My First outing was a nightmare! Im discouraged I will not lie!

[crystalpayne]

Just some quick background about me, I have panned a couple of times and did really good! We are looking into buying a Highbanker so we decided to go to Alabama Gold Camp first and Rent one and see how we like it! I have gold fever big time, and I want this to be a hobby the family can do together! We have done hours and hours of research and I am passionate about this! I set goals and I will work my butt off to achieve them! My husband is a Construction Executive and I am now a stay at home mom! We are not use to a lot of manual labor, but we are up for any challenge!

So its Saturday and we are going to Alabama Gold Camp and we are going to rent us a highbanker and see what all the fuss is about! So we drive the 100 miles and we are ready to start! We get there and they were short handed they had people out sick, so they had one of the locals that came out all the time set us up on a highbanker! We don't know anything about highbanking other than the videos we have watched online! They didn't give us instruction at all basically put the dirt in here and wash the rocks! So we went to work! We rented it for 2 hours because we knew we could extend it if need be! Well 60 buckets (which is impressive for us, trust me) and 2 hours later its time for clean out! There is NO GOLD!!!!!!!! What are you serious!? Now we found out that the machine was set up wrong, then we find out you dont dig at the top, or the middle of the pile you are suppose to dig at the bottom of the pile! You are suppose to look at the type of material! Riverbed is good, shovel that in....Are you kidding me!? This advice would have been amazing before we dug 60 buckets and fought with a million rocks that kept getting clogged in the machine! So at this point the momentum is gone, but my drive is still there! This girl don't give up that easy!

So the gentleman that just told us all this information moves us to another machine (the people 3 machines down had alot of gold, they left we went on their machine) he told us to dig where they were digging! So now we start digging away...About 10 buckets into it the water stops! UGGGGGG Not to mention we had to keep using a stick to unclog rocks on almost every pour! So he comes and cleans the machine out, we have gold! Well a tiny bit but its a whole lot better then the first machine! But now we have to move to another machine! So we keep digging for about another hour! We get cleaned out! The one part I thought was weird when he cleaned out the carpet stuff he just did a quick rinse and rolled it up and set it to the side! Dont you rinse them better then that? Anyways I have a few flakes out of quick panning!

At this point we are tired, hurting, cold and defeated! We take our bucket of Cons (which had big rocks in it, I do not understand that) and we are heading home! Well 100 hundred Miles later we are home its about 10:30 at night, and I am determined to pan this stuff because I will not be defeated!!!!!!! So my master bathroom is huge so I decided that I am going to pan in there... Its warm! I fill one bucket with hot water and start panning away! I keep telling myself empty pan after empty pan still fighting with big rocks that the gold must be sitting at the bottom of the bucket! Yea...It wasn't! About 4 flour gold specs later and I am finished! I am so discourage at this point!

Here is my thing, If we did everything right and we had no gold I would have felt better about that! The fact is, we did nothing right apparently and did all that work for nothing! I know we lost gold! I wish they would have gave us more information! When I spoke with a lady there at the beginning of the week she said that they are very helpful! Yes they were short handed, I get that! But it would have only took 5 minutes to tell us! They knew it was our first time!

So Price Breakdown
40-equipment rental
15-park fee
50-for a 8inch screen and Trinity Hex Pan (which I would take or leave)
50-gas
35-dinner
So roughly 200 bucks not even including the supplies we purchased prior to this..Buckets, shovels,gloves,rubber boots..ect
Now for the gold total! Well that would be nice to tell you if I had enough to weigh! My scale does .01 grams, I didn't even have that! No small pickers just a little bit of flour gold!


I really want to like this place, I do! Its a super cool place, and if I want to do this on my own I would feel safe there if I went without my husband! Being a girl it can get a little scary being alone at a river somewhere and I need to be more careful! One thing we did get out of this is experience is what not to do! Like don't ever touch the mat when water is running or you can loose your gold! Well that would have been nice to know prior! UGGGGG But then again we had 2 people telling us 2 different things!

Let me just say this! Everyone was very nice and I know that they were shorthanded and I would hope our experience would be different if they had everyone there! In no way am I bashing them, I am just trying to understand it all!

So now I don't even know if I like the highbanker or not because I am pretty convinced this one was possessed by the devil himself and I am completely back at square one! Any advice, comments or answers to some of the questions above would greatly be appreciated!

Update:First, I would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming support and feed back on this forum! This website has some amazing people on it, your advice and encouragement is priceless in my opinion.

I have been Re-Panning my cons from this trip and with a little dawn dish soap in my pan, I didn't have any jetdry and didn't want to seem like a panning addict and siphon the Jetdry out of my dishwasher, my husband would have me committed for sure( just like The day before the trip I bought a black shirt and some Gold Sparkly iron on letters, the front said IMA, the back said GOLD DIGGER...lol No one really appreciated the shirt but me! Nothing says you cant be themed while doing this) anyways back to the point, I am finding more flour gold not alot, but anything is better then none! Thank you again for your support, I need all the help I can get!

Update On Saturday I received a call from Mike at Alabama Gold Camp, he had read the forum and was very apologetic. As I said in the Blog they had people out sick, and assured us that things would have been very different if they were there. Mike invited us to come back and get the true experience of AGC. Apparently the Gentlemen that stays around the Highbankers was out also, Mike didn't want our experience to be like this one. He wants everyone to leave happy!

Let me say this, I respect that phone call and for that I will be back. The fact is, He didn't have to make the phone call! I know that our experience wasn't all Alabama Gold Camp, I am sure if someone knew what they were doing they would have had a different experience then us. We did have fun and a lot of the clubs around my area have outings there once a month. I believe that this will be a great place to meet fellow prospectors and build our knowledge to send us out on our own. I am excited to give it another try, not just for the gold but for the knowledge! I will keep yall posted!

Please see my 2nd outing post http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/335101-my-2nd-outing-very-scary-nightmare-talladega-national-forest-bust.html

 

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[crystalpayne]

The piles come from part somewhere on there land I am not sure! I will find out what kind of Highbanker that was and let you know! Lord knows I dont want to buy one like that! Thank you for your encouragement!

where is this "Pile" coming from if they are bringing you material it shouldn't matter where you dig in it really.and a clean out of the machine should be all up to you as the fine gold will settle and be under the matt too.. don't give up on hibanking look at how many buckets you ran....if this was a test for you and your plan is to get a powersluice to take to your own gold bearing spots then dont get discouraged by a bad pay to play experience...do ou know thwe name of the banker you were using? and the pump?..i am getting ready to go digging right now but, i can give you very detailed instructions on powersluicing later.....stay Driven!!!

 

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[crystalpayne]

Thank you, thank you! No I am to hard headed and don't like giving up! I try to be funny, its those moments in life if you don't laugh at your bad situation you would probably cry! I cant wait to read this a year from now! I think I will keep a journal, that is a great idea!

My advice is to start a detailed diary of your experiences! You just told a very clear and interesting story about pay-to-play. You have a knack for storytelling
that can be turned into cash (womans point of view). As for the frustration, a year from now this will become a favorite funny story. And you have what it
takes! I know many people who would have given up after first clean-up (or first five buckets, for that matter!) Go girl

 

[crystalpayne]

I agree, completely its about having fun! But I do want to find gold! LOL I want a 10lb nugget dang it! What does a girl have to do to get a 10lb nugget!!!!! lol

No matter what I do, I do it to have fun, unless it's a necessity. Metal detecting is a hobby, not a way to make a living. I live in an area that was a gold nugget boom town at one time, near Quartzville, one mile from Whites main metal detector manufacturing plant. I see people so broke that they can't even afford toilet paper, but they still have a dredge, a couple of pans, an old PU truck, and a metal detector. Anybody who buys a $1,000 metal detector to find bottlecaps, pulltabs, pennies, rusty nails, an old coin once in awhile, a smallish nugget now and then, a gold ring every few months, and aluminum foil by the truckloads must have some kind of a mental problem about value judgement of some kind, right? So I guess that includes me too, but that's how it is. We here like the challenge, and most of us are curious as all heck so we keep searching and discovering, and it's not about money either. Heck I drive a BMW and an Alfa Romeo, and I'm digging up trash out of a park and find a tiny piece of gold here and there? So that someone now and then wearing polyester pants and top while driving a beat up old Toyota can call me a scrounge? Most of us do it for the fun, the challenge, and it doesn't really matter whether we make that big find or not, we simply do it because we like to. Larry

 

[crystalpayne]

I even had a shirt made for myself that had Gold Digger on the back with gold sparkly letters! LOL

 

[Jason in Enid]

Yeah, you need to learn how a sluice should be set and run, but this takes time, practice and patience. You should be test panning the pile at the end of the sluice every hour to see if you are losing anything. There is a fine line of adjustment between sluice angle and water flow. Too little and your riffles pack up. Too much and you blow out all the gold. Adjust one at a time, run material and test pan.

Also, it's not a race to see how much material you can run. Run too much and you overload and pack the riffles and your gold rides on out.

 

[crystalpayne]

Right I agree! But u can't adjust anything on these machines they are set, they come and clean them. They kept saying move as much material as u can. But then again some can handle much more then others! Thanks for the advice, where were u at on Saturday when we needed you! Lol

 

[nsdq]

keep at it you will get there happy hunting

 

[boris]

Don't give up, Australia MD man found a 7 lb. nugget wow is Fort Mitchell U.S. Army? Jump School? retired 4 years after 40 of MDing and care for grandchildren too! teacher and Social Worker and one year+ in South Korea U.s Army SP/4.

 

[crystalpayne]

It's not a Military base is may have been a long time ago! I am right by Ft Benning ga tho!

 

[Lanny in AB]

Have you ever been fishing? Or shopping for something special? It's not whether you get/catch something the first few casts, or the first few shopping trips for something hard to find--it's how many times you keep on casting that line back in/keep on hitting the shops until you get what you're looking for. Now, with fishing, you can spend some serious cash on gear, travel, a boat, etc. and never get a nibble on a trip, but the equipment will always be ready for when you finally hit a good location on a good day. It's the same with the gold--a good location, on a good day.

Keep at it, and one day, you'll hit it. Then, the party will begin.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html

 

[Gold Maven]

It's definitely not easy, but it makes success sweeter.

It is very hard to wash the fine gold out of the carpet. I rinse, shake, stretch, repeat until it looks clean. When I get home I let it dry for a few days, and then bump and tap it and I'm always amazed at the amount of gold that comes out.

don't give up. gl.

 

[Barry-Goodknight]

I really want to like this place, I do! Its a super cool place, and if I want to do this on my own I would feel safe there if I went without my husband! Being a girl it can get a little scary being alone at a river somewhere and I need to be more careful! One thing we did get out of this is experience is what not to do! Like don't ever touch the mat when water is running or you can loose your gold! We that would have been nice to know prior! UGGGGG But then again we had 2 people telling us 2 different things!

Just bring a gun. My girlfriend carries a glock .357, she weighs all of 100 pounds but will pretty much go anywhere because of her heavyweight friend she carries in the purse o.o

 

[Aurabbit79er]

Such enthusiasm deserves reward. So here is your reward. You proved your worth. Now to quote an old adage it's better to work smart than hard.
A good prospector takes samples and test them before committing to digging. So if the same amount of dirt had 10 pieces per bucket would your muscles be less sore, I think not, but you would consider your efforts were redeemed by the gold. Unless I know the area very very well, I always test pan a few samples. So when do I know when to dig? A little flour gold? Maybe. One piece? Not always, but I have. Three pieces? Yes, I dig. One flake of gold? I dig hard, I dig deep, I want to find all the family relatives. Your true reward is your experience, and those are the tools you use to find the gold.

 

[gordygroover]

Heck, I think you should forget gold and become a writer.
Seriously! Your story was written wonderfully. Orderly, clear and conlcise. All important parts of the story were a effortless read for us word lovers.
Unlike my own mumbling and fumbling, you bring a level of skill to this forum that is sometines lacking in thought and polish.

 

[crystalpayne]

Yes, I love to fish!!! I know its going to be like fishing...Minus all the beer consumption! You can fish for days then all it takes is that big ole run and all those days going home empty handed payed off!

Have you ever been fishing? Or shopping for something special? It's not whether you get/catch something the first few casts, or the first few shopping trips for something hard to find--it's how many times you keep on casting that line back in/keep on hitting the shops until you get what you're looking for. Now, with fishing, you can spend some serious cash on gear, travel, a boat, etc. and never get a nibble on a trip, but the equipment will always be ready for when you finally hit a good location on a good day. It's the same with the gold--a good location, on a good day.

Keep at it, and one day, you'll hit it. Then, the party will begin.

All the best,

Lanny

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/metal-detecting-gold/69-bedrock-gold-mysteries.html

 

[crystalpayne]

Thank you so much! I looked back on it and had some spelling errors! In fairness I was a couple of cups of coffee deep and getting worked up over re-living my Saturday!

 

[63bkpkr]

Mrs.,
You and your husband worked hard and in my opinion you had a bum deal. You've been given some very good advice here!! I like the one about keeping a journal about your trips, that will even be great for your family to look back on as well as to log special ideas and thoughts and opinions on areas you've been to. Post lots of pictures in it so you really know what the place looked like, you will have many reasons to look back at those pictures. I played at prospecting for many years, had no clue what I was doing, taught myself to pan (I'm still way to slow at it) but then I purchased a Batpan (batpan.com) and my panning became easier and better. Okay 3 children later now I get to go backpacking at least three times a year as I take the children one at a time and we play, fish and do some panning and lots of exploring. They love it out there but the adult Must stay right with the child as the child is just the right size to become Food for some larger animal!! Bears, mountain lions, even a good sized bobcat and do not forget the snakes.

Okay fast forward to my youngest childs 4th trip so he's now eight years old. We met a couple fellas panning and just snooping around looking for color. They ask my son if he wants to try his hand at it, he does. They set him up with their pan, their tools, their crack in a rock and their sample dirt. He fills the pan they show him how to wet everything down, swirl it around, help him to get it down to just the concentrates and then show him a little trick of how to swirl the water to display what you might have. BINGO Gold! They even gave him a sample bottle to take his gold home in. Nice time.

So more years later and I've added a whites gmt gold metal detector to my gear. I find a boulder next to the river detecting is tough due to lots of rocks around the boulder. So I dig a hole on the down rive side of the boulder and wave the detector over the dug dirt. If the detector zips I work the sample in the gold pan. No zip I do not work the gold. I find some nice nuggets. I go out and purchase a sluice box, Keene A52, bring it back in and now I can work a lot more sample but still I only work the buckets the detector has told me there is gold in.

This is a picture of the < 1/4 oz. of gold I took from that one spot (the gold is on top of a U.S. 50 cent piece), from the down river side of a boulder off to one side of the river. Lesson: learn how to read a river. There are LOTS of "How Too's" on you tube so watch them, its free. A gold pan, a "classifier" (sifter, sorter) to remove the large pieces from your sample, a shovel and a good strong back are all a person needs but you must shovel dirt that has gold in it. Now that I've some experience (do not misquote me as I did Not say I know how to use my detector) with my detector and I can read a river a little better it is easier for me to locate 'some' gold.

Whatever your method of prospecting they all take time and learning SO it is best if you and yours just enjoy being out there and have fun with the adventure. If you find some gold well all the better! For me I'm always having adventures "out there"
And I usually find gold even if it isn't very much

But Then I did say the adventures are worth all the work, effort and cost

And the more one explores the more one sees and there is always camp at night

And this is why I suggested taking pictures. You two have fun...........63bkpkr

PS - you may notice that I am in wilderness country. When I'm out there I always take an insurance policy with me as one never knows when they will need an insurance policy. I carry mine under my left arm in a shoulder holster, perfectly legal. I have no desire to shoot any animal even one that has just wrecked my camp but come at me or threaten one of my children and you can count on being dead. I feel it is a good idea for anyone but especially a woman to carry a firearm, revolver or pistol or shotgun, out there IF they take the training and know how to use it and will use it if they need too. That last part is the important one, you must have that mind set or else you have no business out there. IMHO Be safe!

 

[TerryC]

Crystal, GA is not known for its gold recovery. You did good to find some. I don't like the sound of the way they treated you and yours. Sounds like they turned you two into unpaid laborers, moving the overburden for them! That being said, keep at it. TimC and I live in the best gold fields in AZ. We have hosted several "gold adventurers" here at the RV. One went home with almost 2 pennyweight in gold from just 12 buckets! And that is from ground he dug himself... in one day! One fellow has come from Indiana, twice. He is at the RV as I write this. Four (or five) others are coming in February. They all go home with gold. Gauranteed! All on the Tnet are invited, as you and yours are. Coming out to AZ just to dig around in dirt is quite an expense. If you are coming out this way for a vacation (California, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon) stop by for a day or two. Cost free. I am not always there but Tim does good as a host. We are members of local clubs, LDMA (GPAA) and have our own claims. You will not be hurting for good places to find gold. Second choice.... order some "paydirt" from somebody like "Kuger" (on this net) or other reputable dealer(s). That way you know the gold is there. And use it to PRACTICE over and over (into a tub to keep from losing the gold) again until you are recovering all of the color. Keep reading the relevent forums here to pick up a feel for what you expect from this great pasttime. I know i'm being redundant but don't give up! You are doing fine. (Now I need a break til the blisters on my two typing fingers subside!) Terry

 

[calisdad]

Yes, I love to fish!!! I know its going to be like fishing...Minus all the beer consumption! You can fish for days then all it takes is that big ole run and all those days going home empty handed payed off!

If you just said you can't drink beer while you prospect I think we might have found the problem.

 

[Fullpan]

Crystal, GA is not known for its gold recovery. You did good to find some. I don't like the sound of the way they treated you and yours. Sounds like they turned you two into unpaid laborers, moving the overburden for them! That being said, keep at it. TimC and I live in the best gold fields in AZ. We have hosted several "gold adventurers" here at the RV. One went home with almost 2 pennyweight in gold from just 12 buckets! And that is from ground he dug himself... in one day! One fellow has come from Indiana, twice. He is at the RV as I write this. Four (or five) others are coming in February. They all go home with gold. Gauranteed! All on the Tnet are invited, as you and yours are. Coming out to AZ just to dig around in dirt is quite an expense. If you are coming out this way for a vacation (California, Las Vegas, Grand Canyon) stop by for a day or two. Cost free. I am not always there but Tim does good as a host. We are members of local clubs, LDMA (GPAA) and have our own claims. You will not be hurting for good places to find gold. Second choice.... order some "paydirt" from somebody like "Kuger" (on this net) or other reputable dealer(s). That way you know the gold is there. And use it to PRACTICE over and over (into a tub to keep from losing the gold) again until you are recovering all of the color. Keep reading the relevent forums here to pick up a feel for what you expect from this great pasttime. I know i'm being redundant but don't give up! You are doing fine. (Now I need a break til the blisters on my two typing fingers subside!) Terry

Hey TerryC - where'd you learn to use TWO fingers?