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

[angelus2k5]

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.

much like a cat or dog, just the word gold makes my ears prick up lol. leave it to eagle who has hunted gold for a good portion, if not most of, his life to live near a town with the word gold in it lol. thanks for the hints as to panning spots near home, you mentioned mormon bar but the only one that comes up with a google search is near mariposa. is that the one you're refering to or am i missing something?

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

Minelab PRO-FIND 35 Waterproof Pinpointer Metal Detector for Experts with Tone ID & Adjustable Sensitivity - Grab it through Amazon!

[EagleDown]

much like a cat or dog, just the word gold makes my ears prick up lol. leave it to eagle who has hunted gold for a good portion, if not most of, his life to live near a town with the word gold in it lol. thanks for the hints as to panning spots near home, you mentioned mormon bar but the only one that comes up with a google search is near mariposa. is that the one you're refering to or am i missing something?

Probably. I'm not sure of the actual name, other than it was Mormon "something". (lol) I think just about every mining area had Mormons somewhere around. (lol) If you do stop in at Stapp & Moores, you might ask about it.

If I remember correctly, San Bernardino was originally settled by the Mormons, due to the arrowhead on the mountain.

 

[angelus2k5]

Probably. I'm not sure of the actual name, other than it was Mormon "something". (lol) I think just about every mining area had Mormons somewhere around. (lol) If you do stop in at Stapp & Moores, you might ask about it.

If I remember correctly, San Bernardino was originally settled by the Mormons, due to the arrowhead on the mountain.

ill be honest it took about 4 months after moving to the area before i noticed it. of course i live kind of under it so it was hard to notice when your that close to it. ill do more homework on that mormon "whatever" and hopefully come up with something. after all whats an adventure without a little mystery?

 

[Oakview2]

You mean Mormons bar in Mariposa, my cardioligist says back in the day he used to pan a ounce a day out of there. He said they swept the bedrock like the chinese wished they could. It was sodas, candy for everyone.

 

[mariposagold]

Mormon Bar Mariposa

You mean Mormons bar in Mariposa, my cardioligist says back in the day he used to pan a ounce a day out of there. He said they swept the bedrock like the chinese wished they could. It was sodas, candy for everyone.

If I could get an ounce a week out of the Mariposa Creek, I'd quit my job today and walk down to the creek.

Speaking of Gold, this 26.5 gram nugget is said to have come from the Merced between bagby and briceburg. It sure was tough letting it go. Once you hold a piece of Gold like this, you don't want to let it go.

 

[EagleDown]

If I could get an ounce a week out of the Mariposa Creek, I'd quit my job today and walk down to the creek.

Speaking of Gold, this 26.5 gram nugget is said to have come from the Merced between bagby and briceburg. It sure was tough letting it go. Once you hold a piece of Gold like this, you don't want to let it go.

Glad they didn't have to break your arm to get it back. (lol)

By the way, did you do any good metal detecting around those old cabins in town?

 

[Oakview2]

Goldbag

Looks like you got that 5000 dialed in...

 

[EagleDown]

You mean Mormons bar in Mariposa, my cardioligist says back in the day he used to pan a ounce a day out of there. He said they swept the bedrock like the chinese wished they could. It was sodas, candy for everyone.

"An ounce a day" would buy more soda and candy than I could ever eat or drink, at todays prices. (lol)

 

[angelus2k5]

If I could get an ounce a week out of the Mariposa Creek, I'd quit my job today and walk down to the creek.

Speaking of Gold, this 26.5 gram nugget is said to have come from the Merced between bagby and briceburg. It sure was tough letting it go. Once you hold a piece of Gold like this, you don't want to let it go.
View attachment 828915

now that is quite the sight. ive yet to go panning and i know i cant expect to find anything like that on my first trip but a guy can dream. like the saying goes "thats the stuff that dreams are made of". but who knows maybe one day when im on the merced with 'ol eagle teaching me i might just find one like it.

 

[CharlesP]

now that is quite the sight. ive yet to go panning and i know i cant expect to find anything like that on my first trip but a guy can dream. like the saying goes "thats the stuff that dreams are made of". but who knows maybe one day when im on the merced with 'ol eagle teaching me i might just find one like it.

I can't promise you that you'll find a nugget like that with eagle, but you find knowledge that can someday lead you to a piece like that. He definitely knows his stuff.

 

[angelus2k5]

I can't promise you that you'll find a nugget like that with eagle, but you find knowledge that can someday lead you to a piece like that. He definitely knows his stuff.

I agree with you on that Charles. althought i havent met Eagle in person, from the posts on this thread i think its safe to say that the knowledge and time spent with eagle would be worth a lot more that the nuggets.

 

[leenie]

after reading eagles thread I believe some people are worth their weight in gold. I think eagle is one of those people. thanks for the great thread eagle.

 

[EagleDown]

after reading eagles thread I believe some people are worth their weight in gold. I think eagle is one of those people. thanks for the great thread eagle.

Worth my weight in gold? Wow, I wonder if I can sell my body to science, but collect for it now? 155 lbs of gold. (lol)

Thanks for the compliments leenie, charlesP and angelus2k5!! I do appreciate the confidence.

Eagle

 

[mariposagold]

Glad they didn't have to break your arm to get it back. (lol)

By the way, did you do any good metal detecting around those old cabins in town?

Eagle, No arm breaking required. I sold it for them on eBay along with a few other pieces. I still didn't want to let it go. :-) Which old Cabins are you referring? There are a few on 5th and 6th street. Then you have 3 old house on Bullion Street that are in various levels of decay and or torn down. (My friend Rob hunt those) I can't think of anything that I would says is a cabin in town. I'd like to hunt the old Frosty Shop lot downtown. I've had good luck in vacant lots, but haven't hunted many in Mariposa. I've only lived here 10 years, you know the town better than I, and certainly you remember what it was like Long before I got here.

 

[mariposagold]

Eagle, since you are the resident expert on the mariposa area. I was thinking Fall would be the best time to nugget hunt with a metal detector on the Merced at Bagby and Railroad Flat, up to Briceburg. Mainly because the water is at it's lowest level allowing access to deeper parts of the river. What do you think of my assumption?

Also, I've got an MXT Pro and a smaller coil. would that be effective or should I consider getting GMT or GMZ before going Metal detecting for Gold?

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle, No arm breaking required. I sold it for them on eBay along with a few other pieces. I still didn't want to let it go. :-) Which old Cabins are you referring? There are a few on 5th and 6th street. Then you have 3 old house on Bullion Street that are in various levels of decay and or torn down. (My friend Rob hunt those) I can't think of anything that I would says is a cabin in town. I'd like to hunt the old Frosty Shop lot downtown. I've had good luck in vacant lots, but haven't hunted many in Mariposa. I've only lived here 10 years, you know the town better than I, and certainly you remember what it was like Long before I got here.

I was thinking of the ones on bullion St. I just figured since you live in Mariposa, you'd probably detected around them.

I was in Mariposa long before you, but it is almost unrecognizable now. When I moved away, they still wouldn't allow fast food places there. Now you have the Pizza Factory and Burger King, a rest area with a catering truck, etc. (lol)

 

[EagleDown]

Eagle, since you are the resident expert on the mariposa area. I was thinking Fall would be the best time to nugget hunt with a metal detector on the Merced at Bagby and Railroad Flat, up to Briceburg. Mainly because the water is at it's lowest level allowing access to deeper parts of the river. What do you think of my assumption?

Also, I've got an MXT Pro and a smaller coil. would that be effective or should I consider getting GMT or GMZ before going Metal detecting for Gold?

You're right in your assumption. Fall is my favorite time for the river. The grass is dried up and laying down and the river is at its lowest.

As for the metal detectors, the MXT is great for gold. Use the small coil for exposed bedrock, and the 9 1/2" for deeper areas. It will find the gold. I haven't tried the GMT or the GMZ, so I can't advise on them. I do know the MXT will detect a .17gm nugget easily.

 

[mariposagold]

I was thinking of the ones on bullion St. I just figured since you live in Mariposa, you'd probably detected around them.

I was in Mariposa long before you, but it is almost unrecognizable now. When I moved away, they still wouldn't allow fast food places there. Now you have the Pizza Factory and Burger King, a rest area with a catering truck, etc. (lol)

As I was saying, my friend Rob hunted those lots a few months ago. He didn't find anything remarkable. I have certainly been eyeballing them for some time. I did work a small section of it closes to 140 with no luck last year. I will put it on my short list to hunt again. The county have Rob sign a release of liability, so he's good to hunt county lots. He also got permission once to hunt the old Courthouse grounds. Then the second time the Judge came out and kicked him off the site. LOL. Government.

 

[mariposagold]

You're right in your assumption. Fall is my favorite time for the river. The grass is dried up and laying down and the river is at its lowest.

As for the metal detectors, the MXT is great for gold. Use the small coil for exposed bedrock, and the 9 1/2" for deeper areas. It will find the gold. I haven't tried the GMT or the GMZ, so I can't advise on them. I do know the MXT will detect a .17gm nugget easily.

I was hoping you would say that. I've practiced with the nugget I had for a short while, with my MXT Pro. I have a small (less than a gram) Nugget for the purpose of testing my machine for small Gold detection. That is one thing I will do for sure in the Fall. Thanks for you input Eagle, I'll post my first Nugget find right here.

 

[EagleDown]

As I was saying, my friend Rob hunted those lots a few months ago. He didn't find anything remarkable. I have certainly been eyeballing them for some time. I did work a small section of it closes to 140 with no luck last year. I will put it on my short list to hunt again. The county have Rob sign a release of liability, so he's good to hunt county lots. He also got permission once to hunt the old Courthouse grounds. Then the second time the Judge came out and kicked him off the site. LOL. Government.

Government......Right!! Another place that might be productive would be the school above the courthouse. That's where some kid found a nugget (on the school grounds) right after a rain. I haven't been up there in years, so I don't know if it's fenced in now, or not.

As they say; If you want gold, go where gold has been found. (lol)