Hiking

[TrinityBigfoot]

Anyone ever hike into the back country and metal detect old mines? Later this summer Im looking at 2-3 day prospecting hike. thoughts?

 

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[blynch35]

no, i never have im getting ready to buy my first detector but that sure sounds like fun good luck

 

[63bkpkr]

I regularly hike the back country and during a two week stay I often see only my shadow and a bear or two. It is worthwhile with many a great find of some beautiful view. I've not played around mines with the detector, GMT, but then I've not seen many either.

The one thing about being in the back country is you must be able to take care of yourself:food, shelter, safety measures, first aid and trouble. Since 2009 I've carried and once needed to use my SPOT Messenger, a GPS based message sending unit. Mine is the first version and has a on/off button and three others: OK, Help, 911 At home on your computer you log onto the system site and enter your own messages for the three button situations. You also enter in who you want to receive the messages. Then when you are out in the field and send out a contact message like the OK your list of people receive your fixed message along with the latitude and longitude and the date and time of the message. The message they receive also has a link to Google maps that once it has been clicked on shows a word balloon at the spot you sent the message. I learned that the helicopter would reach me within 3 hours of pushing the 911 button. One never knows when something will go wrong. Oh, since I need to be able to take care of myself in all situations I also carry a firearm, a large caliber revolver. I've no desire to kill any animal but if the animal is bent on messing with me or my children then the animal is going to go down.

Good luck with your adventures..........63bkpkr

In the picture and to the right of my Left shoulder there is a rock wall. At about the center line of the wall there is a white line with a dark outline to both sides of the white line, that is the top end of a 500' waterfall that very few people see. Oh, I also carry with me at all times a 6' 6" aluminum 6061 T6 pipe that I use as a hiking staff, I've glued a mountain bike handlebar grip to the top of the shaft and at the bottom where it touches the ground I have inserted a six inch piece of thin steel pipe so the bottom does not crush and get ugly from it being just the aluminum. This staff is a third leg and is very worthwhile having with me. I've used it to hike out with a severely sprained ankle with the same leg being broken.

 

[Hemisteve]

Be ready to dig up a few hundred pounds of iron. Those old mining sites can and will drive you nuts with targets and mineralized ground. It is fun though. At the very least, take a gold pan also.

Listen to 63bkpkr, he is the master around here at hiking and camping in the back country.

Have fun
Steve

 

[trinityau]

Hello TrinityBigfoot, I am guessing by the name you are in Trinity County. I am sure many people have been in the back country looking at old mines. I know I have for the last forty years or so. Where shall we start East or West, North or South? I have travelled the Trinity Alps detecting gold and sniping in the streams from the Tish Tang a Tang at Hoopa to the North Fork of Coffee Creek, from Canyon Creek over the ridges into the New River country. I have gone in on two day trips and have spent up to three weeks at a time in the Trinity high country. I have prospected the Grizzly, North Fork, China, East Branch, Cabin, Saloon Gulch, Whites Creek, Manzanita Creek, Nordheimer, Methodist, Plummer Creek and many unamed gullies and washes. I have sampled and found nice gold specimens in quartz on the Potatoe, the Mary Blaine country, Battle creek, Salmon Summit and down into the South Fork of the Salmon. I use to take breaks from the Trinity side and hike into the Marbles and the Salmon River Divide country, now called the Russian Wilderness Area. When I was a kid my summer vacation consisted of leaving out of Weaverville and walking into Oregon and back. I was with my uncles who were both old time miners. We would see a hundred different lakes coming and going. It was different back then, we did not have all these freeze dried meals like I take nowadays.The first night out we would camp at a meadow and cull out a weak looking deer and kill it. We would stay there for a few days till we had the meat ready to travel. We would add to the deer meat with wild onions, trout, miners cabbage, wild sweet potatoes, wild irish potatoes, and for dessert we usually had wild strawberries and blueberries. The only thing that we carried from the git go was coffee, my uncles had to have their coffee. We always came back with plenty of gold from those trips also, enough to buy me school clothes and keep them in beer all winter. Those were the days, and I sure would do it all over again if I could. My later trips sniping and detecting have never turned out to bad either. To get where the gold pays you are going to have to go shanksmare, all off trail for miles. Expect elevations gains and losses in the thousands of feet a day. It is nice to go in somewhere for a few days but it generally takes a bit longer than that to learn the country and find paying spots. Make it clear that I am not saying I got it all, but I have gotten my share over the years. Most of the watersheds are hit and miss. You may run into 100 yards of creek that pays very well and then you are back to prospecting again. Most of my time was in the water sniping with a mask and snorkle. It is fantastic to find a run of creek where the gold has never been removed. I expect that there are still a few places in Trinity like that. I guess I have rambled on enough, Keep us informed on your trips. I for one would like to hear about them. Thanks, TRINITYAU/RAYMILLS

 

[Reed Lukens]

I detect old mines a lot but I do go prepared. To many people go into the mines, get gassed, die, & then get found by the coroner. So only go in if you are prepared and certified

 

[63bkpkr]

Trinity that is a wonderful bit of writing and information you've shared! I can so picture you with your Uncle's going "shanksmare". I've done that as well only with my heavy pack for two weeks along with a 2" Keene Backpackable dredge, wet suit and the entire gear, ~ 200 lbs worth. Great Adventure. No, I did not haul it all in at once, took three round trips in and same # going back out.

Reed some important thoughts about old mines you've mentioned as they can be dangerous!!

Good hunting........63bkpkr