GPAA, Is it worth it?

[steve9501]

I will start with a little back story. I have been on here a while reading and learning but have not posted much.
A couple of years ago I had a chance to go to a friends gold claim with him, my son and another friend. We didn't find much gold, but it was a great relaxing weekend camping on the claim and enjoying the time. This year we went back but our time was cut short. Cold, rain, work schedules. This year I brought another friend and his son. We didn't find much gold again, not even enough to pay for the gas to the claim but it was a fun relaxing weekend. The claim is small and I believe has been worked a lot over the past 20 years or more. There just is not much gold there. We don't go to make money or get rich, we just go for the fun of getting away. I have a very high stress job so quiet time away is worth more than any gold we find. His claim is of course on public land so a lot of people are around most of the time. So far all but one old guy has been very polite and doesn't bother us. The one old guy came by every morning and yelled at us for camping on the public land.

My friend and I have been discussing the gold mining trips. We are considering buying a claim of our own, but that looks very involved and full of potential legal work. SO, we have looked at joining GPAA for access to different claims. We have a few questions for those that are members if anyone wishes to give some information.
It looks like there are a lot of claims a guy can go hobby mining on. Are they open to members at any time, or would a person have to schedule a time to be there? And what would a person have to do to go mine for a weekend?
How common is it to be on the claim at the same time as other members? What is the likelihood of being the only ones on the claim? That is probably a vague question.
Are their claims any good, or have they been worked so much that there is nothing left to mine? Again we dont expect to get rich or make any money mining but it would be cool to find a gram or two of gold.

I don't have much interest in large group gatherings or group campouts. I would not be opposed to meeting other people, but like I said I have a high stress job. To me mining is about searching for a little gold and sitting around the camp with a couple of close friends talking and looking at the stars. My friends claim is in Colorado so most of what we would do mining would be in Colorado.
Thanks in advance for any information. I am really looking at joining but before I sign up I want to know if it would be worth the time or money.

 

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[Terry Soloman]

The main benefit of a GPAA membership is the ability to learn what you're doing at an accelerated pace, on claims where gold has actually been found. Club members are always willing to help a greenhorn with equipment and technique tips and tricks. Is it worth the money? To me yes. Is there gold left on the claims? Yes. Nobody gets it all. Will you see other people on the claims? Sometimes you will, and they may be able to teach you a thing or two.

Gold prospecting, nuggetshooting and drywashing, is NOT easy. In fact, you are very likely to come back from the claims with nothing more than lead bullets, barbed wire, and pieces of old bean cans. Join the club, ask questions on the GPAA forum, and get some knowledge BEFORE you put boots on the ground.

 

[Frankn]

I will start with a little back story. I have been on here a while reading and learning but have not posted much.
A couple of years ago I had a chance to go to a friends gold claim with him, my son and another friend. We didn't find much gold, but it was a great relaxing weekend camping on the claim and enjoying the time. This year we went back but our time was cut short. Cold, rain, work schedules. This year I brought another friend and his son. We didn't find much gold again, not even enough to pay for the gas to the claim but it was a fun relaxing weekend. The claim is small and I believe has been worked a lot over the past 20 years or more. There just is not much gold there. We don't go to make money or get rich, we just go for the fun of getting away. I have a very high stress job so quiet time away is worth more than any gold we find. His claim is of course on public land so a lot of people are around most of the time. So far all but one old guy has been very polite and doesn't bother us. The one old guy came by every morning and yelled at us for camping on the public land.

My friend and I have been discussing the gold mining trips. We are considering buying a claim of our own, but that looks very involved and full of potential legal work. SO, we have looked at joining GPAA for access to different claims. We have a few questions for those that are members if anyone wishes to give some information.
It looks like there are a lot of claims a guy can go hobby mining on. Are they open to members at any time, or would a person have to schedule a time to be there? And what would a person have to do to go mine for a weekend?
How common is it to be on the claim at the same time as other members? What is the likelihood of being the only ones on the claim? That is probably a vague question.
Are their claims any good, or have they been worked so much that there is nothing left to mine? Again we dont expect to get rich or make any money mining but it would be cool to find a gram or two of gold.

I don't have much interest in large group gatherings or group campouts. I would not be opposed to meeting other people, but like I said I have a high stress job. To me mining is about searching for a little gold and sitting around the camp with a couple of close friends talking and looking at the stars. My friends claim is in Colorado so most of what we would do mining would be in Colorado.
Thanks in advance for any information. I am really looking at joining but before I sign up I want to know if it would be worth the time or money.

I have been a GPAA life member from way back. Yes it cost, but if you join when you are young, It is well worth it and I live on the east coast. I have hit many claims on the west coast. I have read up on the subject and tried most methods from panning to detecting. Being older now ,83, I prefer detector use. I seldom see others when I visit a claim, It's just blue, my pit bull, and I. It's relaxing , peaceful and even sometimes rewarding. The best part is once you buy the lifetime membership there is no additional cost. You can find the claims on the GPAA webb site and you get info and tips in their magazine which comes for life at no additional cost. I also use my detector for treasure hunting and they are starting to list some of those sights on their online form. I just listed one in the other detecting section ,Gallows Harbor about a cache worth between $1 million & $2 million In 6 chests on the East coast. YES, I would say get the membership It's one of the last great values around.

 

[Honest Samuel]

Not much panning for gold in Connecticut. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[Frankn]

That's true Sam, But one of those brass chests just might be near you in CT. I was looking over the map release on Gallows Harbor and I spotted ( Devils Hopyard) . The only listing for that is a state park in CT. That chest has a lot of old coins in it with other valuables like gems and if I remember correctly you use to deal in coins.

 

[RGINN]

If 'quiet time away is worth more than any gold we find' you've already struck it rich. There are some GPAA claims along the Arkansas here and I never see much activity. Most everything else is pretty much claimed, and a lot of those claims are specifically marked 'Not GPAA'. Placer claims up here come up for sale every so often so you could look into that. BLM has a place west of Granite where anybody can look for gold. And Lost Canyon near Granite has a treasure story about nuggets as big as hen's eggs, but they just never could find the spot again.

 

[steve9501]

If 'quiet time away is worth more than any gold we find' you've already struck it rich. There are some GPAA claims along the Arkansas here and I never see much activity. Most everything else is pretty much claimed, and a lot of those claims are specifically marked 'Not GPAA'. Placer claims up here come up for sale every so often so you could look into that. BLM has a place west of Granite where anybody can look for gold. And Lost Canyon near Granite has a treasure story about nuggets as big as hen's eggs, but they just never could find the spot again.

My friends claim is on the Arkansas river in Colorado. I will have to look for the place by Granite for next summer. I like the claim he has, it is a good location with a nice place to set up camp. We don't get bothered by anyone too often. This year the old guy that didn't like us camping where we were reported us to the ranger. She came around and inspected our camp. She made sure we had the 3 things we needed, portable toilet, propane cook stove or grill, no fires and one other thing that I don't remember. She was very polite about it. The only things I don't like about his claim is it is a popular fishing spot so there are a lot of people in and out. They don't bother us but I feel bad ruining their fishing with our dredge in the water, and we are kind of a spectacle to everyone driving past checking us out. The only other time we had a problem was some guy that claimed he was from the state and tried to tell us we couldn't mine the river. When we got a phone and started calling the Sheriff he decided he was not a state employee but was working with a university somewhere collecting water samples or bugs or something. He left when he found out we had claim paperwork with us. My friend is part owner of the claim with 7 or 8 other people. There is not a lot of river to work in on the claim, I think it runs along 300 feet of river with no bends or natural traps. I would like to find a historical map of his claim to see how the railroad and highway impacted the river flow.
I think next year I will have to find the BLM land you talked about. That wouldnt be too far from his claim, it would be a change of scenery for an afternoon. I also think I will sign up for a year of GPAA to see if I like it. It looks like I would be eligible for a discount if I do it soon. I can get my other friend signed up too, we could split our week between the claim and GPAA property. It looks like my daughter will need her own membership, she is in college and will be 19 next month. There is no way she will let me go on an adventure without her. My son is 17 so he will be able to go along for one more year.
My concern with joining is I don't want to find out their claims were 100 yards of creek with 500 people elbow to elbow panning. I don't mind meeting new people and learning from others I just don't care for large groups.