Friends bury $10,000 in cash and silver and post clues online to ‘cheer people up’ amid pandemic

Two friends from Utah have buried $10,000 of their own money for an epic treasure to cultivate cheer after a harrowing year and a half of Covid-19.

Officially titled The Utah Treasure Hunt, the adventure began in 2020 when David Cline and John Maxim buried $5,000 in nearby mountains.

“We wanted to do something that would give everyone a way to safely get outside and have fun,” they said on the The Utah Treasure Hunt site, adding that they thought it would take at least a month to be find. Instead, it was located in just four days.

“We completely underestimated the response and talent of people who would search,” they continued.

This year, Cline and Maxim are determined to make the hunt more of a challenge, increasing the prize to a “self-funded” $10,000 reward, plus a 10-ounce silver coin.

Cline and Maxim announced the second adventure hunt via Facebook and Instagram, attaching a poem chock full of clues. The pair plans to share additional clues to social media every Friday.

So far, the only supplementary hints they’ve provided are that the treasure is not hidden in a ski resort, and that it’s not “buried six feet under.” They also made sure to reiterate that it’s not on private property, so to prevent participants from trespassing.

Hint #1: The treasure isn’t hidden at a ski resort.Photo Credit: the.cline.fam/Instagram.

“There’s a lot of people out there that just love a good treasure hunt,” Cline said, per Fox News. “It’s kind of exciting that ... it’s like one of the only things in all of our society that kind of transcends, you know, political lines and everything. Everyone loves a treasure hunt.”

Clilne thinks at least 1,000 people are participating, and have come to Utah to seek the treasure from as far away as Hawaii and Atlanta.

Hint #2: The treasure isn’t buried 6 feet under.Photo Credit: the.cline.fam/Instagram.

“I think that the response and just the genius of the community is way too powerful for that, so we’re hoping for at least like maybe a couple weeks,” Cline said of how long he hopes it takes for people to find it this time around.

“For us, the joy of it is just kind of watching families and friends and couples and everybody just get out into the mountains and discover new places and have a great time doing it,” he continued. “There is something fun about kind of sitting back and just seeing, you know, thousands of people try and solve your riddle as they wander the mountains.”