SUMMER GOLD CAMP STUFF

[mendoAu]

I mentioned in another thread the other day about starting a thread about what you need for a summer (extended stay) gold mining camp. I've had several summer (three month dredge season) camps thro the years and have fine tuned some stuff and wished for other stuff. I'll add on to my list if this thread continues and hope we all learn a thing or two and can pass some recipes (perhaps with non-spoilable ingredients), cheap high tech stuff ( like do they make underwater "walkmans" or similar that are 12volt rechargeable), things that I really missed that I forgot from the front porch, things I didn,t miss that I forgot on the front porch, how to set up a nice simple working camp site that takes good advantages of sun and wind, what to do around your tent site just in case of that mid-summer rain storm...wet sleeping bags are no fun, how to go above and beyond just to placate the local sheriff deputies and blm officers etc., what expenses kinda shocked you without a means to order off of e-bay....or hit the big discount stores. Things like "dang, this ice melts really fast in this heat", wonder what other guys do... Me and my buddy enjoyed play video golf on my laptop.(and the time I checked and double checked, good to go, hopped into the 4-Runner and returned 6 weeks later to discover I'd left the front door wide open, ...HA! all was good. what do you do if no internet, cell phone or TV reception...and I think we all have had that experence of gazing at the moon and stars thinking...dang, I don't miss any of that crap. Doubt that I have a picture but I take a little pride in setting up a simple kitchen/cook area. Use a nice flat 4 by 6 foot piece of plywood spread across three stacked plastic milk crates at each side for a stove/prep and serve unit. The milk crates, on edge, open part facing you, serve as shelves and also have held everything on the journey in an orderly manner. Used to use an old white gas two burner stove but have since upgraded to a cheapy two burner propane stove. Multi-purpose uses for that propane tank, but that's for later. Anyhow....if some of you guy's want to pass a few things along (thread not really for "hiking into the wo-beyond....more like pulling your unit into the area and basecamping from there).
I'll start this out with a picture...

 

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[mendoAu]

Thank you for the Ice chest comment...They have come a long ways since the ones I have. I really checked out a few with a google search. So have pop-up trailers...wow, roomy and alot of bells and whistles.
And about that frig, Mine is just about the same size about 36” tall, maybe 18” deep and 20” wide. If I recall it would only use about a 10# tank a month. Be careful getting the frig from a more modern RV cause allot of them rely on 12volt at least even set to propane because of the circuit boards in them.
Guess I'll ponder how to cross breed that old frig with one of the newer liteweight ice chests.......

 

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[mikep691]

I looked at Yeti coolers, but refuse to pay $200, $300, even $400 for an ice chest. No matter how good it is, it's still just an ice chest. I ordered the Coleman from Walmart (ship to store), $65. The other couple hundred can go to more and better mining equipment.

 

[Goldwasher]

Cabelas carries their own brand of super ice chest. Much less than a Yeti and made in America

Claims to keep ice for twelve days

 

[mikep691]

At this stage in my life, still working 40-50 hours a week, it's rare that I ever can get out for more than a long weekend. Once in a position that I can maybe retire, then trips might be longer. Until then, a $65 ice chest will do me just fine. Many that have crossed into the retirement era have gone full blown RV, but would still need to make a trip to town for the stuff that rarely lasts a week anyway. In my case, going to town and shopping is an hour round trip. If done in the morning after coffee, time lost mining is minimal. Again, it's just my assessment and situation, and for others it may vary.

Two old sayings: Dif'rent strokes for dif'rent folks, and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

 

[gold tramp]

Meager Accommodation's here when we make a summer camp.
Just for eating and sleep.
Truck holds mining tools, water for 4 days max in summer.
Camp box with can food, and sleep gear.
No frills !

Usually just mining or prospecting anyways.

Don't have much use for a tent unless its real buggy,
Kinda just prefer lookin up at the heavens for sleep.

Gt....

 

[DizzyDigger]

I used to love camping out under the stars in the deserts. Laying
there thinking every satellite that passed over was yet another UFO..

Last time was a spot about half way between Needles and Laughlin, several
miles back in the desert off of US 95.

I'd been hunting coyotes all night, and just after sunup I laid out my bag
under a few scruff junipers and sacked out. My 2 hunting partners were
sleeping in the back of my Blazer.

Woke up about 3 hrs. later, and quickly realized we had picked a very
bad spot to camp...I was sleeping on the ground right in the big middle
of a tarantula migration!

Three of the large, brown, eight-legged critters were carefully crossing over
me while I was too spooked to move. They just wanted to get where they
were going, and I was just another obstacle in the way.

Since then, the back of my truck makes a fine bed!

 

[63bkpkr]

Dizzy it is nice to be up close to the wild-life though one must judge for themselves just how close is good enough! Nice share!! ...63bkpkr

 

[DizzyDigger]

Dizzy it is nice to be up close to the wild-life though one must
judge for themselves just how close is good enough! Nice share!! ...63bkpkr

Ya know, there's not many critters I actually have fear of, but
of that short list..spiders are on top. I respect snakes of all
kinds, but unless I'm within striking range of a rattler I generally
just move them out of my way and go about my business.

Spiders? Not so much. Tarantulas, while big and nasty looking
really aren't all that dangerous (at least the ones in US deserts).
Still, I was displeased that they chose to crawl over me, instead
of around.

I actually brought one of those three home with me, and kept it in
a terrarium. Sadly, for some reason his/her legs began falling off
one at a time, and when it got down to one all and it could do was
go in a circle I humanely dispatched it.

Here in the far NW, it's what I've named "Spider Month", as from mid-Sept.
to mid-Oct. they are out around our place, mostly looking for mates. There's
one kind in particular that are quite large (3" across), and they're fast as hell.
No idea what kind, but they are high-speed hunters, and a few breech the
sanctity of my home, and pay immediately with their lives.

Not to mention, if caught outside, my 'lil 'coon buddies eat 'em like popcorn..

 

[mendoAu]

Ya know, there's not many critters I actually have fear of, but
of that short list..spiders are on top. I respect snakes of all
kinds, but unless I'm within striking range of a rattler I generally
just move them out of my way and go about my business

I came home one day and found a huge spider on my bedroom wall..............put the house up for sale the very next day!!!! Spiders freak me out, but I'll sleep with a snake, go figure!

 

[mendoAu]

By the way I don't really like to use "killer" insecticides or traps but I do use Spectracide Bug Stop ( https://jet.com/product/Spectracide...u9lIkFzeHG7ffdH4rq9Pa3wXXDDDP9FQaAiRPEALw_wcB )

Check the reviews but most of the negatives are complaints about things going on inside a house and direct applications don't kill the bug. Well, this product is what it says it is. A bug stopper not a (bug killer. I've had darn good results when I spray the entire perimeter at ground level inside and out of our 5th wheel and storage tent and sheds and shop. Not inside the living quarters. I spray a couple times a year and have found that few bugs penetrate that protective barrier.