Continuing My Search for the Appalachian Footpath Box
Moving On
I recently got back from my trip to Little Rock Pond. I made my trip because I wanted to find the treasure, sure, but more so, because I wanted to either double down on the area or move on. Now that I’m back, it’s time for me to decide how I want to approach this puzzle moving forward. Before I left, my opinion was that the treasure was at Little Rock Pond, and if you were looking elsewhere, you had to have a good reason for the dashed line matching there. That’s essentially what I still believe, except I’ve switched camps. I want to begin working on a solve outside of Little Rock Pond, but one that provides a good explanation of why the dashed line is on the map. I’m not going so far as to rule out Little Rock Pond. But I do want to broaden my thinking. All of this starts with me asking myself the question: if the treasure isn’t at Little Rock Pond, what does the dashed line mean?
Reconciling the Dashed Line
Something that has always been hard for me is coming up with an explanation for the dashed line, other than that’s where the treasure is. If it isn’t at Little Rock Pond, then the dashed line matching there is a giant clue that nobody has been able to apply to a second location successfully. The dashed line is such a big, in-your-face clue that it’s hard for me to ignore.
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I’ve sat and just thought about this map. I think back on some of the advice Jon has given to those who are working on his hunt. I’ve thought about him saying, “Let the clues guide you.” This is where I find myself between a rock and a hard place. The dashed line guides me to Little Rock Pond, and the rest of the map could guide me to half of the Appalachian Trail. So, I do a lot of horse trading with myself to create a solve. I’m sure I’m not alone in this. The problem, obviously, is that we are probably not creating the strongest solves, if we are ignoring portions of the map to get there. Then again, there are three distinct ways to arrive at the location. So maybe you never need to reconcile anything, because it’s not needed for whichever distinct way you may be working on.
The Faint Dashes
The faint dashes are something I’ve been obsessed with for quite some time. They fall into the “Has to Mean Something” category. It’s something that I just can’t get over. I’ve written about the faint dashes in the past. The idea of using the faint dashes to create a new dashed line is an idea I still like. This, to me, is an excellent way to use the dashed line on the map. Instead of using it to match Little Rock Pond, the new shape would match a different section of the trail, with presumably more connections to the pictograms than Little Rock Pond. This is my leading theory on how to use the dashed line from the map, but not end up at Little Rock Pond.
So, where do I go from here? I think my next step is going to be to start with a clean slate, as best I can, and see where I end up. Having worked on this map for as long as I have, it will be impossible to get rid of all biases. Be that as it may, I’m excited to begin working on a new solve. Starting with a clean slate and letting go of an old solve, I think, actually helps provide you with a lot of freedom. I get to start this hunt over again, experience the thrill of having places from the map align with my solve, and gain back some of the open-mindedness I had at the beginning of the hunt. I still will not rule Little Rock Pond out, but for now, it’s being put on the shelf while I rework my solve.
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For video content related to There’s Treasure Inside on YouTube, take a look at Erik’s channel over at One Clue Short of a Treasure
