Warmed Up

[wa-au-nut]

It warmed up some in the Puget Sound area and Yesterday was sunny and got up to 54. Had cabin fever so I took a drive. Dog and I went up to Index and had a great adventure. Found a spot to park on the Index Rieter Rd. and hiked down to the river above the Boulder Drop. No easy task for me with Dog on a 25' lead but he runs off if not tethered. He was going the wrong way around the Vine Maples and going under logs and tangling the lead around my feet. Basicly just exploring but did manage to get a little dirt moving in. Worked in a boulder area with some rocks 2-3 feet in diamiter. Clasififed about 1/4 of a bucket to -1/4 and took in to the river to pan. Was getting the material about 30' from waters edge on a flat bar so had to bucket water to rinse off the goodies first. Panned it out and got about 10 colors out of 3 pans. Just some Fly poop, no flakes but its in my snuffer bottle. Nice to get out in the Sun after a winter shivering in the cold,damp weather. Dog had fun sniffing the critter tracks trying to pull me with him. Gilligan is 3/4 yellow Lab and 1/4 Golden, about 120# and strong. As unstable as I am since my stroke and such we won't be taking him along exploring. To easy for him to make me fall. But a great afternoon and a shake off of Cabin Fever.

 

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[DizzyDigger]

What a great way to spend a nice afternoon...

My dad and I (20 years ago) used to go work a section of the Pilchuck R. up that way (on the
Granite Falls side of the hills), but I know the Sultan holds some gold but it's tough to find
access. Last time we went there I was barely able to get my dad back up the hill, but we had
a fun day of digging and found some colors ta-boot! He passed away a few years later, and that
was the last prospecting trip we ever took together; lots of good memories.

Beautiful up here in Concrete today, too, and it's letting me get the garage cleaned out the
rest of the way so A) the Queen can park her Hyundai in there now, and B) I've got an entire
bay to set up an area for a recirculating sluice, plus plenty of fabrication area for projects. At
the moment I am working on a completely new design of a gold concentrating system that
should work wet or dry, plus being the simplest thing in the world to use and clean out.

Been working on that garage all winter, and believe it or not, now we can actually park
2 cars in our two car garage! One side is dedicated my gold gear, and leaving my
Toyota 4x4 outside won't hurt it a bit.

Tomorrow I'll be getting gear ready for the prospecting trip down to Calif. and Nevada. Be
spending 2 days near Barstow and helping my old buddy work his new drywasher, and then
heading over to Nevada (via Hwy. 6) and then working my way up to the Oregon border
from Tonapah, camping out in various back-country spots while I nugget shoot and look at
several areas currently unclaimed that might have promise. Probably be a 10-14 day trip
by the time I'm back home, and damn....it can't come soon enough!

Sorry to hear about the stroke, but can certainly relate to having no balance! I use
a walking staff about 90% of the time when outdoors, just in case. It's also a great
thing to lean on when standing back up.

 

[wa-au-nut]

I normaly gab a big branch to use but having Dog with me I didn't have an extra hand. Should see me trying to gey up off the ground. Thats good for a few laughs. Gotta get me a MD soon. Maybe before we head to Grants Pass in mid July. Just havin't found one yet. Keep checking Criags but nothing. Like to find a AT Gold or MXT or GMT.

 

[wa-au-nut]

Guess spring is here. Rain his gonna hit tonight, Heavy rains for a week or more they are saying. Freezing levels a gonna be going to 6000-7000' on top of a good snow pack could mean some flooding may be expected. Pineapple Express is aimed right at the Seattle area again. Be interesting to see what happens on the S rivers(we have several rivers that start with S). Heavy warm rains on Heavy snow could mean things could get dicey in the lowlands. Got some areas I wanna watch for water levels. Hope you are on high ground Dizzy.

 

[Doug Watson]

Well, it's back to rain again!

 

[DizzyDigger]

Guess spring is here. Rain his gonna hit tonight, Heavy rains for a week or more they are saying. Freezing levels a gonna be going to 6000-7000' on top of a good snow pack could mean some flooding may be expected. Pineapple Express is aimed right at the Seattle area again. Be interesting to see what happens on the S rivers (we have several rivers that start with S). Heavy warm rains on Heavy snow could mean things could get dicey in the lowlands. Got some areas I wanna watch for water levels. Hope you are on high ground Dizzy.

Well, it does look like a good soaking is on it's way, and if it warms up too much
the rivers are sure to fill-up in a hurry. Still, no worries here as we have never yet been
touched by the flood waters raging through the backyard. Only time it really got
bad was in Oct. '03 when the level in Concrete set a new record.

Here's a shot of the Skagit taken from my back deck..and in Oct. '03 those two trees
you see nearest the river were 3' under a mess of fast moving mud and debris. Still,
the water would have to climb at least another 10 ft. higher for any chance of serious
damage, and if that happens the towns of Concrete, Rockport, Marblemount, Lyman
and Hamilton would all be under about 3' of water.

This endless, crappy wet weather is one of the very reasons I'm heading
about 1000 mi. south for a couple weeks just as soon as I can get the funds
and gear together. Warmer temps, fresh desert air and maybe even find a nugget
or two with the new machine...way better than sitting up here and rusting!

 

[DizzyDigger]

The "Pineapple Express" has now arrived.

Also known locally as "The Rain Train", this is a 2000 mile band of rain that starts at the
Hawaiian Islands and streams directly into the Pacific Northwest....and is never ending..

 

[wa-au-nut]

One of my Face Book friend was up on the Skykomish Tuesday panning and said the river came up about 6' while he was there. Not a lot of rain in Seattle proper but moutains are getting hammered. Forks got about 6" in 24 hours. Think my hole I threw rocks back in got sand filled LOL.