The Many Lost Treasures of Mariposa, CA (Photos Added)

id love to join you if only to pan for some gold lol. ive been reading your first posts again and i must admit im bitten by the gold bug all over again(and here i started getting into rockhounding). my biggest interest lies in finding the cave that the railroad worker you met in arizona sealed shut with a dozen sticks of dynamite near McCabe. althought from the description im sure it would be pointless to try to move the rocks around to try to get at that gold. but if you know of gold thats a little easier to reach just let me know and ill be all over it.
Well, that's what I'll be after in the morning. I don't expect to hit the "Mother Lode" tomorrow, but I'll get a little just panning. I'm getting pretty bored just sitting around. (lol)

I would suggest joining me, but I know it's a long drive for a little gold.
 

Well, that's what I'll be after in the morning. I don't expect to hit the "Mother Lode" tomorrow, but I'll get a little just panning. I'm getting pretty bored just sitting around. (lol)

I would suggest joining me, but I know it's a long drive for a little gold.

Looking forward to it brother. Swimming and prospecting at the same time is hard to beat.
 

Looking forward to it brother. Swimming and prospecting at the same time is hard to beat.
Oh, I could beat it.....by taking along a bucket of KFC (Original).
But, I don't feel like driving all the way to Merced to get it. (lol)
 

Mission accomplished. Hopefully, Lol, It makes it.
 

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Eagle.

Thanks for hanging out with me and the family. It was a grand time. I never got to finish the crack but I plan on going back soon. I ran out of time. Good times good times, I felt like we were sitting on your front porch just watching the water drift on by.
 

Eagle.

Thanks for hanging out with me and the family. It was a grand time. I never got to finish the crack but I plan on going back soon. I ran out of time. Good times good times, I felt like we were sitting on your front porch just watching the water drift on by.
(lol) I wish the river was that close to my front porch. (lol) The company was great, the chicken was great, and the weather wasn't half bad.

Your son wore Flash out, she slept most of the way home and other than a little to eat, she's been sleeping ever since. (lol)

Incidentally, just between you and me, you have a lovely wife.

Let me know when you're ready to work on that crack some more, maybe I can make it back down to cheer you on. (lol)
 

Sounds like a good trip, good company, good food and good weather. Doesn't get much better. How is the water level in the Merced??? Thinking it must be getting pretty low... Good health and good hunting...
 

Sounds like a good trip, good company, good food and good weather. Doesn't get much better. How is the water level in the Merced??? Thinking it must be getting pretty low... Good health and good hunting...
And you would be thinking right. The river is down to its "normal" Summer low. As early as it is, I can visualise it getting a bit lower as Summer progresses.
 

(lol) I wish the river was that close to my front porch. (lol) The company was great, the chicken was great, and the weather wasn't half bad.

Your son wore Flash out, she slept most of the way home and other than a little to eat, she's been sleeping ever since. (lol)

Incidentally, just between you and me, you have a lovely wife.

Let me know when you're ready to work on that crack some more, maybe I can make it back down to cheer you on. (lol)

Lol. Him and flash were having a great time together. Btw tell flash she wore our hank as well. He fell asleep forever today. Thanks.

I thank my wife is lovely as well. She thought you were quite the guy as well. She said you were cool and now she knows why we're always talking about the Eagle. Lol. Hope your day is well.
Did you find any gold when you found the Wells Fargo artifact?

I'll let you know when I'm headed that way again( I want to go right now!) you let me know when your ready for some more chicken. Lol
 

id love to join you if only to pan for some gold lol. ive been reading your first posts again and i must admit im bitten by the gold bug all over again(and here i started getting into rockhounding). my biggest interest lies in finding the cave that the railroad worker you met in arizona sealed shut with a dozen sticks of dynamite near McCabe. althought from the description im sure it would be pointless to try to move the rocks around to try to get at that gold. but if you know of gold thats a little easier to reach just let me know and ill be all over it.

It might be cost effective, you never know lol. We could use GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to see if there is actually gold, then maybe intercept the tunnel by drilling a small tunnel from a side that is solid rock so that it wont collapse..
 

It might be cost effective, you never know lol. We could use GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) to see if there is actually gold, then maybe intercept the tunnel by drilling a small tunnel from a side that is solid rock so that it wont collapse..



you must have been reading my mind and day dreams! i was thinking coming in from the top or at an angle. another option might be to carefully cause the rocks to slide down from the portal making it less work to move whats there(this option depends on the position of the portal on the mountain and if it would be possible to under dig the rocks so they slide down more). a flurry of options and all of it from speculation. i guess the only one that would know of how the best way to approach this would be Eagle since he has seen the site already. any suggestions Eagle?
 

you must have been reading my mind and day dreams! i was thinking coming in from the top or at an angle. another option might be to carefully cause the rocks to slide down from the portal making it less work to move whats there(this option depends on the position of the portal on the mountain and if it would be possible to under dig the rocks so they slide down more). a flurry of options and all of it from speculation. i guess the only one that would know of how the best way to approach this would be Eagle since he has seen the site already. any suggestions Eagle?
I had considered the "ground penetrating radar", but after reading up on them, found the price of even renting one was beyond what most prospectors could afford. The main problem was that it required an experienced operator, due to harmful radiation. So, not only do you have to rent the "radar", you also have to pay for the operator. (lol)

Since you live in Berdoo, I would suggest you stop by Stapp & Moore Mining, (their address is in the advertising of Keene Equip. in the Int. CA Mining Journal"). If I remember correctly, they're on "E" St. Talk to Terry Stapp and tell him you heard about him using airial infra-red film to locate deposits of gold back in the mid-eighties and see if he will tell you the nominclature of the infra-red film he used. (Sorry, it's been so long, I no longer remember).

After that, it would be a lot cheaper to have a local pilot fly over the area while you take photos with the infra-red film. If you ever get to that point, I can direct you further on direction, altitude and best time of day, etc.

Hope this helps!

P.S. The location is near Bagby, not McCabe. (lol)
 

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Lol. Him and flash were having a great time together. Btw tell flash she wore our hank as well. He fell asleep forever today. Thanks.

I thank my wife is lovely as well. She thought you were quite the guy as well. She said you were cool and now she knows why we're always talking about the Eagle. Lol. Hope your day is well.
Did you find any gold when you found the Wells Fargo artifact?

I'll let you know when I'm headed that way again( I want to go right now!) you let me know when your ready for some more chicken. Lol
Yep, along with the Wells Fargo pad lock, I also found the business end of a RR sledge-hammer, the type used to drive the spikes. Unfortunately, the pad lock was snapped shut, (with-out the strong box). (lol)

Along with the old relics, I think I took about 8gms of gold out of that crevass. Not really too bad, since the crevass was pretty well exposed before I came along.

KFC is like prospecting, I'm almost always ready. (lol)
 

I had considered the "ground penetrating radar", but after reading up on them, found the price of even renting one was beyond what most prospectors could afford. The main problem was that it required an experienced operator, due to harmful radiation. So, not only do you have to rent the "radar", you also have to pay for the operator. (lol)

Since you live in Berdoo, I would suggest you stop by Stapp & Moore Mining, (their address is in the advertising of Keene Equip. in the Int. CA Mining Journal"). If I remember correctly, they're on "E" St. Talk to Terry Stapp and tell him you heard about him using airial infra-red film to locate deposits of gold back in the mid-eighties and see if he will tell you the nominclature of the infra-red film he used. (Sorry, it's been so long, I no longer remember).

After that, it would be a lot cheaper to have a local pilot fly over the area while you take photos with the infra-red film. If you ever get to that point, I can direct you further on direction, altitude and best time of day, etc.

Hope this helps!

P.S. The location is near Bagby, not McCabe. (lol)

Wow eagle! What a coincidence that I pass by that store every day on my way home and never even bothered to read the sign on the door/window. Maybe ill drop by after work today and see what I can learn. as far as the infra-red film idea well now that seems like a lot more work than I’m able to put in right now(not to mention how much it would cost to pay someone to fly me around). Guess I’ll just start by panning with you and see how that goes. Besides when choosing a nice cool river or being several thousand feet off the ground, I’ll take the river. By the by Eagle, have you any experience panning in Lytle creek? I heard there's some out there but I’m not sure. Maybe I can lure you out that way with some KFC and possible gold from panning in exchange for your time, company, and instruction?
 

I had considered the "ground penetrating radar", but after reading up on them, found the price of even renting one was beyond what most prospectors could afford. The main problem was that it required an experienced operator, due to harmful radiation. So, not only do you have to rent the "radar", you also have to pay for the operator. (lol)

Since you live in Berdoo, I would suggest you stop by Stapp & Moore Mining, (their address is in the advertising of Keene Equip. in the Int. CA Mining Journal"). If I remember correctly, they're on "E" St. Talk to Terry Stapp and tell him you heard about him using airial infra-red film to locate deposits of gold back in the mid-eighties and see if he will tell you the nominclature of the infra-red film he used. (Sorry, it's been so long, I no longer remember).

After that, it would be a lot cheaper to have a local pilot fly over the area while you take photos with the infra-red film. If you ever get to that point, I can direct you further on direction, altitude and best time of day, etc.

Hope this helps!
Regarding my last answer; With the infra-red, if the bags of gold are truly there as he told me, the infra-red should pin-point the tunnel itself. From there, it would be a matter of figuring out the best way of uncovering it.

Actually, I don't think it would be all that hard to shore up the broken shale by using posts and sheets of plywood. It has been done in other locations.
 

Wow eagle! What a coincidence that I pass by that store every day on my way home and never even bothered to read the sign on the door/window. Maybe ill drop by after work today and see what I can learn. as far as the infra-red film idea well now that seems like a lot more work than I’m able to put in right now(not to mention how much it would cost to pay someone to fly me around). Guess I’ll just start by panning with you and see how that goes. Besides when choosing a nice cool river or being several thousand feet off the ground, I’ll take the river. By the by Eagle, have you any experience panning in Lytle creek? I heard there's some out there but I’m not sure. Maybe I can lure you out that way with some KFC and possible gold from panning in exchange for your time, company, and instruction?
(lol) That could be some of the most expensive KFC I'd ever eat. (lol) About $100+ for gas, plus expenses.

Actually, all I ever found in Lytle Creek was fine gold. Never found any "pickers". There are better places North of San Bernardino though. You have "Blue Cut" with quite a bit of fine gold and a few "pickers". Even better is Mormon Bar. I got quite a few nice pickers in the creek that flows through there. Just keep in mind, I haven't been down that way prospecting, in about 30 years. And, I know that things have a tendency to change a bit over the years. But, if I ever do decide to make a trip down that way, for whatever reason, I'll let you know.
 

(lol) That could be some of the most expensive KFC I'd ever eat. (lol) About $100+ for gas, plus expenses.

Actually, all I ever found in Lytle Creek was fine gold. Never found any "pickers". There are better places North of San Bernardino though. You have "Blue Cut" with quite a bit of fine gold and a few "pickers". Even better is Mormon Bar. I got quite a few nice pickers in the creek that flows through there. Just keep in mind, I haven't been down that way prospecting, in about 30 years. And, I know that things have a tendency to change a bit over the years. But, if I ever do decide to make a trip down that way, for whatever reason, I'll let you know.

pardon my ignorance but where does 'ol Eagle make his nest?
 

pardon my ignorance but where does 'ol Eagle make his nest?
About 7 miles South of Oakhurst, near the little town of Coarsegold. (Don't you just love that name)??

Or conversly, about 40 miles North of Fresno, off of highway #41.
 

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