SALT LAKE CITY — Put on your thinking caps and lace up your hiking boots: a treasure hunt worth $25,000 is underway once again in Utah.
Real estate investors David Cline and John Maxim released the first clue to their 5th annual treasure hunt on Saturday. But this time, even deciphering the clues takes a bit of extra effort for most participants.
Cline and Maxim have been hiding treasure chests with thousands of dollars inside since 2020. And since 2021, they have done two each year: a "Poem Hunt" and a "QR Hunt."
WATCH: $25,000 Utah Treasure Hunt prize found by out-of-state visitor
The two men provide clues on their Instagram pages, as well as via email to those who subscribe on the "Utah Treasure Hunt" website.
The first clue was a poem written in Spanish.
The poem reads:
Si sufres dolor que se cura con oro
Busca el atajo donde canta el coro
Encuentra el lugar por el cual se nombra
Dale la vuelta y sigue la sombra
¿dónde aprendes a oler el helado?
¿O comimos langostas en el pasado?
Cuando vuelves a mirar el amanecer
Sigue derecho, lo puede hacer
Mira los números como si fueras un cuervo
La edad cuando el llegó es lo que observo
Ahora estás cerca, una última pista
Muévete al lugar con la mejor vista
The following is the translation via Google Translate:
If you suffer pain that is cured with gold
Find the shortcut where the choir sings
Find the place it is named after
Turn around and follow the shadow
where do you learn to smell ice cream?
Or did we eat lobsters in the past?
When you look at the sunrise again
Go straight, you can do it
Look at the numbers like you're a crow
The age when he arrived is what I observe
Now you're close, one last clue
Move to the place with the best view
Some Instagram commenters have said "Sigue derecho" means "Stay right," but others pointed out that the Spanish word for "right" (the direction) is "derecha," not "derecho."
The organizers said participants must be following them both on Instagram (@the.cline.fam and @onthejohn) in order to be eligible. They'll share additional clues there, as well as via email every Friday.
Maxim and Cline also urged participants to keep themselves safe and Utah's beauty unharmed. They said no "rock climbing, mountain goating, bush wacking, or digging" will be necessary to find the treasure, and it is not on private property, so they warn everyone to not trespass "anywhere."
"The shortest hunt lasted 4 days the longest hunt lasted two months… how long will it take you to find this one?" they wrote in their Instagram post.
