Unusual finds when prospecting?

[blackchipjim]

Hello all, on my recent trip out west to prospect different areas of Arizona I ran across some unexpected things in desert. Some of things even though not that unusual were not expected considering the remoteness. I of course found the usual abandon equipment pieces that were broken and odds and ends of things that some how found their way out there. What I didn't expect was the abandoned camps. I was a little leery of approaching the areas since the relative seclusion of the place. It put me on high alert to people who could be watching me or following me around. I'm not much of tracker of humans and just stumbled into the camps. Has anyone have any input on these camps or special precautions other than obvious. Thanks

 

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[arizau]

Depending on where you were they could be hunting or prospectors camps. Close to the Mexico border is where I am leery especially when I see clothes, backpacks, empty milk jugs and the like strewn around since those are the signs of drug and human smuggling camps and pickup points.

 

[Terry Soloman]

Up in the Weaver and Bradshaw mountains there are locals with pot grows, drunk hunters during the season. Always wear a sidearm back in the boonies..

 

[russau]

Keep alert to EVERYTHING around you at all times! I agree wit the posts so far BECAUSE if there is pot / drugs / or poachers ,someone IS watching you!

 

[Hawks88]

I would just move on down the road somewhere else.

 

[blackchipjim]

I was kinda surprised by the camps and in my oppinion they were smugglers waypoints. I was armed because it's a safety issue when in remote areas. Being an easterner we don't have camps like that, they have the city to disappear in. I try to make enough noise as to announce my presence since I don't want to surprise anyone or anything. These sites were pretty well set up but the clothes and water jugs and buckets tell me to stay alert.

 

[firebird]

There's quite a bit of cartel activity near the Mexican border, be careful around those areas.

 

[Bejay]

I am sure it is common to observe the hidden camps occupied by illegals in the southern border states. I have had the experience to see "camps by people of yet another concept". There are yet people hidden in the Forests of the Northwest that do not want to be found. My beagle ran off in the back country of Oregon, and was gone for 4 days. In trying to locate my dog I came onto many who were hiding out. In one such instance I was lucky to make it out of the camp alive. If my mining partner had not ridden up on his quad at the last moment (wearing a 44 mag revolver) I doubt if I would have ridden out of the hidden camp. Lots of different kinds/types of people hide out in the back country. It became quite obvious that the back country and remote areas can be dangerous....and not just from wild critters.


Bejay

 

[wildminer]

I am sure it is common to observe the hidden camps occupied by illegals in the southern border states. I have had the experience to see "camps by people of yet another concept". There are yet people hidden in the Forests of the Northwest that do not want to be found. My beagle ran off in the back country of Oregon, and was gone for 4 days. In trying to locate my dog I came onto many who were hiding out. In one such instance I was lucky to make it out of the camp alive. If my mining partner had not ridden up on his quad at the last moment (wearing a 44 mag revolver) I doubt if I would have ridden out of the hidden camp. Lots of different kinds/types of people hide out in the back country. It became quite obvious that the back country and remote areas can be dangerous....and not just from wild critters.


Bejay

Bejay, Can you share what part of Oregon that was where your dog got lost?

 

[wildminer]

I was kinda surprised by the camps and in my oppinion they were smugglers waypoints. I was armed because it's a safety issue when in remote areas. Being an easterner we don't have camps like that, they have the city to disappear in. I try to make enough noise as to announce my presence since I don't want to surprise anyone or anything. These sites were pretty well set up but the clothes and water jugs and buckets tell me to stay alert.

I come from a hunting background as well as a recon soldier in VN and naturally try to be stealthy and quiet in the boonies when possible. To me it would be best to back off rather than have a negative confrontation. I might add that I have no experience on the southern border.

 

[blackchipjim]

I thank you for service first off and respect your opinion greatly. I just figured that I don't want surprise anything or anyone that far into deserted areas. It is a little hard with a couple of buckets of tools and backpack and metal detector to be quiet. I probably sound more like a pack mule with two guys talking to each other than what I really am. Just pooping and snooping here.

 

[A2coins]

Be careful and armed

 

[blackchipjim]

I have been lucky in the areas that I have prospected and I'm on guard of people in remote areas. I met a couple that was working a claim and they even told me where to turn my vehicle around safely. We exchanged pleasantries and I told them about impending weather due in the areas for the night. They were kind enough to direct me toward a clubs claim. Most of time when i meet people they are friendly. I have met a few snarly looks and an wary eyes when I patrolled the back roads with my truck but that is to be expected all things considered.

 

[Goldwasher]

Mylar party ballons...at first it was random. Now I come across the things almot everytime I go out even new spots.

look up catch a flash out of the corner of your eye..damn baloon in the buckbrush.

One time coming in on a side trail..balloon on a branch I worked a bit of hill had my head down moving one direction...look up balloon on a branch. The tree and balloon looked so much like the last I though I was going in circles.. even though I knew better... had myself going for a second.

 

[Bejay]

Well Wildminer: Mt Bolivar and Gold Mtn Area...as well as Eden Valley....(my dog was found 4 days later by a timber cruiser...19 miles from my claim/camp). The guy who was hidden in was up Walker Creek....he did not want to be found....and he was living pretty rough. But he was awaiting armed/locked/loaded and not afraid to point his weapon at me. I was unarmed and rode in on him. I ran into quite a few who did not want to be found....I was amazed at how many people want to hide out and be left alone.


Bejay

 

[63bkpkr]

There are many reasons for 'hiding out', one is just stepping away from the "modern world" cause it gets worse all the time. Being back there alone for awhile would make ones mind go a wandering, so depending upon the person and how long they'd been out there they might want to talk you to death or take an arm off for dinner. Either way "Be Prepared" is a good motto.................63bkpkr

 

[Underburden]

Unusual finds? Yup, I got some..
Like most prospectors, I like to give my classifier a quick inspection before I toss the oversize. On two such occasions , I discovered these strange looking items.

These are PIT tags (Passive Integrated Transponders). Biologists use these to gather data from Salmon, Steelhead, etc within the Columbia River Drainage. There's a very good website that illustrates the use of these PIT tags HERE

Here's a close up view of the PIT tags. They make these in 4 different sizes and the ones shown are the 3rd largest.
The items surrounding the tags in the above picture are what the locals call 'Sugar Garnet'. If you try to tumble / polish them, they just disintegrate into the fine garnet you find while panning, thus the name 'Sugar Garnet'.

Here's some finds caught in the classifier that aren't so strange. These little nuggets were trapped behind the wires of a ¼" classifier. Careful work with tweezers extracted them for safe keeping.

 

[Darth Placer]

I found an old iron on one trip sluicing.... yelled out to my buddy upstream that there is a lot of iron in this stream and he said.... yeah there is


Walked up to him with the iron in my pan.... said no really there is a lot of iron in this stream... was a good laugh. At first I thought it was one of those stove top style ones... was in Amish country after all... turned out to be just an electric one that got dumped in the stream.... was just the metal internals all rusted up badly.

Found a bunch of other trash that day.... that piece of pipe I thought might have been a black powder flintlock pistol until I cleaned the rust off.

Streams that run along roads tend to get real trashy... packed out a lot that first two seasons.