bear river campground

[mytimetoshine]

Just moved to the Sacramento area. Have been wanting to take my 4 year old daughter down to one of the many rivers nearby and of course try my luck panning. A co worker said the Bear river park and campground would be a nice spot for a young child. Already been advised by many that i probably wont find anything right next to any access point, but hey you got to start somewhere right? any advise?

 

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[MadMarshall]

So many good places in the area..

Auburn SRA

Hope this helps

 

[vpnavy]

I noticed this is your very first post - so, welcome aboard from the great state of Pennsylvania (USA).

You might consider browsing Sub-Forums: California for information (i.e., clubs, hunts, finds, legends, maps, etc.) directly related to your state.

 

[Fullpan]

I agree with co worker. If you process enough material there, you will find some color.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Thanks for the help guys. Not planning on striking it rich but im betting i see at least a speck in my first pan.

 

[Fullpan]

Thanks for the help guys. Not planning on striking it rich but im betting i see at least a speck in my first pan.

Take pics!!

 

[Alex Burke]

This thread has some good site's listed in it:http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/352563-memorial-day-weekend.html

 

[mytimetoshine]

This thread has some good site's listed in it:http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/352563-memorial-day-weekend.html

Good info, thanks meteorminer!

 

[Aufisher]

I got my largest picker nuggets on the Bear. Hit the Red Frog on the trip. Good food and drinks.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Made it out for an hour or two on Sunday with my parents and my little girl. It was a smaller facility then what I was expecting but then again I had no idea what to expect. Was also surprised that 90 % of the people there were panning or sluicing for gold. First we walked around the day use area for a couple minutes then drove over to the campground. Walked for a couple minutes down the trail, but my parents chickened out at the very first mud puddle in the trail LMAO. I knew it was going to be a limited experience when that happened. Found a relatively easy spot to get down to the water and got our feet wet. Oh man when its 105+ out, that fresh mountain water feels darn good on the toes! You could instantly feel the cooler air coming off it. Very refreshing. Was almost tempted to take a drink!
Ok, now to the panning! So i busted out my pan and shovel and tried to get some ground near a boulder. It was nearly impossible to get any material though. Felt like I was hitting bedrock on the first shovel, I was only coming up with a little rock but I filled my pan with it anyway and worked it down and NADA.....Barely a tiny bit of black sand and no gold. The whole time I was working the pan my daughter was begging me to give her the pan so I knew I wouldnt get much of a chance that day to find gold. My mom was sitting on a boulder and kept trying to reach down and pick out what looks like little pieces of gold with her fingers. I figured that wasnt gold as it couldnt possibly be that easy... Plus it was really hard to get with your fingers( i tried too,lol) we finally got a piece and it broke apart with a finger nail so,fail..I decided to just skip some rocks for a bit and let my daughter play with the shovel and pan. Once she was done mom grabs the pan and dumps out my daughters material...MISTAKE! LOL LITTLE GIRL MELTDOWN!!!! "grandma dumped out ALL MY GOLD" "grandma dumped out ALL MY GOLD" it was actually pretty darn cute the way she was saying it We were about to leave but I convinced everyone to let me try one more time. I was thinking I needed dirt not rocks, so I came out of the water managed to get a pan full of dirt from higher up on the bank. Much lighter and easier to pan( that pan of rocks was killing my forearms,lol). BAM ! waaaaay more black sand so I knew that was a better place to dig. Worked it a little more AND........I think I got a few specks! Very small so I couldnt be sure as I really have no experience. Of course my mom kept saying "thats just pyrite or fools gold" ...bla bla bla! Im like 80% sure its gold. I tried hard to get the biggest piece to break with my fingernail and it didnt so....hard to snap a good pic with my basic camera. Its pretty small so dont know if anyone can confirm it or not. Well anyways it was very exciting. Sucked it up in my snuffer and all I can think about is going back I GOT THE FEVER!!!!!! LOL.
As much fun as the idea of going back to find more gold is, I have to say the very best part was spending time with my little girl and watching her smile. She loves to help me with anything I do. She has soooo much energy you have to keep her active or she will destroy you. So this is the perfect activity for me and her to do. Looking forward to more outings with her. But were gonna leave the grandparents at home, There not on our level! ....Scared of a little mud puddle Phhff!

 

[Alex Burke]

Nice, yeah it's been crazy hot, thanks for sharing, looks like everyone had fun; what river did you end up at, the bear?

 

[Fullpan]

WOW - that's a man killer for sure you got there! And for the panning, you got a home run first time out! Three respectable colors at least - congratulations, and thanks for
the beautiful pictures.

 

[DizzyDigger]

What a great story to read first thing this morning....

Getting your daughter out to pan with you is awesome! Remember these trips, cause in about 10 more years
you'll have the young males of our species pounding on the door!

Nice color too!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Nice, yeah it's been crazy hot, thanks for sharing, looks like everyone had fun; what river did you end up at, the bear?

Year metorminer we went to bear. And ill be going back! Just found out i got the day off for the 4th and my very first thought was the river.LOL , OH MAN i think i might have a problem now....

Im just afraid it will be packed because of the holiday

 

[mytimetoshine]

WOW - that's a man killer for sure you got there! And for the panning, you got a home run first time out! Three respectable colors at least - congratulations, and thanks for
the beautiful pictures.

Thanks Fullpan!

 

[mytimetoshine]

What a great story to read first thing this morning....

Getting your daughter out to pan with you is awesome! Remember these trips, cause in about 10 more years
you'll have the young males of our species pounding on the door!


Nice color too!

I know right? I try to cherish every moment. She just keeps growing like a weed! And yes im afraid, she is absolutely gorgeous, smart and funny. Im gonna have to take the gold i find and invest in a good shotgun! Not looking forward to those days. When are they gonna invent something to keep your babies from growing up? We need to get the manhattan project on that ASAP!

 

[KevinInColorado]

Don't worry. What you teach her about who she is will set the ground for how she goes out into the world and the way you treat her is what she will look for in men - no pressure right? LOL!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Don't worry. What you teach her about who she is will set the ground for how she goes out into the world and the way you treat her is what she will look for in men - no pressure right? LOL!

Lol! Yep, NO pressure...

 

[killian110]

Great pictures! Looks like you're going to have to buy yourself a new gold pan, I think she's already claimed yours. Pretty good panning form for a little newbie too!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Well....I have been itching ever since sunday. I think I have the "fever" LOL. I got 1 day off for Independence day, and I went straight to the river LOL. What I learned ? Panning is HARD WORK! Oh, my back is killing me. I was there for about 2 1/2 hrs but I only ran about 8-10 pans worth(wasnt really counting). I was being to careful at first. I did get some color in every pan but only small flecks. The last 2-3 pans I felt like I was really getting the hang of it. No need to be so careful. When I ripped through it the flecks were still there so at the very least I think i learned how to pan today. My back hates me right now, lol I am definitely going to invest in a sluice. For 75 -100 bucks ifigure more gold and less of a back ache. winner-winner. Well anyways it was still fun to spend some quiet time on the river, not nearly as much people there as i thought there would be for a holiday. I learned something and I got some color too bad I just missed Meteorminer by minutes!! We probably drove past each other when i was on the way out.