Gold in my back yard creek!

[Gold4Mike]

My wife and I started prospecting this past spring and summer and went out at least 15 times in a variety of places around the state of Washington and had a lot of fun (and got some gold). We also have a small creek in our back yard. It transports a lot of gravel off of the hill top that it starts on, us more or less in the alluvial fan area. I looked at it all summer thinking I should check to see if there's any gold in it, but not really expecting anything, so I never got around to trying. This past weekend the wife was busy doing stuff we've put off all summer and I was trying to decide if I should begin watching NFL again but decided it was a good day to try digging in my creek. This past weeks rain had brought the flow back up to where I could use my Grizzly Explorer so I picked a random easy spot to shovel right into the sluice. The fly poop didn't really surprise me, but I was happy to see it. The one bigger flake was what really got me excited. Hard to count buckets when you are directly shoveling, but this was from probably about one bucket of unclassified into the GGT sluice. When your gold mining is only 50 feet away from your kegerator, life is good! I think I will be digging gravel all winter.

 

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[Gold4Mike]

Post hole digger might work.But getting thru the root system might be a problem.Rent one of these babies for half a day
>

One of those things would sure make it more interesting! But then I'd have to find something bigger than my sluices to run my gravel. Pretty soon I'd look like the Hoffmans!

 

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[KevinInColorado]

One of those things would sure make it more interesting! But then I'd have to find something bigger than my sluices to run my gravel. Pretty soon I'd look like the Hoffmans!

I hope you don’t ever LOOK like them!

 

[RTR]

End caps > 1/2" Schedule 40 PVC Cap Socket, 447-005
I glued them on. But you could use the sealer that plumbers use.Duct seal> https://www.garvinindustries.com/el...A-afZ-jDjgfpNlCD_IvIBAEl8J8bkBgYaAhxdEALw_wcB

 

[RTR]

Hey Mike.Thinking about it,this might be the perfect tool for you . You can rent these.They also have extensions to go deeper.Dig your sample/testing holes wherever you want & pan or sluice the dirt that comes up
>

 

[Goldfinger450]

Ahh, Poor Guy, them Wimins can throw a wrench a Looong ways sometimes, Get some little Nuggets together and I can turn them into ear rings or something that may get you more creek time? Hehe, Good Luck out there.

 

[Reed Lukens]

I have worked down through some nice gravel and cobble and have found a layer of clay. I'm surprised at my growing cobble pile.

I squished several clumps of it into loose silt and panned it and found nothing. I guess my next effort will be to try digging through it to see how thick that layer is and if there is more gravel beneath it.

I've seen clay like that over 30' deep, it's hard and acts like a false bedrock. It's been there forever. Usually the best gold is underneath it but you should go upstream or downstream to where it ends and then pan that area to find out if it would be worth trying to get through. I took ours down a few feet, broke off some huge chunks and still, the best gold was on top of it. If it's 4' deep you may have a chance to easily dig a swimming hole but I wouldn't try it with anything less then a full sized excavator because a small one will simply scratch and claw at it inch by inch... You will find that even a jack hammer is tough because it takes the hole straight down, then it gets stuck in the hole

 

[63bkpkr]

Real Experience

Reed, are you talking from actual experience and if so how did you get the Jack Hammer out? Has your back recovered?

Just having fun...............Herb

{ Right now I have: the flu/pneumonia/a throat that feels like someone used a very stiff wire brush on it/a headache that refuses to go away/two shoulders that need surgery/ one knee that needs surgery so I gotta poke fun at somebody } Further question I know that in your other home you would shoot the .44 magnum from the home, you do that with the mobile home? If yes you do not need to admit it in public!

 

[63bkpkr]

Gold4Mike -
Cobbles are a part of a miners life. In the old days the miners piled the cobbles on virgin ground. I would suggest you using them to build a nice fireplace or wall well away from your site.................63bkpkr

 

[Reed Lukens]

Reed, are you talking from actual experience and if so how did you get the Jack Hammer out? Has your back recovered?

Just having fun...............Herb

{ Right now I have: the flu/pneumonia/a throat that feels like someone used a very stiff wire brush on it/a headache that refuses to go away/two shoulders that need surgery/ one knee that needs surgery so I gotta poke fun at somebody } Further question I know that in your other home you would shoot the .44 magnum from the home, you do that with the mobile home? If yes you do not need to admit it in public!

Yessss... Actual experience took a long time to get it back out... One chip at a time

 

[Johnnybravo300]

I bet you're eating more than one can of beans for dinner with clay that deep! I get frustrated just thinking about it haha....

 

[Gold4Mike]

It sure has been wet in Western Washington this winter. I showed my wife the video of Goose and Majik Mike getting drenched while prospecting and she just wasn't into doing that so I've had to satisfy my needs by digging in my back yard. I've actually done ok the last couple times. Always wish for more or bigger, but it has been fun.
View attachment IMG_1193.JPG View attachment IMG_1281.JPG

Unfortunately this past weekend we had bunch of rain and the Thunderbird Creek Gold Mine (as I call it) has flooded. I'm hoping the hole didn't fill with silt.
View attachment IMG_1302.jpg

My backyard total so far.
View attachment IMG_1313.JPG

 

[RTR]

The last pix. is Looking good Mike

 

[Tony_agr]

I know the way you feel, I have a creek in my front yard (sorta of)that was once the center of the Placerville area gold rush, after prospecting all over the county, I keep coming back to my 150' of creek frontage, after clearing a whole lot of Blackberry bushes and old trees, tires etc.. I've been working the creek for about a year and a half.. the only down side is that its hard to keep it private as the road cuts through the property and everyone that passes "rubbernecks" it has become an obsession, bedrock is anywhere from 6" to 24" with lots of quartz and clay, the thrill of the search is what its all about.. creek only has water about 5 months out of the year..So have fun.. and I wish you happy searching its a blast.. I'm just waiting for some neighbor to call the F&G on me as I'm using an electric pump for the sluice (California you know)

 

[Gold4Mike]

I finally made my back yard gold mine official . I got the shop class at the high school I work at to make me a sign using their plasma cutter. I still haven't decided on a final mounting spot, but this looks good for now.
View attachment IMG_1468.jpg
I have finished digging in the first hole (cut?) that I named the Salmonberry Cut. I ran out of room next to the creek. I have started clearing a new area that I have named the Fern Cut. I should be able to dig a hole 2 to 3 times larger than the first one and hopefully explore deeper.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Love the sign!
Happy digging

 

[mytimetoshine]

I finally made my back yard gold mine official . I got the shop class at the high school I work at to make me a sign using their plasma cutter. I still haven't decided on a final mounting spot, but this looks good for now.
View attachment 1566516
I have finished digging in the first hole (cut?) that I named the Salmonberry Cut. I ran out of room next to the creek. I have started clearing a new area that I have named the Fern Cut. I should be able to dig a hole 2 to 3 times larger than the first one and hopefully explore deeper.

Haha. I love this. The "cut"
🤣🤣🤣

 

[bryantg]

i live in washington to over by Port Townsend glad to hear your finding gold over there!

 

[Gold4Mike]

With pretty much the whole state of Washington shut down, I can't get to the rivers I like to dig at. I decided to reopen the Thunderbird Creek back yard gold mine. I spent a couple weeks digging and classifying some gravel at a very slow pace, and finished up a cheap Piglet to power sluice conversion using the bottom sluice of my Piglet and a plastic bin and some fittings. I used the same Gold Hog mats that came with the Piglet and a 2000 gph pump.
I classified to 1/4 inch which seemed to work well with that flow. Ran about 10 gallons classified and was pretty happy with the results even though it is very fine.

 

[1637]

this is my newest the hopper is classified to about 1/4.iam going to change it to 3/16 just so i have less dirt to deal with and detect the rest.good luck brad

With pretty much the whole state of Washington shut down, I can't get to the rivers I like to dig at. I decided to reopen the Thunderbird Creek back yard gold mine. I spent a couple weeks digging and classifying some gravel at a very slow pace, and finished up a cheap Piglet to power sluice conversion using the bottom sluice of my Piglet and a plastic bin and some fittings. I used the same Gold Hog mats that came with the Piglet and a 2000 gph pump.
I classified to 1/4 inch which seemed to work well with that flow. Ran about 10 gallons classified and was pretty happy with the results even though it is very fine.

 

[G1994]

Been checking out this forum for years trying to decide when to get into prospecting and finally joined due to this dang shut down! Well atleast it's giving me time to research and study up more on this prospecting haha. Awesome plasma cut signage! Looks like an older hotsprings classic tub in your yard?