East fork Nov 13th.

Hi Shovel
I was wondering if we ever meet up at EF.
I'll be there at around noon the 14th. in the lot.
You may have meet me and my big brown dog Scully a few years back.
I pull my gear with a mountain bike.
Been working Heaton mostly.
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So it doesn't look like i'll be able to stay tll the 14th cuz the gf has to work but we should definitely combine shovel power in a week or so. I'm thinkin like 4 or 5 sluices at once hehe.

Have you seen a lot of people in the river? I'm not opposed to getting in there with some goggles and lookin around or digging in some deeper areas. Or like shovel-humper said, just go boulder flipping and see whats under there.
 

Here's a couple chunky flakes from today at Heaton Flats we pulled out of the Le Trap with the snuffer bottle. I haven't gone through the concentrates yet, but I know there are about 15-20 of the super small size ones in there too. After working the Cattle Canyon Bridge area extensively and now up at Heaton, I'm finding that we could have days that produced way more flakes at CCB, but rarely any chunky ones like up at Heaton. But the ones at Heaton are fewer and far between, so it's kind of a tradeoff. ~CT

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nice gold. :)
 

Spent a couple years prospecting East Fork every weekend back in the 80's. We tried hiked up Cattle Creek a couple of times and didn't find anything. We were using a highbanker, sluice and a godforsaken pick and shovel. Some of our best areas back then were about a mile below Bridge to Nowhere, and the old Chinese Mine. The old CM has been mined off and on since the 1600's. The CM was good for small nuggets, but it was a lot of work in there. You have to dig the dirt, bag it and carry it out and down the mountain to the river to work it...but it was worth it. The best way to find the CM, is go up Shoemaker Rd. to that old paved turnout or parking lot before you get to the gate where it turns to dirt. From there, look straight across the river, about half way up the side of the mountain you'll see not a level area, but an area where it's not as steep...look close and you'll see either 1 or 3 small entrances, depending on your eyesight. Note where it's at, drive back down find a place to park and climb up there.

The openings are small, once you're inside it opens up to a near standing height. I don't know how far it goes back, I never made it to the end...one guy that had done a lot of historical research on it said it goes back for nearly a mile in the main tunnel. It's a risky mine as far as I'm concerned. It's not hardrock, it's all tertiary gravels with some bolders the size of a VW that have been worked around. There's no bracing or support so it took us several weekends before we actually got comfortable working in there, but there's no evidence of there ever being a cave-in.

Below Bridge to Nowhere is really good too for both nuggets and flower gold...few people ever go up there to work, a few hikers and that's about it. It's a heck of a hike, lugging all your stuff to work the area but it does have reward. We spent about a month of weekends up there and there was a young guy that would have a chopper drop him off on Sat morning and pick him up again on Sun evening. He had the right idea...we just couldn't afford that much luxury. I heard the old Fort is closed now...too bad...great place to eat up there.

When I get back out there this winter I'm going to take a shot with my detector up on the walls around Shoemaker Rd. I didn't own a detector when we were prospecting up there. Maybe I'll see some of you up there.
Good luck to you all.
 

At heaton flats? Dang! I went past there today, up a couple bends and all i could find was flakes of gold looking stuff. Looks nice and gold in the pan but then i pick it up and loses color. I'm thinking its some kind of copper pyrite or something. Weird part is that it's mixed in with the black sand at the end of panning. Guess I just need to keep practicing panning. I saw tons of these gold flecks in a certain spot so i filled a bucket and i ran em through my sluice. Oh by the way I went to New Cal Gold and they had a local who supposedly took the Keene and made it better. Cleaned up and i'm about to go through our concentrate but seeing all those gold flakes that aren't gold is really annoying :P I'll post if i find anything.
 

Phanntom - Wow, I knew there was a Chinese mine up there somewhere. We'll probably check it out, but doubtful we'll take the risk of going in. A helicopter was my first thought about getting to the Narrows, up a little farther from the BTN. I'm not in this for the money, and the thought of even paying for my gas and gear has left the building, so why not just have fun and go for it, I might just go that route, heh heh. There is a hanging channel up near the Chinese mine (plus the ones on Shoemaker) that I'd like to work with a MD also, just need to buy one of those too.

Ironic that you mention bringing dirt down from the mine to the river ... and all other East Forkers should make a note of this too. I was having a conversation with a regular at Heaton on Monday, he mentioned two separate citing occurrences by FS/Sheriff officials very recently. One was a $1,000 fine given to a prospector for working a bench way up on the hillside and bringing down the dirt to the river to sluice. The FS said it wasn't illegal to take the dirt from anywhere ABOVE the stream, not including the banks, bring it down and put it in the stream water, sluicing/panning or whatever. Haven't heard this one before and not quite sure what law it violates, but it's something to keep in mind at least until proven true or disproven. One more reason to go with a MD up there.

The other issue is also a strange one. Supposedly a prospector with an MD got sited for using his MD (and possibly collecting samples) around the ancient river behind/next to the closed down fire station at the end of the road near the parking lot. According to FS, that area is an "Experimental Forrest". Hmmm, it does have some different looking trees growing there, so I dunno. Apparently it required a court appearance for the prospector, so the outcome/fine was still to be determined.

Perhaps it's all BS, but at least it's worth the heads up if anyone had either of these activities in mind. What next....

CT
 

GH - Last week we went about a half mile past Heaton, sampling and sluicing along the way and found nothing, not even a flake. But that's the way it works. All of the obvious places to dig have been dug, so it's more about the second and third likely places I think (and a big bunch of luck). There haven't been any good floods in several years, so not much has been overturned and reset in a while. The speed that you work is one of the most important factors, if not THE most. Sample pan, do it quick 1 minute or less, if nothing move on and repeat. When you find a place that shows some flakes, dig like mad, move as much dirt as humanly possible. When you get tired, work harder.

Regarding panning ... you'll get it. Once you have the real thing in your pan, pay particular attention to how it behaves in the pan compared to everything else. If it's anything bigger than a micro flake and wanting to float out of your pan, it will "stick" to the bottom of the pan better than anything else, because of it's high specific gravity. If you're doing it right, you should be able to get down to just having black sand and possibly gold in the bottom of your pan rather quickly. Things slow down a little when it's just black sand and gold, as black sand has a medium/high SG too. But you'll get it. Watch videos and, if possible, the people around you. Also, beware things that glitter or sparkle, gold glows more than anything and it's about the color, not the glitter. And gold WILL look just about as good in the shade as in the sun.

Did you pick up the Keene sluice?

~CT
 

Wow really.. cited for using an MD? That's something to keep in mind.

Yea I figured if there was color around the flats then there might be more upriver around a bend or two but found nothing but glimmering gold flakes that are obviously not gold because there's so much of it. when i pan i find a lot of it settling on the top groove. So if it was gold i figured it would have sunk to the bottom.

For some reason i can't get the black sand to separate from the other small minerals and i've tried all kinds of different panning techniques. Not sure what i'm doing wrong. But i guess its all about digging the right spot. I Sampled like 5 different areas up there and didn't seem to find anything but glitter.

I picked up one of the Mad Miner sluices from New Cal Gold. The guy had a mini keene for sale but he said that a local miner basically took the design of the Keene A52 and make it better. He changed the angle of the ribs. Lengthened the ribbed mat at the flare and a deeper carpet. The guy said that a lot of the local miners like this box better than the Keene so I figured i would give it a shot. And plus i needed it today hehe. Fit inside my framepack with the flair sticking out the top (had to duck in a few places on the trail) and managed to get my shovel in there too with room to spare!

Couldn't get the angle of my sluice right and it either looked the water was moving too fast or too slow. Was harder than I anticipated to find the sweet spot. I really need to meet up with you guys so that you can show me the ropes.

So how much do you classify before you run it into the sluice? I only have a 1/2" classifier. Do i need to classify further before running dirt? Cuz I had a lot of little stones that wouldn't wash through unless I moved them around with my hand.
These metal ones sure are a pain in the ass to cleanup (especially in the dark :P) I almost went with Letrap but they didnt have the river robber mods and I didn't bring anything to cut a hole in the back. I'm going to pick up a plastic one drop river style sluice and use that for areas i know i'm going to need quick cleanup before I break out the big boy.
 

The rules are getting harder to live with, nothing written for us to look at and keep track of in many cases.
We dont know that we have broken a rule till they come and tell/cite us for it and then after that we still can find no trace of the rules on any of the info they say for us to check out or on the websites that they give.

Its far too easy for them to make up a rule and pencil it in later.

I was recently held for about 2 hours, didnt get a ticket but still went through the whole frisk and sit down thing (First time its ever happened to me by any official) and I have only been prospecting since mid summer.
One thing they said was that MD's were not allowed but there was no mention on it on the PROSPECTING RULES listed on the back of my PAID permit and no mention of it on their website under the prospecting rules.
My GoldBug was taken apart and in my pack to boot.

No one is safe it would seem, even if you do follow the rules.
 

Where was that neo? How did they approach you?

It's weird, as i was driving up San Gabriel Canyon rd, I passed about 4 police officers driving out of the canyon. Makes me wonder where they were coming from.. Also saw a a couple of more ragged looking fellows walking through the canyon. Homeless I would guess by the looks of them. Fairly harmless i would think. I don't know if they have a camp out there but i didn't see them return when it got dark. hmm
 

GH - I think there is some sort of detention center up there, so probably a police escort or something. We've seen and commented on that too. Or just a bunch of law enforcement heading over to the shooting range (just after you turn on to EF Road) to unload some more lead into the hillsides, and inevitably, the river.

The one homeless (although he wouldn't agree I'm sure, his home has been there for 5 years) guy I've met up there is Missouri Martin. I think he's usually around Heaton Flats. Heck of a character, and offered all kinds of help and advice to us. No worries if one of 'em is him. I haven't had a problem with anyone yet ... but I do steer clear of there on weekends when it's a whole different personnel issue.
 

Went there yesterday for 4 hours.. Guess it was my turn to eat crap.. Slipped, carry a 5 gallon bucket of mud. Bed rock vs head... Wasn't fun. I went home after that. Man down! Happens! All for about 25 prices of pepper.

Leaving about 1-2 yesterday, insane numerous chp and Sheriffs as well. Always something going on somewhere..
 

Sorry to hear about your mishap mellow. I hope you're feeling ok today. Let's check. How many nuggets am I holding up?
 

Are those nuggets?? Thought they were jaw breakers ... Head is growing a little brother, and sore as hell, but expected. Most people relax on they days off, we're all nuts! Lol.
 

Damn MY, I'm glad you're ok. Was that your black chevy parked at the bridge? Stopped to see if I could spot you but I guess you were out of site. I guess it's inevitable that when you play on rocks eventually you're gona eat it. But it's all part of the game right? Sucks that you whacked your dome. Take it easy and next time you go out, i'll meet you there so we can share the load. I want to get there at the asscrack of dawn and start sampling. *shivers* i've got the ffff-fever!

We went up about half mile past the end of Heaton Flats and found nothing but glitter. Oh well, all in a days work! If it was easy then everyone would be doing it right?!

Ended up picking up a full size Mad Miner sluice that was supposedly designed to be better than the Keene A52. The guy said that people have tested them both and that the Mad Miner actually caught more gold than the Keene. Its designed by a local guy in that area that does a lot of prospecting so I decided to pick that one up. It's on the Newcalgold.com website if you want to check it out. Fits inside my frame pack too although ducking is required on some spots along the trail. :)
 

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Yeah, it happens. No biggy this time. Yup that was my truck by the bridge. I was in the area.. Above 50 feet from my car. Lol All I did was hit overburden on the bed rock, looked for areas that had talk grass from it. Older overburden. A few hours of trying 3 spots and moved one large boulder for no reason. Ended up with some pepper .. Cleaned it all today, about 25-30 pieces. Very small gold but a decent amount for a few buckets.

Yup well go up there sometime with some other folks as well from here.

Mellow..
 

I found a fresh body up there a few years ago...a murder victim. It was a Sunday evening. While there with the Sheriffs deputies waiting for the coroner and detectives, coming from Inglewood we had a lot of time to talk. They said there's a FBI crime statistic report that says that the number of dead bodies recovered from San Gabriel Canyon has the highest density of anyplace in the country. In fact one of the said that when you look at a location map of bodies recovered past and present...you wonder how anyone has room to drive through the area without running over one. One of the deputies said he'd never take his family into the canyon and only goes in there when on duty. Frankly...I never found it threatening in anyway beyond falling off the damn mountain...did that twice.
 

From the long parking lot across from a small picnic area about 3/8 of a mile below CB...there's a huge boulder...bigger than a VW across the river about maybe 100ft up the side of the mountain from the river. When we were working our hole there, there were a couple guys working around and under that boulder, to what I considered a danger point that it was going to come down on them. They were pulling a lot of nuggets from under there...quite a few the size of nickels and dimes.

There were also two guys working a dredge from CB bridge down to the parking lot...they were doing really well too in the nugget department...they'd fill a medium size jar over the course of a weekend.

Nobody ever made a fuss over us moving dirt down from the Chinese Mine and at that time...the Forest Service station right at the end of the pavement and parking lot was open...they certainly knew we were there and what we were doing.

I noticed the mention of a lot of mica being found. In the river near that Forest Service station there must be a mica factory....all we ever got out of there was mica.

There's a trustee fire camp just before you get to the real panning area...that's another reason there's a big police presence, but they really beef it up on the weekends. When we were working up there, it wasn't for the miners...it was for all the illegals that come up there and drink all day and play in the water then try to drive out. Occasionally they stop where we were just because there were a lot of us and just take a break and shoot the breeze. Of course, things might have changed a lot since then...I know you now have to pay to park in there...back then it was still free.
 

Never a dull moment. So today, we're cruising up the 39 to the EF and drive through a cloud of smoke covering the road at one point. Turns out we're one of the last cars through before they shut the road down for a fire that broke out. A couple of turns after that we passed a couple cops and a truck hoisting something up from the reservoir below. Just read that it was a dead body in a car ... someone who had been missing for a year. Halfway through the day, I'm digging around a big rock that I had knocked down from the bank on Monday and a snake pops out. Fortunately it was a small Striped Racer, but the few seconds it took to make sure it wasn't a baby rattlesnake were a little unnerving. We're packing up as it starts getting dark and end up talking to Missouri Martin and a very knowledgeable friend of his ... getting some good tips. Dude jumps up mid conversation and shines his flashlight across the river and points at what he claims are the glowing eyes of a bear looking at us and going through Martin's food supply. The 3/4 mile walk back to the car in the dark was a little unsettling after that. Heading home driving down EF road, get to the 39 and it's closed. Have to drive all the way back to Glendora Mountain road and take that slow twisty road back to civilization. Sheesh. I think we found some gold today, but I don't remember....heh heh.

~CT
 

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