Can the Poem Be Solved Before You Leave

Yes!

The poem can be solved before you leave to go to the treasure!

Hints Fenn Drops

Since I started trying to solve the poem, I've looked to identify patterns in what Fenn writes and says, and he frequently says the same things, again and again; as if making a point because he knows no one understood what he's been trying to say.

One of my favorite hints is his use of the word quarter - never underestimate the power of a quarter!  

Now ask yourself, why does he repeatedly bring a "quarter" into play?

A physical quarter, twenty-five cents, 25, 25%, a coin toss, 50/50, one quarter of something, 25/100, portion, or something else?

Quarter?  To quarter is to house, it can also mean an area (for example "the Latin quarter" in a city), and let's not forget it can also mean to cut into four pieces.

Fenn also brings up time a lot.  Is a quarter then 15 minutes after the hour?  Is it 25 years, a quarter century?  

Or is he bringing up the concept of forgiveness or grace?

Identifying which is correct isn't possible when you're starting the solve; what is possible is to look at the options, then keep them in mind as you're working on the solve - so that when something does "fit" you can then play with that concept within the framework of that piece of the poem.

The 270° Triangle

Dear Forrest,

You tell us that we should find “where warm waters halt” before trying to solve any of the other clues. Imagining that we haven’t seen the rest of the poem, and all we have to go on is:

a. “begin it where warm waters halt” and
b. “somewhere in the mountains north of Santa Fe”

Do you think that we can confidently determine the starting place for your treasure trail? ~ Steve

No, if all you have to go on are those two clues you cannot proceed with confidence. Look at it this way. If you were making a cake and you left out a few ingredients, would you achieve your goal?

Your question reminds me of another:  You leave home and walk a straight line for a mile, turn 90 degrees left and walk a curved line for a mile and shoot a bear. Then you turn 90 degrees left again and walk a straight line back to your home. What color is the bear?f

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Imagination

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
-Albert Einstein

Imagination isn’t a technique, it’s a key. f
-Forrest Fenn

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Imagination
4.
a : a mental image, conception, or notion formed by the action of imagination
b : a creation of the mind; especially : an idealized or poetic creation

Imagination: reverie, daydream, conception, pie in the sky, speculation, fancy, cup of tea, rainbow, castle in the air, art, adroitness, idea, visualization, invention, warmth, fish story, yarn, pot boiler, Einstein, aptitude, charade, disguise, legend, lore, myth, twist, flash, contemplation, reflection