Mysterious SF treasure hunt appears on Reddit

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — On Tuesday, a mysterious post appeared on Reddit, claiming that a treasure chest worth $10,000 was buried somewhere in San Francisco. The treasure, according to the website attached to the post, can be found in a 22 pound chest that’s “brimming with gleaming ingots, currency, and San Francisco artifacts.”

About half of the treasure’s value is in gold.

Why would someone bury treasure in San Francisco? According to the poster, the group behind the treasure hunt, “always figured treasure hunting would feature more heavily in life. Right alongside quicksand and tattered rope bridges.”

“Sadly, the science seems to be out on quicksand and, thanks to modern building standards, rope bridges are stronger than ever,” the treasure hunt’s website continued. “Buried treasure chests seem equally rare, but those we realized we could do something about.”

“And so we did.”

Like all good buried treasure hunts, this one contains a map of sorts that contains clues. The map, which was posted on Reddit, shows a compass pointing North along with iconic images of SF including the Golden Gate Bridge, a cable car, Sutro Tower, and the Palace of Fine Arts.

The clues on the map read as follows:

• Eighteen bold letters. Preserved in a clearing, sight a dark room’s view of brave surfers reeling
• From dry ruin’s gate to solar’s tall mast, chart a historic cross– the art of one’s path
• Go trace the true route, venture only at night: to be certain of bearing, you’ll need to pack a light
• In the steadfast basin, where feet part and agree, dig a shovel’s depth down — you’ll find the treasure you seek

KRON4 reached out to the organizers of the SF treasure hunt and learned that while this is the group’s first treasure hunt, treasure hunts on Reddit are kind of a thing. An unidentified spokesperson for the treasure hunt said the organizers were funding it out-of–pocket.

“We can technically afford it, but it’s not a wise financial decision,” they said. “If anyone’s wondering if $10,000 was a lot for us to bury in the dirt, it VERY much was. But you can’t call it treasure if it’s not valuable and beckoning.”

When asked for further clarification on why they would bury treasure in the city, the group mentioned Forrest Fenn, an art dealer who hid a $2 million treasure in the Rocky Mountains in 2010.

“There’s a romantic allure to treasure burying and seeking,” they continued. “A rich lore and movie tropes that peppered our upbringing. We love adventure and this was a chance to have one ourselves and create one for others.”

There were few other clues beyond those included in the post. The Reddit account that posted the treasure hunt had no other posts, just comments and replies to the main treasure hunt post. Reactions from other Reddit users were predictably mixed.

“Very cool!!” wrote one.

“Why can’t bored billionaires just do this all day?” wrote another.

If you’re looking for more information, additional clues, or want to try your hand at a little treasure hunting, the organizers of the hunt said they’d be happy to answer questions on Reddit. When KRON4 contacted them, they got right back to us and answered our questions.

Is it for a real? We honestly can’t say for sure, but it’s certainly elaborately detailed and the person we spoke to — who again, wished to remain anonymous — was insistent that it was. The only way to find out for sure might be to try your hand at finding the treasure.