What about Alaska?

[Niccolo]

Hi everyone,
me and a my friend would like to go to Alaska next summer because of its naural beauty and of gold . I am full of questions!:
-What are good places to go, and what are good rivers to look for gold?
-Does we need a permission to search gold in the river?
-It is possible to bring to Italy the gold found there?
-The vacation will cost a lot (especially the air travel, we are Italian), it would be great if we would find a job there to pay a part of it; do you anyone who could help us? We would accept any kind of job
-What about costumes? And what about the weather (more or less how many degrees are there in the summer?)?
Thank you!

 

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[WVARelics]

Oh my

 

[Gold Maven]

I bet the Hoffman's could use some help.....Gold Rush TV show.

 

[Beans]

I spent 4 months in Alaska, November 75 to Feb 76. Cold, would get down to -70 degrees. Dark 90% of the time. Everything was frozen over. So you have picked the right time to go. I am sure some on here on this forum has been there during the Summer.

 

[Niccolo]

- 70 degrees, not bad!
Alright, I 'll see Gold Rush on youtube . Thank you men!

 

[bukit]

spent a week there in august last year. absolutely perfect, we're going back this august.

 

[cw0909]

last time there 20yr ago,did not look for gold,was in the summer july warm
check here,jobs pg there too
Results 1 - 10 of about 274 for panning gold.
Search Results: panning gold

 

[63bkpkr]

Few things about prospecting in Alaska

Niccolo,
I've been to Alaska in the summer, about mid June through September. The outback of Alaska can be brutal on man and equipment as it is so rough. Mosquito's, black fly's and "no-see-um's" (teen tiny flies) will eat you alive. The country has deer, black bears, grizzly bears, moose, beaver's (that poop in the water causing a person to get very sick if they drink the tainted water) and if the Beaver Fever, the bugs and the bears do not get you then the dense forests with bogs and downed trees will be rough on you. The Alaska back country is not forgiving and if you are not experienced being out in wild country, if you can not take care of yourself when you are lost, if being in dense forest with odd noises spooks you, if you do not know how to work in fast moving cold water, if you are new to prospecting and have never done it before, if you do not have a good gold detector that you already know how to use and if you do not have contacts in Alaska right now then you have a lot of work ahead of you before you leave Italy. Alaska is not like Isolo De Giglio or Milano, or Sienna, or Florence or like being out on the Gross Glockner Glacier! The Alaska outback country needs to be respected for what it is, untamed and rough.

Now a person can drive on back roads in Alaska and there are a lot of them and any road that cuts across a stream has free access to prospecting within the right-away boundary lines of the road/bridge. In most streams/rivers there is some gold, usually fine flour gold. At a place called Gains Creek they offer prospecting outings where you pay to go there and prospect usually with your own gold detector (look up Gains Creek Mine, Steve Hershback(?) and Alaska Mining on the internet to contact them). Gains Creek is famous for nuggets large and small and smaller and there are other creeks that are known for gold production but most of the known areas are claimed. There are some small scale miners out there and they might want to hire some laborers for the mining season but it will be hard work! Contact the State of Alaska Tourism Department for information on visiting Alaska, ask them about recreational mining, ask them for information about mines you could work at for pay, ask them about known gold mining areas, ask them how you can find out where there are mining claims, ask them about the rules for prospecting in Alaska and there are so many more questions you need to ask you will be very busy doing just that.

You will need good sturdy boots, clothing, socks, a good sun shielding hat, rain suit, water filtering pump, tent with rainfly and lots and lots of gear just for camping let alone all the prospecting equipment and a vehicle. In all you could be spending upwards of $10,000 or more just to go on this adventure and who knows you might even find gold. You need to plan this so that you know ahead of time where you will be going to and what type of prospecting you will be doing as without this preplanning your trip will likely be an expensive failure and even with the planning finding gold is a pure gamble.

Now it could be an adventure of a lifetime with stories and pictures to share and tell over and over and who knows you could just possibly find 40 or 50 pounds of gold your first time out but THAT IS NOT LIKELY! Plan, investigate, know how to use a compass and map, carry a GPS device and make sure you are Physically Fit and Mentally strong as the back country can try the very best of men. One other item that will be a must is Insect Repellent. A repellent with a high percentage of DEET or just 100% DEET is recommended. This repellent should not be applied to the skin for long periods of time. I would obtain a sturdy NET jacket as well as a sturdy NET head cover that goes over you brimmed hat and drops below your neck. I would put the DEET on the net jacket and head cover and only put a minimum amount of the DEET on my hands wrists and on my socks around the ankles. When not in use keep the jacket and head cover in a heavy duty plastic bag and add a bit more DEET to it when they are put away. Without the insect repellent you will HATE your time in the back country as I've never seen or heard so many mosquito's in my life as there are in Alaska!! Also, just like any other part of the world some of the people in Alaska are just as nice as can be and some will steal from you, be careful.

So other than these few teeny tiny precautions, Heck Boy's have at it.........63bkpkr



The above pictures are of some fairly rough country in Northern California and what I found there. Again the amount of gold I found did not even pay for the trip but it was the adventure I was after as well as to just being out in the back country for the fun of it. The forests in Alaska can be very dense and all grown together making it nearly impossible to get through vast miles of forests. The rivers are used as highways in the back country as there are no roads in the real back country of Alaska.

Oh and as far as bringing back to Italy any gold you find in the U.S. well you should check with the U.S. and Italian customs departments with more questions.

 

[Niccolo]

Thanks a lot 63bkpkr, you have given to me a very realistic and detailed picture of what we will found there, it will be usefull!
I usually search gold in the river with a sluice box and a pan but a friend of mine has a Garret 250 that he does not use and that he could lend me, I think it's worth bringing it too (even if I'll have to learn to use it and where to search with it), isn't it?
cw0909 thanks to you too! I have read a lot of rules about goldpanning on State land, I have to read all that rules carefully.
I'll try to contact some mines I could work at for pay but I think it will be hard (probably I'll stay there only one mounth and a half while they need someone for the whole season, and I also have never used an excavator). I really hope I'll succeed to organize the whole vacation but it is hard for the moment!
Thank you all for your help!

 

[63bkpkr]

Merry Christmas Niccolo at least it is still the 25th of December in the U.S.

Here is a site I suggest you should look at, it is a site from one of the contacts I listed in my earlier response to you. I looked at the site this morning and realized it Was/Is the site for you to investigate to learn some insights to being in Alaska.

Gold Prospecting and Metal Detecting for Gold Nuggets

Enjoy the reading as there is plenty there. I wish to you and yours that you will enjoy the Spirit of Christmas now and all year long................63bkpkr

 

[Niccolo]

Merry Christmas to you too 63bkpkr (though a bit late).
That site is what I was looking for! I hope I will be able to practice with the detector before going to Alaska but here in Italy we have only little pieces of gold (consumed by the trip) and I don't know what is the minimum size of nugget that an ACE Garret 250 can detect.
Thanks again.

 

[davest]

Niccolo, you have high aspirations. I spent 4 years in and around Anchorage 30 some years ago and did gold panning, camping and a lot of hiking. There are streams between Anchorage and Fairbanks, and between Anchorage and Homer that you can pan in. Those streams often have claims already staked on them. It's a definite no=no to work on another mans claim, but there is public access on some. You have not posted where you plan to go to, have you narrowed down your search? I don't think I would plan on getting wealthy while there for a summer, but you never know. Good luck.

 

[webatch]

Niccolo what month are you planing on going to AK? and what part of the State? It is huge! I have family up there and spent some time in the back country. In the Denali area late July typically has day time temps in low to mid 70s and mid 50s at night (really twilight). It never really gets dark in summer which takes some getting used to.

63bkpkr is right the back country can be very harsh if you are not prepared. DON'T drink the water without treating period. I learned Beaver Fever is no joke!
100% DEET will be a life saver.

BEARS
Do NOT clean game or leave food scraps around your camp - this invites unwelcome visitors BEARS! A dog is truly mans best friend in the outback... they know of a bears presents long before you do. It may sound strange but bells on your boot laces jingle alerting bears to your presents. It is never a good idea to surprise a bear... they don't like surprises.

The low areas between mountains can be massive bogs that swallow vehicles and equipment. The water is melting run off from glaciers…. Its freak’n cold. You need to be prepared to take immediate action if you happen to fall in. Again lesson learned! If you get dunked in that water it can take a couple of days to shake the cold feeling.

It is beautiful country and if you like to fish – WOW!

 

[Gork]

Working in Alaska or Yukon Territory.

Note: the Hoffman's are not in Alaska. They are now in Yukon Territory, which is a territory of Canada. As a foreigner (which includes Americans) you must first have paperwork to prove you own the rights to or have a lease to a claim. Then you have to get the proper paperwork from Canadian Immigration. This usually is an extended visa with special provisions. Those provisions are that you can't do anything but work on your own claim. I have been mining in the Klondike and have seen many Americans and other foreigners thrown out of the country. When they get you for doing something illegal, all your equipment will lay right where it is and rot after they kick you out.
To find a claim in the Klondike and do all the paperwork for mining and land use will take up to a year. That is unless you lease claims with the water use and land use license already in place. Big strike against you though as the lease will be a minimum of 10% off the top to the owner of the rights.
Of course, it is illegal for a foreigner to work in Alaska also.
As an American in the Klondike for 34 years I have watched the regulations go through many changes. The Hoffmans are only five miles from my valley.
Of course, a tourist doing a little panning is ok.

 

[pirateruben]

I'm currently living in Alaska after I relocated from the UK. The scenery is stunning and it often feels like the edge of the world that the remaining humans have forgotten. It took me a while to get residency but after speaking to some helpful people at Greencard.com it all seemed to pan out. The sorted all the visa requirements out for me and now I'm loving life here in the wilderness. There's plenty to do here but it really depends on what kind of activity you're looking for.