Jeff95531
Silver Member
- Feb 10, 2013
- 2,625
- 4,094
- Detector(s) used
- Teknetics Alpha 2000
- Primary Interest:
- Prospecting
Last Friday I got in touch with Mike (delnorter) and we got together for a little show and tell at my place. He had some nice gold in his sucker bottle from his last trip to the river and I showed him the gold I had recovered from his previous dig, the results of my first attempt at his area and my attempt at a cheap disposable BGT sluice. It wasn’t long before we came up with a trip for the very next day.
Saturday morning started out at 46 degrees…the coolest morning so far this Summer. Knowing we would have to cross the river, I pulled out my hip boots and hoodie, which were pretty much the wrong things to do. It was plenty warm once we started hiking to the site, mostly in the shade of the mountains and for the first time in my life I was faced with crossing a river in rubber soles that required felt. The lack of rainfall, slow water and the resulting moss made by trek about as enjoyable as roller skating on ice and I was glad I had my walking sticks as I used them the whole way.
For those of you who don’t know Mike, he is a down to earth got your six kinda guy and treats you like family. He also has a wealth of past and current info for the area that I am honored and privileged to exchange experiences and thoughts with. He's shared a lot of his wisdom with me…some things which I can share and some I will never divulge. He is tall like me but that’s where the similarity ends. Just a few years older, he walks with a gait that reminds me of me…only 10 years ago. Now…I’ve lost 30 pounds in 3 months and am up to walking five miles a day…but the extra 30 pounds of gear let me know in a hurry I’ve got my work cut out for me before I can say I'm really back in shape. He patiently waited for me to catch up and I felt a whole lot like the tortoise with the hare.
The hike itself was moderate really with just a few car size boulders to scramble over. We went around a bend, then another and one more…in and out of the river before we arrived at our destination… an inside bend bordered by rapids and littered with watermelon sized boulders and bigger. They were scattered all around and on a substantial amount of exposed bedrock.
Mike showed me where his best spot so far had been and went scouting for new ones. He also gave me the spot he made for his BGT. I submerged the entire sluice and put a large rock on the classifier. For the next few hours, aside from the rushing water of the river, all that could be heard was the Clink Clink of our rock hammers and the tossing of large rocks which sounded much like the break-shot of a pool game.
Mike was all over the place, like a bee going from flower to flower. He would quickly pan his samples down and snuffer any gold found. He kept showing me what he found and I was starting to get a little concerned. I’ve been out with Mike before and skunked myself. Could it happen again
I wasn’t finding any gold and still hadn’t tested my home-built sluice. Turns out Mike had cleaned the spot out like a Hoover and I made my way up stream to test new ground. Bam! Gold! Once I found it, I had to give it up to the sluice. I had a pan at the end just in case, but nothing ever went in it so I eventually took it out and let everything work like it was supposed to. One big flake (a pan sticker I call it) showed up during sampling and into the sluice it went. I cleaned the sluice out and found it again so I went to work confident with all.
Time came to go (OK, it was me who called Uncle). I had room in my pack for four-4 pound potato salad containers and the sluice filled two of them with cons. Loaded with black sands, my pack was MUCH heavier as I lifted everything up and on my back. (15 pounds I found out later.) Mike showed me several good sized flakes and very few fines that he had found. The trip back was fairly uneventful except for the 180 I did in the middle of the river but didn’t fall. Mike was watching the whole time and said with a big grin on his face “Nice save”.
I pretty much sacked out on the couch for the rest of the day. Sunday I set up the High Banker and Miller Table and recovered my gold. What I got was pretty much what I found during sampling. Not a lot but my confidence is way up now on my panning ability and new home-built sluice. Sure makes it easy when you have actual gold to test with and can depend on it. Don’t get me wrong, this was no preschool Easter egg hunt but the gold is there. The rest is up to you!
It was a great trip and we’ll be hitting it again real soon. My spot is next! Thank you so much Mike! GREAT TIME!
my take Saturday
total so far
Saturday morning started out at 46 degrees…the coolest morning so far this Summer. Knowing we would have to cross the river, I pulled out my hip boots and hoodie, which were pretty much the wrong things to do. It was plenty warm once we started hiking to the site, mostly in the shade of the mountains and for the first time in my life I was faced with crossing a river in rubber soles that required felt. The lack of rainfall, slow water and the resulting moss made by trek about as enjoyable as roller skating on ice and I was glad I had my walking sticks as I used them the whole way.
For those of you who don’t know Mike, he is a down to earth got your six kinda guy and treats you like family. He also has a wealth of past and current info for the area that I am honored and privileged to exchange experiences and thoughts with. He's shared a lot of his wisdom with me…some things which I can share and some I will never divulge. He is tall like me but that’s where the similarity ends. Just a few years older, he walks with a gait that reminds me of me…only 10 years ago. Now…I’ve lost 30 pounds in 3 months and am up to walking five miles a day…but the extra 30 pounds of gear let me know in a hurry I’ve got my work cut out for me before I can say I'm really back in shape. He patiently waited for me to catch up and I felt a whole lot like the tortoise with the hare.
The hike itself was moderate really with just a few car size boulders to scramble over. We went around a bend, then another and one more…in and out of the river before we arrived at our destination… an inside bend bordered by rapids and littered with watermelon sized boulders and bigger. They were scattered all around and on a substantial amount of exposed bedrock.
Mike showed me where his best spot so far had been and went scouting for new ones. He also gave me the spot he made for his BGT. I submerged the entire sluice and put a large rock on the classifier. For the next few hours, aside from the rushing water of the river, all that could be heard was the Clink Clink of our rock hammers and the tossing of large rocks which sounded much like the break-shot of a pool game.
Mike was all over the place, like a bee going from flower to flower. He would quickly pan his samples down and snuffer any gold found. He kept showing me what he found and I was starting to get a little concerned. I’ve been out with Mike before and skunked myself. Could it happen again
I wasn’t finding any gold and still hadn’t tested my home-built sluice. Turns out Mike had cleaned the spot out like a Hoover and I made my way up stream to test new ground. Bam! Gold! Once I found it, I had to give it up to the sluice. I had a pan at the end just in case, but nothing ever went in it so I eventually took it out and let everything work like it was supposed to. One big flake (a pan sticker I call it) showed up during sampling and into the sluice it went. I cleaned the sluice out and found it again so I went to work confident with all.Time came to go (OK, it was me who called Uncle). I had room in my pack for four-4 pound potato salad containers and the sluice filled two of them with cons. Loaded with black sands, my pack was MUCH heavier as I lifted everything up and on my back. (15 pounds I found out later.) Mike showed me several good sized flakes and very few fines that he had found. The trip back was fairly uneventful except for the 180 I did in the middle of the river but didn’t fall. Mike was watching the whole time and said with a big grin on his face “Nice save”.
I pretty much sacked out on the couch for the rest of the day. Sunday I set up the High Banker and Miller Table and recovered my gold. What I got was pretty much what I found during sampling. Not a lot but my confidence is way up now on my panning ability and new home-built sluice. Sure makes it easy when you have actual gold to test with and can depend on it. Don’t get me wrong, this was no preschool Easter egg hunt but the gold is there. The rest is up to you!
It was a great trip and we’ll be hitting it again real soon. My spot is next! Thank you so much Mike! GREAT TIME!
my take Saturday total so far
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