New prospector in southern California looking for advice

[SNIFFINNUGGZZZ]

Hi I am brand new to the prospecting world and last weekend me my girlfriend and my cousin went to the San Gabriel River, East Fork to Prospect for our very first time, It was extremely fun! my Cousin and I are construction workers so we dont mind the labor of digging so much but one thing i Did have trouble with was getting our Sluice box set up perfect...... Inorder to get the 2 inch drop i needed we set the sluice up kindof in the middle of a stronger running stream well i dammed up the flare to slow down the speed and at times i was very pleased with the water level and flow but it seemed like A. the material did not process as quicky as i was expecting or had seen on the youtube videos and B. almost every time I had it set at what i deemed perfect the material would eventually start gathering more on one side than the other... Now I think one problem may of been we werent classifying the material down enough because we only had a little mini 30 inch sluice and we were only using a 1/2 inch classifier that could of been the problem and Ive already got a couple new classifiers we are going to use this weekend.
We set out for East Fork kindof late like around 1:30pm we got there around 3pm parked before what i Believe was the second bridge a ways passed camp Williams. we hiked down a small hill and crossed a stream and hiked like maybe five minutes down the stream kindof back twords where we parked. There were signs of other Prospectors everywhere so I figured we were in the right spot but now im not so sure.

Another Question I had was is it worth going into Trabuco Canyon and Prospecting out there? I know there is an Abandoned gold mine in there and its only a few minutes from my house? This would be like the IDEAL location for me. Ive heard alot of mixed information about the area so im not too sure about just going in and Prospecting without getting some information before has anybody been in there? Anybody know anything about the Are?

 

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[GarretDiggingAz]

Check out ghosttownhunter on YouTube. He's got a video of "How do I find gold". He gives you a couple of ways to find out information on areas. The saying is to get gold you've got to go where it's been found. If that canyon has had a mine in there, I'm sure you could get the assay reports. Research the area for its history and possible mining. Best thing is after a little research and some insure investigating. I'm sure you could find the tailings. The LR2000 can help get you info on it. Also geocommunicator. Also check with the BLM about what you can or can't do. You don't want a possible ticket from them for something that seems perfectly harmless. For instance, they might only allow panning and no mechanical mining.
That YouTube site though has a lot of great info on how and where to begin. I still need to get the books, but I try to research areas to go. Sometimes a find a spot while out and about Then I try to find out what if any mining had been done.
Hope this helps some. From one newbie to another.

 

[SNIFFINNUGGZZZ]

Thanks man i appreciate the reply and the advice!! I found out there are some claims in the Trabuco canyon so Im not sure about just going out there and doing some prospecting without getting some sort of permission I definately dont need any trouble with the Law those days are long gone!!

Im heading out to the East Fork of San Gabriel tomorrow going to investigate an area I keep hearing about on here called Heaton Flats sounds like some people have been pulling decent ammounts of yellow from there. If theres anybody who is looking to Hitch a ride from Orange County to San Gabriel id be happy to take them with me.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

The places to pan on the east fork are a little bit closer to the "bridge to nowhere". I panned pretty close to the same place as you my first time, there is gold dust there, I found it when I got home and ran my concentrates through my blue bowl. But, the further up river I went, the pieces got larger, go figure. Also, if you are planning to go up the Heaton Flats trail, there is Gold there, but it is more hard rock mining, not really a place to sluice or pan. It is a ridiculous trail, I hope you have some climbing equipment... Good luck!

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

You could check with the owners of the claims and send them a message about detecting or prospecting on their claims. You might be surprised, they just might let ya on there. I've found that if you're respectful enough and they realize that there's way too much area to cover by themselves that they'd let ya go there. Worst case they'd say no.

 

[SNIFFINNUGGZZZ]

Thanks for the advice guys.

SteveGems last weekend we ended up driving to the very end of the road where you have to park and get out is that Heaton Flats? im not exactly sure... but anyways we parked down there at the end and walked down the trail for about a mile and a half maybe a little less thats where we set up and began digging on the sides of the river, we actually pulled half of a gram on sunday not bad? But im wondering is the place im digging heaton flats? or is it where you told me to go? This weekend im going to hike deeper.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

No problem. That is the beginning to the Heaton flats trail, the trail itself, is 14 miles round trip. The trail goes up Iron mountain, if you stay on the east fork river, you are on the bridge to nowhere trail. Half gram isn't bad, but you can do better, especially further up river. If you have the time, try to hike out at least 4 or 5 miles (where the old timers have their tents set up, but not right there). The best place to pan/sluice is about a mile past the bridge to nowhere (maybe 6 1/2 miles from the parking lot), but it is quite a hike, even without equipment. I saw another post of yours, you live by Trabuco? I was just there, Going again tomorrow. Have you been out there yet?

 

[SNIFFINNUGGZZZ]

Ok well tomorrow im heading back to the East Fork we plan on Hiking much farther this time but im not sure about 5 miles hahaha are you finding anything in Trabuco? im willing to head out to trabuco on sunday with my cousin and maybe my girlfriend. Are you mining on someones claim? or just out there poking around?

[EDIT]

Todays trip was tragically cancelled do to unforseen events but tomorrow we are going for sure, Steve PM me about Trabuco maybe we will head out there instead of San Gabriel tomorrow.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

Nice, good luck, I am going next Friday. I've not found much in Trabuco, besides bullet shells, batteries, cans, etc.. I am going out with a metal detector and hand shovels. I have been trying to follow the geology, and learn the area. I have been detecting magnetic rocks, looking at the different stains on the Granite, just generally getting familiar with the area and seeing how my metal detector works in the high Iron environment. All of the lower parts are claimed up, hbprospector told me there are even more now, and to check with the blm for the exact info. The next time I go, I was planning on going to the Tributary/Gulch just North East of the East Horse Thief trail. I wanted to explore the hillside and look for any exposed Granite or Quartz. Not super exciting, or profitable, but there is not much else to do out there until I know where all of the claims are. East fork is the place for Gold, especially if you are panning/sluicing. I will be going out there a lot this Spring and Summer, maybe we can plan something?

 

[SNIFFINNUGGZZZ]

Well we went to Trabuco today from 8:30am to 2:30pm and we pulled some tiny gold flakes from the spot we were digging, I did a little research and to the best of my knowledge we werent on anybodys claim and we started finding the flakes around 2 and a half feet deep behind some large rock formations kindof like a smaller white water rapids looking area. We had alot of Fun but I like your idea about getting to know the geology of the area and getting familiar with what types of rocks bring in the good material.

We would be totally interested in planning a trip out with you to either spot East fork or Trabuco I will PM you my contact info. Just a heads up we are somewhat youngsters in our mid twenties but we work hard and really enjoy it.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

That is great that you found some Gold today, you guys are motivated and it is paying off! I can't make it out to Trabuco tomorrow, but I have some equipment coming in the mail this week, it should be here Thursday, so I was planning a Friday or Saturday trip depending on when my stuff arrives. I am going to the East fork with my buddy David, if you want to meet out there, we can help each other with the digging, then compete sluice against sluice. Just for fun, and to motivate ourselves to move more dirt. David is your age, I am 6 years older, so we are down to work too. The more dirt you move, the luckier you get! Good luck tomorrow.

 

[GarretDiggingAz]

Hey you youngsters need a chaperone? I'm a great classifier since I can't navigate hills anymore like I did at your age. Lol.
Just kidding of course but someday would like to go hunt in Cali. I've been taking all my free time and hitting spots out here. Hopefully getting to a spot I found a bunch of dust in my anchor, or another spot where I found 4 flakes in one pan, one scoop under a small waterfall. Unfortunately I don't have a couple free hours to stop at the spot for the flakes. Hopefully in a couple weeks.
Good luck to ya guys. Show some pics when you've gone.

 

[SteveDigsGems]

Let us know when you are in California, maybe we can plan something. There will be pictures, don't worry!