Hoping to Start Treasure Hunting Again

[desertgolddigger]

Hi, It's been at least five years since I attempted to do any kind of hunting for gold or anything due to my living in the desert. I live in 29 Palms, California, and with the vehicle I have, it isn't intelligent to go driving off the paved roads. After getting stuck five miles from nowhere, and having to hike out for help, I gave up.

I guess you never lose the bug, once you catch it, and I would like to start again, but really am hesitant to try by myself at anything in the desert. I am hoping to get with individuals or a club that I can learn how to sluice with my mini sluice, the type you put in the water, and let the water run through it. I've never done this because I live in the desert. As I have never done this type of placer mining, I don't know if there are any locations you can do this type of activity.

Another option is to try again to learn how to use my older Bounty Hunter Time Ranger. Again, I would love to get with someone or a club.

I guess that what I am saying is that I am uncomfortable doing these activities alone, especially as I am getting older. Doing these activities would also benefit myself health wise, as I have become somewhat sedentary.

I do still have my mini Gold Buddy Dry Washer, but no longer have a blower. One reason is that the old blower was blowing the fumes through my washer and clogging up the material. I am really wanting to find a blower that does not vent the exhaust through the blower, or find an electric version, if such exists. Again, since I live in the desert, and do not have a car capable of off road travel, I no longer use this machine. I don't know of any locations that I could travel in my Honda CRV and not get stuck. I guess that I am basically frightened of getting stranded in the desert.

I definitely know that the local mining area is not workable because of the poor roads, and therefore the local club not suited for me. I am looking mostly towards either metal detecting, or wet placer mining, and hope someone, or a club can help me to start up again. Caley

 

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[galenrog]

There are dozens, if not hundreds of sites within a few hours drive of beautiful downtown 29 Palms that can be reached by your CRV. All you need to do to find them is be a little creative in your research. When I lived there several years ago I drove a Corolla and had few problems. As far as sites near town, there are several smaller mine dumps at the south end of the Bullion Mtns, south of the base and north of Amboy Rd. Having detected some of these, some do have gold, but nothing to get rich on.

Adjacent to Hwy 62, to the east of town are dozens of vertical shafts within 1/4 mile of the Hwy, and well north of JTNP. I have detected several of these, also.

Further east, past the 117 Jct, and to the south of the 62, is one of the larger desert training areas used by the army before and during WWII.

All these were accessable with my Corolla when I lived there. Many should still be.

Be careful, but have fun. And trade the CRV in on a good 4wd.

I do have one question. When you mention the local mining area, to which of the several mining districts are you referring?

 

[desertgolddigger]

Hi galenrog, Thanks for the tips. I'll try looking for those locations on maps. I've never done research, so it may take me a while to figure out how to Google the correct questions to get the answers.

The place where I used to dry wash was in the Dale Mining District. One was behind Humbug Mountain, and the other was about four miles as the crow flys, farther in. The problem with getting into the area isn't the terrain, if it were left alone. It is the fact that the off-roaders like to spin their wheels and tear up the roads, and that loosens the compacted roads into a soup of sand and rocks. I and one other person spent several days scouting and then marking and rebuilding the old road into the Humbug claim. But the work didn't last because of those same off-roaders. I know that the majority of off road enthusiasts do not try to tear up the environment, but there are always those who just seem to love to show their prowess by destroying.

As for getting a new vehicle, that probably will never happen. I live on a fixed income, and getting a new vehicle is still beyond my financial means. Maybe when I pay off two of my bills, about three years from now. Hope I am still physically able to pursue the hobby then. Caley

 

[desertgolddigger]

I did some digging around on the internet concerning the area north of along Amboy Road. There are apparently several old mining locations on both sides of the road. On the west side, they are identified as federal land, which I assume is the Marine Base, and probably no mining allowed. On the east side of the road there are several on the west side of Sheephole Mountain. I could not determine if the area is open, as it isn't BLM land, nor could I determine if these locations are claims. One internet location said that one should try metal detecting down in the washes below these mines.

I assume that is what you did when you were here.

I may try to hike into the area, if the dirt roads don't look good, just to see what it looks like. As I haven't a clue as to how to use a metal detector when it comes to gold, it will be hit and more than likely, a total miss. I doubt my Bounty Hunter Time Ranger, even with the small gold loop on it is good enough to pick up anything other than larger nuggets, and I doubt there are any. But it will be fun to try. Gotta get out my old military backpack, fill up the water bladder, and pack up everything. Will have to wait a few days until it cools down into the 80s. It has been in the 100's lately. Caley

 

[desertgolddigger]

I woke at 4:30 this morning, so I decided to do a road trip out to the area I mentioned in the previous post to do a recce mission. The temperature was very nice early this morning, and I was thinking that if I could get into an area below an old mine, I could excavated down to bedrock below that mine, and classify a few 2 1/2 gallon buckets of material to take home to pan.

Results are that I never got close to doing any hiking. I got to the area, and found some dirt roads leading up to the mountains, but came to a sudden halt when I saw what was in front of my bumper. It was a vertical drop of several hundred feet into a wash. I am no longer the physically fit person I was five years ago. There was no way I could hike around this obstruction to get to the mountains, and then climb up some very steep slopes. My conclusion is that this area is not accessible by me, and I will have to try some other locations that I can come up with.

Anyway, it was still nice to get out from inside the four walls, and look around, even if it was just from the car. Caley