Curious about Nome Alaska

StevenHavillJr · Dec 25, 2015

Has anyone here been there and worked the beach as well what are the dangers like for sharks?

StevenHavillJr · Dec 28, 2015

It's a lot of information to take in and yea a good amount of cash to go do this, I would be lucky to do it sometime late this coming new year.

johnedoe · Dec 29, 2015

Lanny in AB said:
I've been to Nome. I've mined the beach-line north of Nome.

LOL.... That would really take some do'in....... Especially since the beaches run East and West from Nome........ :laughing7:

Unless there has been a major change since I lived there in the 80's

Goldwasher · Dec 30, 2015

Lanny knows his stuff. I'M assuming he meant above the spit not thinking of the actual compass heading of the coastline. Zoom out on a map and why not call anything on the map above Nome north? Probably the wrong hair to split!

patiodadio · Dec 30, 2015

StevenHavillJr said:
If there was some sort of guaranteed work up there it would really get me thinking on being up there

No guarantees on anything in life, you just gotta grab hold and hang on 8-)

Lanny in AB · Dec 30, 2015

johnedoe said:
LOL.... That would really take some do'in....... Especially since the beaches run East and West from Nome........
Unless there has been a major change since I lived there in the 80's

Yes,

Talking about heading up toward the Penny and the Cripple Rivers which would be west, but you also must go north-west, so my apologies for saying north only and negating to say west. In other words, you can't go west up the beach without also going north, so my bad all the way.

All the best,

Lanny

russau · Dec 30, 2015

Well Lanny there goes your hall pass!

DugMoney · Dec 30, 2015

Do it man!!! The older you get the chances get slimmer and slimmer. Wish I could go back in time, I would def. do it!! GL man.

Lanny in AB · Dec 30, 2015

Here's the deal, not going to Alaska at least once is something you will likely regret. It's a fantastic, incredibly large, beautiful place that has good gold. Moreover, there's hardly anyone living there compared to California, for example. So, opportunities abound for having a better crack at the gold. I mean, what else could a prospector or miner ask for?

All the best, and I hope you go for it,

Lanny

johnedoe · Dec 30, 2015

Lanny in AB said:
Yes,

Talking about heading up toward the Penny and the Cripple Rivers which would be west, but you also must go north-west, so my apologies for saying north only and negating to say west. In other words, you can't go west up the beach without also going north, so my bad all the way.

All the best,

Lanny

LOL.... No problem, I lived up there in the early eighties..... Man have things changed. Gone are the days when you could just build a beach cabin and go digging....... Thank's to that idiotic tv show and their lame assed view of reality.

Been up the Nome river the snake and yes the penny and cripple too not to mention anvil crk....... caught fish on a bare hook..... That's one of the big differences of fishing in AK.... You go catchin unlike down here where you go fishin....... One spring a few friends of mine and I went ice fishing on the nome river, we had a healthy supply of yukon jack and of course the bravado it brings....

Well I started over a drift embankment on a corner of the river and suddenly the world dropped out from under me..... I hit about the middle of the river , went in up to about my chest in it....... Man you would have thought I was jesus...... after I hit the bottom I don't think my feet hit the ground again till I was on the other side.... sobered me up right quick I tell ya.

Anyway once I was out of the water I dropped and rolled around in that nice dry cold snow which helped draw the water out of my clothes which by the way were good poly pro long johns and wool outer pants and gear..... in about 15 minutes I was as dry and sober I was when we all left town several hours before..... Later we all had a pretty good laugh about that adventure and the fact that we all made it back to the cabin.

That could have turned out real bad had the water been any deeper and the current on that corner any swifter........

I was much younger then and had the time of my life, lots of good memories, some pretty blurry though...... Long summer days and long dark winter days...... walked out on the bering sea over 2 miles one day to watch some of the natives fish for tom cod through the young ice where a lead had opened up then froze again...... was watching one old guy and was talking to him,

I was on the old ice, the stuff that was 6 feet thick and he was out on the young ice.... Anyway he said come on out it's ok....... well I was a bit leary to say the least due to past experiences but thought aw what the hell... he's out there and he has a good 50 pounds on me so off the old ice I went................. for about 20 feet..............

Salt water ice is different than fresh water ice, it's kind of elastic in a funny way,.... anywho as I was walking I could see the ice undulating under each step.... well I turned my butt around and headed right back to the old think ice.....

That old native guy got a pretty good laugh out of that one. anyway I got to looking at the ice a little closer and decided I would just follow his foot steps out to where he was....

It tuned out all OK and we had a great time talking about the area and the hunting and fishing..... He was a very cool old guy, unfortunately I can't remember his name and I am sure he has gone on his last hunt many years ago.

And last but certainly not least, I would be remiss if I didn't say something about the northern lights...... Those who have seen them now what I mean, For those that have not..... There is really no way to adequately describe such an incredible phenomenon....... Usually they are a ind of glow in the dark green, but I have seen them in red , yellow , blues and purple ..... living curtains of light high above your head like the wind blowing over a field of tall grass, wave after wave, with bursts and spires that you would think hit the ground. But that just won't happen since they occur high in the stratosphere.

Well enough rambling.....

Anyway to the young feller that started this thread..................
I hope ya make it to Nome young man, It will be an experience you you will not soon forget.

trsynsh · Dec 30, 2015

The mosquitoes and such are only a problem for a few months out of the year. If you're somewhere well above the tree line/rather breezy, they're not really worse than they are anywhere else. If you're somewhere low and still, they'll devour you. Just keep that in mind when choosing work sites/camp sites. If you're genuinely trying to make money, I'm not sure Nome is the place to be. Admittedly, I haven't been there, but I know that it's pretty competitive there, seems like a tough spot for a newcomer with no connections and little money to make an impact. Also, Nome isn't actually in the Arctic Circle, but it's not far off either, it's really far up there, and it gets NASTY up there, believe me. If I were you I'd consider staying around Southeast Alaska, around Juneau. The weather tends to be MUCH milder and more tolerable, year round. The idea of toughing out the brutal winters in Northern Alaska seems more appealing when thinking about it here in Southern California, but once you're up there the freezing temps get really old, really fast.
If I were you I'd save up some money, and head up there with the intention of getting a room in a shared apartment somewhere, see if you can line up a job (even something PT) and go from there. It's tough to really set off on your own and find spots and dig enough to yield any major results if you're just going to visit for a few weeks. If you're up there permanently you can really get out there and do it right.
I know Alaska pretty well, to be honest. If you have questions about specifics, feel free to shoot me a PM.

stefen · Dec 30, 2015

Spent some time at Eielson Air Force Base outside of Fairbanks and south the Arctic Circle...

As with most of Alaska, the summers are Ok, the winters are the pits...

You can literally pour a hot cup of coffee out and it will be frozen before it his the ground.

And you'll need a pair of pliers to get the mosquito stingers out.

Other than getting gored by a deranged moose cow protecting her calf or keeping a bear from using you as toilet paper...it's a great place to be from... :thumbsup:

motohed · Jan 5, 2016

If I had done it when I wanted too ,I would still be there get your self a good stainless rifle and 500 s&w . and do it , I'm 56 now and broken to the bone . My only regret is that I didn't go to Alaska When I could at 20 years old , If I did , I know in my heart I would still be there . I think about it daily .

Alex Burke · Feb 10, 2016

johnedoe · Feb 10, 2016

Nice work Alex...... :thumbsup:

MIKE MCKEEVER · Feb 11, 2016

HERE IS A YOUTUBE VIDEO -- NOLAN PLACER --CHECK THE NUGGETS OUT

Curious about Nome Alaska

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Winter clothing.... Who makes good winter gear?

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