Advice: Old Hole or New Diggings

[Goldfleks]

Ok, so I'm at a bit of a dilemma...

I have the spot that I've been digging at since I started recreational prospecting. Community dig site south of Cattle Canyon Bridge at the East Fork. Gold is ok, not great. But I know what to expect when I dig there. I think part of why this site produces decent-ish gold is that it's so dug out that the holes are far enough down that the pay layer is accesible. And the holes just migrate around as different people dig them. I can count on a few decent flakes, a picker now and again, and a bit of fine gold every time I go there. But I'm defenetely not getting over a gram in a few hours of digging like the boys in Colorado.

But whenever I try a new place to dig and start my own hole I usually find much less. And I know a big part of that is simply that I'm not at a depth deep enough to get decent gold. I know I could commit to digging a new spot but I don't know if it would pan out to anything more than what I'm already getting at my current spot. And then there is the opportunity cost of finding/starting a new hole. And the time it would take to dig it out to where it's paying at least what I'm already getting.

I guess I could test pan around, but with all the overburden covering everything, I really don't feel like that would produce much as all the pay is down deep.

Thoughts?

The other thing I've thought about it using google Earth and tracking the river location. In a few of the places I dig it's jumped the bed after the rains in 2005 to where it's currently flowing. I know the river carved out the entire canyon at one time so the gold is everywhere, but if I dig in a now dry river channel that used to flow 10 years ago am I upping my odds?

Still learning.

My other issue is partly related to the fact that most of my digging is close to the parking lots so it's heavily prospected. But until I improve my gear and find a reliable digging partner I'm sorta stuck staying close for now.

 

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[dredgernaut]

wow , will you marry me , lol , nice work , keep up the good fight

 

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[brianc053]

Goldfleks, back to your original question: based on your pictures, the material in that hole and the gold you're getting, I think you should definitely stay in that hole and just keep expanding it over the days/weeks/months.
Now, I'm an East Coast guy, so finding material and gold like that is rare, but I'd think even for CA you're doing pretty well. Keep at it! (And keep sharing awesome pictures as you expand the hole, please!)

- Brian

 

[rodoconnor]

Goldflecks , never leave good gold ! You are on good gold.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Great "ride along", thanks for sharing. Looking forward to seeing the picker from under the rock!!

 

[Hunt4gold]

Goldfleks - Just a few thoughts. I agree with other Tnetters suggesting that you touch base with local prospecting clubs. Besides that, how much have you studied the area (Google Maps or other resources)? I believe that this is the area you are at (outlined in tan).


Have not been to this location so these are my suggestions to check out. There are several really nice looking inside bends up river from bridge (up Dime Canyon also). Looks like there are some active claims on terraces up Dime Canyon (pink outline) - you may want to check out claims down river from them and see if terraces or river below them are accessible. Further up the San Gabriel (blue outline) there appears to be an unconformity on east side of river - may be interesting to sample just down river of this. Still north of this site it looks like there may be some bedrock exposures near the river - around and north of Bridge to Nowhere. If there is bedrock - would be interesting to check out that area also.

Looks like all kinds of potential in this area. Good luck and keep posting!

 

[Goldfleks]

Going to be a bit till I can get back up there. We have 5 days of rain incomming and then two more storms right after that. I have a feeling crossing the river is going to be impossible for a little bit depending on the snowpack, and how much ground water is draining into the basin. Which means my hole is probably going to collapse. Not a huge deal, as I need the overburden to come down to safely expand the dig anyways.

A local up there was talking about hand cranks for moving big rocks. Anyone give me advice on this subject? That final rock was nearly impossible for me to move alone so I think I need a little mechanical assistance in the future for the next time I dig one up. Any brands/configurations that are reliable and easy to opperate?

Got half my cons cleaned, looked pretty good. No pickers in the first batch. Will clean the other bucket of cons tomorrow AM. I'm pretty sure I saw a decent flake sitting on the deck of my bazooka and the water was ripping so i'm hoping for a nice suprise when I screen it down. Make all that effort worth it.

 

[Goldfleks]

Hunt4Gold: Yes there is bedrock farther up the canyon but until I can get a trustworthy partner with work ethic it's unaccessible to me as I'm not willing to hike that far up the canyon alone. Ideally when it warms up this spring I want to do a couple day trip up to the narrows (area with bedrock past the bridge) and put in some work. The gold is defentely bigger and less picked over deeper in the canyon. So for right now I'm limited to areas that are heavily populated and I feel comfortable digging in. Additionally due to the "monument" status of this area, you have to be considerate of where you dig anywhere between the parking lot of the Bridge to Nowhere and the Bridge. It's a heavily traveled area and as much as the Forrest Service tends to look the other way if we tear up the river in a remote area they are less happy if it's in and around where everyone is day hiking in. Can't be leaving holes right next to the trails. Out of sight out of mind is kinda the name of the game. So I'm not sure if those bends north of where I'm digging would be prospectable or not. I think next time I go up I'm going to day hike in with the weekend crowds and just get a visual on the area between Heaton Flats and the Bridge and see if there is anywhere I could look to put in some work once the storms pass.

 

[Hunt4gold]

Goldfleks - I agree with "out of sight out of mind". We take that approach here when prospecting in south Denver. Good idea to find a partner or two when heading into canyon. You sound pretty competent, but it is always better to go into areas like that with someone. Good luck - I enjoy your posts and that you take photos of more than just the gold.

 

[rodoconnor]

Be careful using any mechanical device [come along] upstream from the parking lot. Motorized equipment is not allowed and some guys wearing Smokey the Bear hats interpret that to mean anything mechanical. Good Luck

 

[Jbarsk8]

Nice looking gold, the hard work is paying off

 

[et1955]

Here is what you need " A come along " They are cheap at Home Depot , I have several hidden up on the Sultan river where I do most of my mining. It is really hard to get those boulders out especially when your hole is 6 to 8ft down.

 

[Goldfleks]

Be careful using any mechanical device [come along] upstream from the parking lot. Motorized equipment is not allowed and some guys wearing Smokey the Bear hats interpret that to mean anything mechanical. Good Luck

Good to know. Got to love the loose interpretation the Forrest Service has. But on the other hand I'm glad they are not totally kicking us out of the East Fork.

 

[rodoconnor]

In the good old days when we could dredge, you could buy a special use permit from the State. It allow you to dredge upstream as far as you wanted. I think it cost a whopping $20. Thanks,
once again Schwarzinegger.

 

[Asmbandits]

Goldfleks Id say your doing pretty well for that area, you obviously have a feel for what your doing and the gold speaks for itself! I know deeper while in most cases is better isnt always the case. Keep an eye out for a rusty layer I always seem to do good up north when I find that layer.

 

[Hamfist]

There is some serious work being done a certain number of miles in. This is no place to describe exactly what I saw, but it's conspicuous diggings with equipment I wouldn't be caught dead with anywhere in CA, let alone in this particular area. That said, I happily moved a couple of "devices" to higher ground before the last storm for them. I'm dying to get up to the Narrows too. I've been to the bridge a few times but I have prospecting ADD and often fail to stick to my plan when I hit up EF, but It has netted me some interesting adventures. There's lots of history up there and plenty of cool stuff to see.

I'm told by a friend that it's wise to bring offerings of calorie dense food to the locals when you do go past the BTN. People live up there, off the grid. Good people, so I hear.

 

[Goldfleks]

Goldfleks Id say your doing pretty well for that area, you obviously have a feel for what your doing and the gold speaks for itself! I know deeper while in most cases is better isnt always the case. Keep an eye out for a rusty layer I always seem to do good up north when I find that layer.

I always feel like that rusty layer is just trying to trick me to dig it. Not sure if you can see it in those photos but there was a big rusty band along the roof/top of the arch on my hole. When I found the three pickers I got from that hole so far they were all a foot or two below that rusty layer in the mess of larger rocks. I basically ignored the rust layer entirely this dig. I sample panned it a few times but wasn't finding anything bigger than anywhere else so I focused on digging out the larger rocks and digging deeperthisfind. My theory was bigger rocks trap bigger gold. Can't say is true 100% but I found my largest pickers so far working that method. Granted the second day digging out big rocks didn't net me any pickers so far. Still have a bucket of cons to run though.

The saying is really cheesy but gold is where you find it lol.

 

[Goldfleks]

I'm going to have a ton of overburden to dig out next time I make it up. It's easy digging. It will give me a good comparison between running volume easy digging gravel vs harder deeper digging. Or of this storm fills my hole with sand I'll look for somewhere new lol.

 

[Asmbandits]

I always feel like that rusty layer is just trying to trick me to dig it. Not sure if you can see it in those photos but there was a big rusty band along the roof/top of the arch on my hole. When I found the three pickers I got from that hole so far they were all a foot or two below that rusty layer in the mess of larger rocks. I basically ignored the rust layer entirely this dig. I sample panned it a few times but wasn't finding anything bigger than anywhere else so I focused on digging out the larger rocks and digging deeperthisfind. My theory was bigger rocks trap bigger gold. Can't say is true 100% but I found my largest pickers so far working that method. Granted the second day digging out big rocks didn't net me any pickers so far. Still have a bucket of cons to run though.

The saying is really cheesy but gold is where you find it lol.

Yeah the rust layer isn't always where the gold is coming from I have found, sometimes the gold is just where it is lol. Bigger boulders is a good sign as well, I guess you never really know where its coming from until you sample

 

[rodoconnor]

Sometimes floods will bring a nice looking layer of rust stained quartz down from Cattle Cyn, Looks interesting but does not hold much gold at all.

 

[wildminer]

I've never been to EF, but how about a trench crossways to the stream after you find a pay layer. Yeah, I know a backhoe would work real good, but maybe after you get a pardner or two.