A Recap of Blackthorne Resort’s Lost Treasure Weekend – 2018

The Annual “Lost Treasure Weekend” hunt, at The Blackthorne Resort in the Catskills was held June 15^th through 17^th, 2018.  Last year my review of this event wasn’t too positive, however, this year’s review is much more favorable because this year I had a better idea of what to expect, and I also felt the event had actually improved.

I procrastinated a bit over whether or not I was going to attend due to my previous experience.  In the end though, I decided to go because 1.) They allow dogs, and 2.) I knew so many people who were attending that, regardless how I feel about seeded hunts, I knew I would have a good time.

I regret not booking earlier and opting for the more expensive room, because the less expensive rooms come with spiders. They are free of charge though, so if you’re a fan, you might consider that a bonus.  Other than that, it was satisfactory for the price.

Actually, the entire weekend is pretty reasonable pricewise.  You get (this is from memory, so don’t hold me to it, you can view their flyer here http://www.blackthorneresort.com/lost-treasure-weekend-june-15-17-2018/ ) lodging for 2 nights, breakfast & dinner, a barbeque on Saturday, a natural hunt, and 4 or 5 seeded hunts with prizes, for around $400.

I arrived early Friday to make sure I got a seat on the bus which provides transport to and from the natural hunts.  The bus was crowded, but at least there wasn’t a stripper pole taking up all the seating (if you’re not familiar, you’ll have to read last year’s article to understand).

The first site was a hotel.  Some people found silver, and someone found a gold ring, I didn’t find anything except clad, but it was a very small area with a lot of people.  We were only there about a half an hour, and then they were rounding us up to leave.

I decided that I didn’t want to get back on the bus, and caught a ride with Kevin D. from my club.  The bus that I was so keen to ride in, was totally over-rated. Getting off the took a while, and by the time the last 4 or 5 rows of hunters were off, the organizers had already given the history and lay of the land to the folks who had gotten off first.  That really annoyed me.  The organizers should wait until everyone is present before giving IMPORTANT INFORMATION about hunt boundaries and off limit areas.  It will save a lot of confusion and frustration, and keep the property owners happy.  Hopefully they will address this in the future.

The next spot was a colonial farm, with some fields.  Once again, there wasn’t much time.  The area was pretty big, I had wanted to walk around the yard then check out the field across the street, but by the time I got back to the house, everyone was leaving.

The next stop was lunch.  It cracks me up that during the natural hunt, they drive a bus full of detectorists to a pavilion, in the middle of what seems like nowhere, and serve them a catered hot lunch.  It was pretty good too, chicken, I remember chicken, and salads, and dessert, and coffee, etc…

I would like to tell you about where we went next, but I’ve been wracking my brain, and I don’t remember.  What I do remember is going to a school and local permission after the natural hunt with friends from the Nor’easters and YTC clubs, and finding a silver ring.

The temperature was unseasonably hot, and I had a pounding headache that wouldn’t let up.  I felt super tired, so I went and sat under the pavilion at the school. Whatever was wrong with me was getting worse by the minute, and then nausea took over.  I was thinking virus? Flu? I wasn’t sure what was going on, I just knew I really needed to go lay down, so when a few folks decided to head back to the Blackthorne, I was the first in the car.

Once there, I got a few advil and a water from one of the guys, and headed off to my room.  The dog was waiting for me, and I knew she needed to go out.  I was feeling dizzy, as I said “just a minute Abby…”, and fell into the chair. I was totally out of it, and nodded off right there.  I woke up, saw the dog staring at me,  but I couldn’t get out of the chair, I literally could not get up. I was disoriented, and a little scared.  I vaguely remember looking down at my phone and thinking, Joe is a nurse, and Kevin is an EMT, at least they could keep me alive until I got to a hospital… then I was out.

I must have been asleep for a good hour or so when I woke up to Rich from the YTC club banging on the door checking in on me.  Thank you Rich.  Luckily, the water and rest in the cool room had done me a lot of good, and I was feeling almost normal again.

What I didn’t know then, that I know now, is that I was suffering from some pretty bad dehydration.  I love coffee, and with the exception of my morning coffee, the coffee I had with lunch, and a half a bottle of water (hey, I wasn’t thirsty), that was all I had to drink during the day.  Combine that with walking around in the hot sun, swinging and digging all day, well, lets just say I’m not always the brightest crayon in the box…

Not a happy part of “Lost Treasure Weekend”, but I felt it was very important to include it here for my fellow detectorists, because dehydration & heat exhaustion—things I never thought would happen to me, are real.  Our hobby has us out in the sun exercising a lot, and I did not recognize the signs. It had never happened to me before, so why would I think my symptoms were heat or dehydration related?

So, please be aware of these symptoms, I had a bunch of them, and had I known what they meant, I could have kept them from getting worse:

Signs of mild or moderate dehydration include:
Thirst (in older adults dehydration can occur without thirst)
Dry or sticky mouth
Not peeing very much
Dark yellow pee
Dry, cool skin
Headache
Muscle cramps
Feeling dizzy
Rapid heartbeat
Rapid breathing
Sleepiness, lack of energy, confusion or irritability
Fainting

Okay, so now you’ve been warned–back to the Blackthorne…

The rest of the weekend was great.  There was a lot of good food to eat, a bunch of seeded hunts where tokens were planted and you could turn them in for various coins & prizes, or a rummage through the “Trunk of Junk”.  This year, I felt, the trunk had much better junk in it than last year. Some folks actually wanted some of the things that were in there!  It’s all in good fun, and its’ just one of those things at Blackthorne…

They also added a large sandbox that was seeded with all different coins, and you could win a chance to dig a scoop out of it.  I thought it was a cute idea, and I did win a scoop, and came out with a Buffalo nickel and some foreign coins.

If it’s your thing, the nightlife at Blackthorne is hopping.  Underneath their restaurant, is a large bar with a dance floor and outside patio area.  They also have live bands, and it did seem to be the hot spot of that particular area of the Catskills.

Then there is the “Tree of Life”.  It’s a tree with a little door on it, on a trail behind the hotel. Inside this little door is a bottle of some type of random alcohol, which mysteriously gets replenished on a daily basis.  It’s a tradition in the evening (usually once you’re already buzzed), to take a walk to this tree and have a shot of whatever is contained therein.  I took the walk, yet abstained from the taste test, but this night time folly makes for some great photo ops.

The last seeded hunt was on Sunday morning.  After everyone collects their prizes from the hunt, they have raffles.  This year I was the lucky winner of the Equinox 600, and it was very ironic, because after months of trying to decide between the XP Deus and the Equinox, I had just bought the Deus two weeks earlier.  So now I have both, pretty cool.

I had an awesome time hanging out and hunting with fellow detectorist’s and friends (some who I haven’t seen since last years hunt), and the weekend was over way too soon.  Next year I might have to stay a few extra days.

Happy Hunting!