Why be the Grinch, when you can be Saint Nick?

[NorCal7]

Well, I'm not a social media guy, have held out on joining the GPAA because of things I have heard, but thinking about joining for claim access now. As long as I have been prospecting I have not joined this site until purchasing a detector (Finally), and have always done the solo thing, but finding help locating gold spots to detect seems impossible unless it involves claim jumping or breaking the law somehow. Even the dealer I bought my detector from ($799) wouldn't even give me a lead on where to use it. It was obvious he just wanted the sale and didn't want to share any spots. That was after a 3 hour drive each way!

I get how information in our hobby is guarded, but when you have tens of thousands of like minded people on a site who decide to collectively ignore helping fellow responsible prospectors from succeeding in the hobby we all enjoy, there's an obvious reason why I've held out this long and now feel dumb for finally taking a chance at networking. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good people here who give amazing info to all, but there are a lot more receiving than giving, and after all, isn't this the season for giving?

Nobody expects free information on spots, but a lead does not hurt, Miners cache and the other sites are confusing, outdated or plain incorrect and most of us know this.There is a lot of advice of, "Do your due diligence and vet all information", but nothing seems trustworthy and the last thing anyone wants is a shotgun aimed at them. The flip-side is most of us really don't know the correct way of cross-referencing the vetting portion, leaving us wondering if we covered all basis.

Since joining this site I've posted threads on 3 different forums and received 2 responses total, both from the same person who I now have a lot of admiration for.

I'm not sure I will continue with this site or posting, but everyone should take a moment to think about where you started in this hobby and consider the amount of joy you have gleaned from it. Think about the people who helped along the way, before you found your first flake, picker, pull tab, bottle cap and coin. Sometimes the best gifts aren't material, but knowledge and experience, and I know from reading various posts over the past 7 years there is plenty of both.

I'm moving on, but I hope all of you out there reading this have a happy and safe holiday season and reflect on this amazing gift of "Gold fever", and the wonderful journey we have enjoyed as prospectors because of it.

 

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[winners58]

there is a learning curve, it takes time to learn the in's & out's, where to go.
there is whole community built on passing their knowledge on, listen to the old-timers.
meetings, clubs, group outings are where most people start.
Mother Lode Goldhounds
United Prospectors, mineral and gem prospecting - mining claims
Gold Country Treasure Seekers
PCSC one of the oldest claims clubs founded in 1966

Merry Christmas

 

[arizau]

Welcome to Land Matters is your friend. Find areas with claims, avoid them but do your searching in legal nearby areas.....that is how I do it.

Good luck.

 

[QNCrazy]

There are several clubs out there that are willing to help. I am the Outings Coordinator for the Delta Gold Diggers out of Stockton, CA, a FREE club. We are a chapter of GPAA. I schedule outings every month and get at least one new member a month. I have begun to give demonstrations at the beginning of each outing hoping that I can impart some of my knowledge on the members. The experienced miners of our club are more more than willing to share their experience as well. The DGD's meet the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Eagle's Lodge in Stockon, CA. Our next monthly meeting will be January 3. Come on over and join us. You might also look up the East Bay Prospecors as well.

FYI, I use the app Meetup to schedule our outings. If you use the app, you can search for Gold Prospectors or Delta Gold Diggers to find our meetups. PM me if you have any questions.

 

[Goldwasher]

Get in touch with Mike (QN)

If your in the Bay area your close.

Hit me up if your making a trip my way.

I'll sit down with you and show you how to start research into an area. I'll explain what to do with that info at the county.

Also how to tell if you even need to do that.

It is best to be shown in person.

 

[NorCal7]

Thanks winners58!

 

[NorCal7]

Thanks QN. I’ll send you a PM as soon as I figure out how to do that

 

[NorCal7]

I will definitely check out Land Matters. Thanks!

 

[N-Lionberger]

If you are in the bay area there is the East Bay Prospectors Eastbay Gold Prospecting & Treasure Hunting Club

 

[nh.nugget]

Even though I'm on the other coast I always take the time to talk to newbies. I might not tell them where my honey hole is but I do teach them the basics to get them started in the right direction. I've passed along a lot of info right here you just have to ask the right people. I was a newbie at one time I appreciated all the info I could get however there is some trial and error on your part to. Got a question just ask! The people on this site are good people we help everybody.

 

[NorCal7]

You’re definitely right about the trial and error, NH. Just today I’ve had people reply with awesome advice and leads. I’m starting to feel more optimistic and there are certainly a lot of great people here. When something’s new and exciting it’s easy to feel impatient and I hope I didn’t send the wrong message. Thanks for the help.

 

[63bkpkr]

Howdy NorCal 17,
Finding gold is not the easiest thing in the whole world or is it? I was showing a couple of fellas MY CANYON and they asked if there was a chance of finding gold? I said sure! I picked up my cereal bowl (honest) we walked down to the river, I picked a spot on a nearby bank, pulled a section of weeds and dirt, broke it up in my cereal bowl and panned it out. Sure enough there were a couple of flakes in there.

The lesson here - go where it has been found before.

Now the TNET site is absolutely full of posts with some of the best information for the newbie anywhere and the folks here are absolutely some of the best though I would think only a small percentage were led by the hand and shown a spot to dig. Me I happened to have fallen in love with the North Fork of the American river drainage out back of Auburn though it was the beauty of the place that captured my heart, that and the fact that back in 1964 Roseville & Rocklin were small and most people were not willing to brave backpacking into the place to FISH FOR TROUT. So beauty and plenty of trout was what drew me to the place. MANY years later I started poking around looking for gold and found it. Why was it there, because it had been found there before and there is still plenty of gold left in the state as well as in that area.

You have received many generous offers for guidance of where to look for information about what areas have open spots for prospecting, please take those offers up as they are truly meant! Goldwasher's offer of live side by side guidance will require you to drive a way's but heck likely your were going to spend the day doing something and driving out to have him help you is something worth its weight in Gold! Having guided hands on experience with some of these claim site's will be valuable but what is the background to knowing where claim's are? It is simply where gold has been found before.

Best of success with your starting adventures into the arena of looking for gold! One other important concept to remember do not be a Prospecting Snob (aka Lannies post) as Gold is where you find it. That's where I've found it, where it was till I found it....................63bkpkr

Also, do not spend all of your time prospecting, spend a good portion of your time enjoying the place you are visiting!

PS - also check out this post here on TNET in the Gold Prospecting Forum - Divulging areas you'll never get to, but are aware of or heard about. Started Nov 25, 2017