looking for a place to pan on the Trinity

norcalsteve

Hero Member
Sep 30, 2013
652
614
Petaluma, CA
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36" Bazooka Prospector, Gold-n-Sand hand dredge
Hope everyone had a good and safe 4th of July.
I am going up to Douglas City area with my wife and son the end of July. We are staying at the Indian Creek Lodge ( my wife likes that they have a pool ). I have a day that my son and I can go panning. We have a small car and with luggage my 36" Bazooka will not fit :( so shovel and pans it is.
Anyway, the lodge is right next to Indian Creek that the guy at the lodge said he thinks is ok for digging and panning.
If anyone up in this area has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated.
We tried to do this last year but our landlord passed away and we ended up having to spend the time moving instead of taking a vacation. The day my son and I have is Friday july 24th.
Thanks,
Steve
 

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I think something else would be left behind before the bazooka, :dontknow: Quick search shows the area around Indian Creek Lodge is a mix of state and BLM land with only a few claims. GIve the Redding BLM office a call and ask about land status of the BLM portions. I tried but my chrome book wouldn't display that page, aargghh!
 

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I think something else would be left behind before the bazooka, :dontknow:

Believe me that thought has gone through my mind over and over. My wife insist on going. Not alot of room in a toyota corolla.
 

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Strap it proudly across the hood. Don't know if you saw what I edited and added to my original post, good luck up there
 

Contact Hoser John. He is always helpful.
 

Bazooka, don't leave home without it! Hope you enjoy your trip and find color!
 

Up north, west of Redding, it starts at Lewiston lake and for the most part parallels hwy 299 going west
 

Leaving tomorrow. The Bazooka fits :). Owner of the lodge we are staying at says that prospecting is ok walking distance to where the creek runs into the Trinity. I called Redding BLM and they said that the owners of the lodge would know best. Good water flow, lots of exposed bedrock, a sand bar. Looks like it might be promising. At least I will have my Bazooka in the water and enjoying the day. When my son gets bored he can walk back to the lodge where my wife will be at the pool.
IM ON VACATION!!!!!
 

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NorcalSteve, I want to hit like about 20 times for that last post! Enjoy!!
 

Thank you Kevin
It has been a tough year for a lot of reasons and this will be my first opportunity to get out. Hope to find a little color. But, I am just looking forward to getting into the water and digging up some material with my son. One day we are doing a rafting trip down the Trinity. I am also hoping to see a bald eagle in the wild. I wish it could be a longer trip but I will take this.
 

We got permission from the property owner to pan on the creek. We got back a little while ago from rafting and went to check it out. I found a good spot for the Bazooka and started digging by a stump next to where the bazooka will go. Did some test pans and found only a few very small specks of gold.I still have a ways to dig but I did start to find a little black sand. Can anyone tell by these pics if I might be in a decent looking spot. Either way I am looking forward to a great day tomorrow with my son. He thinks we found a great spot. That is worth more than the gold I might find.
 

Here are the pics
 

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Got the Bazooka working great just not much color. A few tiny specks.
 

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How far are you from the river? Might try there if not claimed.
 

The Bazooka is amazing . If anyone ever wants to know how fine of gold it will catch here is the picture. Great day. Ended up with not alot but more than I was expecting from what I was seeing in my pan. Fun with my son and when he got bored he did go back up to the lodge to the swimming pool with his mom.
 

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norcalsteve:

Too late this year, but next year contact the California Division of Mines & Geology. Almost every state has a mining department, division, or similar entity. Many of them offer excellent, low-cost publications - books and maps - with first-rate information.

Sometimes the literature is so helpful private publishers pick it up and keep it in print after the government stops printing them. There are some classic Arizona and New Mexico publications on gold mining that I think have been available since the 1940's.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

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