quickly or on your first try. If you do, congratulations. But if you do not, then use your failure as an opportunity to evaluate, understand more, and try again. I would not be surprised if failure winds up being part of the process that eventually leads you to our treasure. Welcome it as much as you are capable.” ——- Original Review ——- I spent the majority of the last two weeks exploring this book and making extensive notes on it. I was having a wonderful time doing it, and even felt like Jon was something of a kindred soul. I was totally invested and grew more and more excited about it every day. Eventually I felt like I was closing in on the location of one of the chests. The Appalachian Footpath Box. It wasn’t exactly a perfect match to the map in the book, but it was pretty dang close. Closer than anything else I’d been able to find after going over the entire trail in detail. Some of the other hints seemed to line up too. So armed with what I thought was the general location of a chest, I paid for a round-trip ticket across the country, a rental car, 6 days at an Airbnb, and all sorts of outdoor gear. This was a big deal for me, and I don’t just mean financially. I never take trips by myself. I have ADHD and anxiety issues. Low self-esteem. But the writing spoke to me. It was inspirational. So much so that in place of my usual negative self-talk I started thinking thoughts like “Why NOT me?” SOMEONE was going to find the chest. Why couldn’t it be me? It honestly felt empowering and I couldn’t help but think about how good it would feel to be one of the few people to find a chest. Heck, maybe I’d be able to pay it forward some day and create a hidden treasure of my own. Ok, flash forward to a couple hours ago. I’m in the Airbnb looking at the map after having spent the day searching the location. Doubts are starting to set in. What if I was wrong? Could there be a location on the AT that I accidentally passed over in my search? After spending more time going over the AT map, I decided to poke around on the internet to see what I could find (The book recommends not to. This was my first time). That’s when I came across a blog that specifically discusses the map. What I read made my heart drop into my stomach. It suddenly made sense why I never found a perfect match. I’d made a small assumption. One that a lotta people probably make. The text purposefully leads you into it and even the clue implies it. Now I’m out $2,000 from the trip and feel like a total idiot. I don’t have a lot of money. Worse yet, I won’t even be with my partner for NYE because I came here. The exciting adventure I thought I was going on has turned into another thing to endlessly beat myself up about. I know it’s my fault—even if the chapter is incredibly deceptive—but I also know there’s other people out there like me who will get inspired and excited and end up doing something they regret. Maybe with a little luck this review will find them first. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t buy the book. It’s incredibly well written. I throughly enjoyed every page and I think it would be a worthwhile read even without the treasure. But if you’re the kind of person who gets excited easily, or has executive function issues like me, you could get yourself into trouble. So be very careful if you invest yourself in this book. If you aren’t, you could find yourself with less joy than you started with.

Best purchase i've made on amazon. Greatest treasure hunting book of all time. Thank you JCB!! LSs

I mean come on…how can I not buy this. What do they say? A dollar and a dream? I’ve got $50 dollars for some clues . I’ve spent $50 on way dumber things …what a great way to let my inner child out and get in the woods with my kids. The author is brilliant and I hope to meet him

This book is extremely clever and brilliantly constructed. I found about 60-70 clues on my first read-through. I never made it completely through a 2nd read-through cause I believe I found the location of the largest treasure. Only time will tell. In any event, this book has great stories, histories of the items in the treasure, fantastic photos, and a few lessons for the reader. I'm obsessed!

Beautiful and amazing book