EAST FORK , SAN GABRIAL , SO CAL

[moondog2000]

Last thursday my wife and I got to the east fork at about 2:30 in the afternoon to pan . Well I found a real sweet spot, one of the gold layers. I could not believe the gold in every pan we were getting. We panned till the sun went down and walked out in the dark. I sure wished I'd had all day and my sluice. I'll try to load some pics of a couple pans we got. Got some nice little pickers-clinkers.

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[Bayter]

Wow, sounds like you have a real nice spot there. Wish I wasn't 3000 miles away!

 

[gold nuggets]

Those are some really nice pickers there.
When you go back with your sluice, you will
probably do even better. Nice job............
Gold Nuggets

 

[moondog2000]

Thanks, I sure hope so. I,m hoping to find a nugget, after all nugget alley is just down the road. Being a miner-prospector sure is the good life especially when you find some color. Moondog

 

[Klondikeike]

Klondike here....

Nice color.....

I have many post here about East Fork of the San Gabriel....used to prospect there nearly 40 years ago...

I was there over Christmas time with my son...first time in 30 years been up there....just to look didn't do any work...

If you want some nice good sized pickers, 1/4 ounce and bigger...go to just before the turn around area...about 200 yards before the turn around at the end of the road....you'll see what is left of a tree near the right side of the road...it has been all but cut down..alll the major tree limbs have been cut off..it isn't much more than a tall stump with several very short cutoff limbs sticking out...it's kind of black in color...

With so much brush having grown up since I was there it is hard to see from the road.. but above that tree is a bench..a hanging channel for another word.... I have taken several really nice nuggets from up there...back in the day...

It is hard to work, but well worth the effort...very nice gold in that bench...

Good luck to all....

Klondike....

 

[moondog2000]

The turn around your talking about is gold hill, right. and the tree is on the right side of the road going up with probably no parking there?did you detect or haul material down to the river? thank you for the info, you got my attention now, chompin at the bit to get back up there now. I need to act now before the rattle snakes start coming out Moondog

 

[Klondikeike]

Right...

At the end of the road, where the parking lot and rest rooms are and just before that on the right side is tat tree..and right above it is an old bench... work the area furthest up stream on the exposed bedrock, or expose new bedrock by removing the dirt laying on it.. besure to sluice that material as well...but the area towards the up stream end of the bench seemed to have the bigger gold....and lots of fines as well... use buckets to move the material to the water and sluice there...screen to about 1/2 in minus....smaller than that and you may miss a nice one...

Like I have said in other posts, there was once a time one could work up there.. but the rules may have changed with time and who knows how much us actually left to run....may be worked out...It's been a long time since I was there and it wasn't a large bench to begin with...however as you go down stream, the bench gets deeper and you may still see the slightly caved in opening of a tunnel just past the spring...the tunnel was dug to work the bedrock under the bench as there was enough of the bench there to support a tunnel from caving in...of course, with time and no matenence on the tunnel it has caved in a lot... and probably more so since I was there last...PLEASE DON'T GO INSIDE IT!!!!..even if you could...

You might even try spreading material...one layer at a time, 3 or 4 inches thick over the nice flat bedrock exposed and scan it with a good MD, then spread another layer and MD it..and so on...You'll pick up some pickers with the MD..if it is a good one... then sluice the loose material at the river for the fines....you'll also have a lot of loose material to work into buckets to take to the river to sluice for up coming trips as well... if you work too much of the bench for the MD and for sluicing in one day...just a thought...

It's really overgrown since I was there last, becareful of snakes... there is a small spring but it hasn't enough water to run anything with....but it sure attracks snakes and small animals who drink the spring water..

 

[moondog2000]

You know when you drive up the road to the end the stream is on your left. now if you get to heaton flat and look left across the stream and up high you see an ancient stream bed on the mountain. Is this the one your talking about or is there another one on the right above the road. if so where do you park? I don't know , maybe I am having a brain fart and can't get it straight.Its too bad its 80 mi away or I would buzz up there real quick and check things out. Moondog

 

[Klondikeike]

This is simple.. go to the end of the road..park your car near the rest rooms... WALK back down the road away from the rest rooms..along the road but headed down stream.. as you walk along..a few hundred feet on your left is an old black tree.. its been cut significantly..it has NO limbs..just stump of limbs.. above that tre..on your left as you are walking or on your right as you are arriving by car is the bench I am speaking of.. it isn't across the river .. nor above the river or down along side the river.. it is above the road... above that old black looking DEAD cut up tree...a couple of hundred feet or so BEFORE you get to the parking lot and rest rooms at the end of the road...

Good luck to you...

Klondike..

 

[moondog2000]

Thank you for being patient, I got it now and what you said before now makes sense.I don't get up there as much as I would like. the parking irritates me , they say on the weekend you need to get up there before 6am .I would have to get up at 3 am, Good Lord I go to bed at midnight. Thanks for the info, I can't wait to get back up there Moondog

 

[Hoshnasi]

There is alot of good information on this site. I have been reading Klondike's stories for a while on the East Fork. I'll be heading up there this Saturday. I've been panning before in other places but this will be my first time to the east fork and with a sluice.

I'll keep looking at Google Earth till I can get there and understand these descriptions.

 

[moondog2000]

Pic for Hoshnasi

 

[Hoshnasi]

Pic for Hoshnasi

Yep! I think I know exactly the spot! I dug everywhere around it, but THERE!!! lol.

 

[rawdog]

Rawdog here...

Just wanted to "check in", as I am new here. I have faithfully worked the banks of the east fork san gabriel, with my faithful digging partner, goldpaw. We have tirelessly moved the gold bearing gravels near the fork of cattle canyon just below the bridge. The banks are rich, the river's low, and no one is out there. Guess the dredge ban killed it. We were able to remove almost a 1/2 gram in about 2 1/2 hours, which is pretty darn good for a couple diggers.

We shall move to the high benches sooner than later, as Klondike Ike states they are rich. I am aware of the location of moondogs gold layer, although I've heard its been worked out (yea right). Goldpaw and I shall attempt to pick the layer back up, as we venture upstream through heaton flats, on our way upstream towards the narrows.

The east fork holds limitless possibilities. Still convinced there are some sizable nuggets throughout the watercourse. It would be nice for some other prospectors to chime in on how they are doing up there. Any further info on high benches would be greatly appreciated, as klondike ikes description is from 40 years ago, and isnt visibly apparent, even after driving up and down the road dozens of times in search of t he elusive cut black stump. We did see some towering high benches about 600 yards after crossing the cattle canyon bridge, heading upstream.

As goldpaw and I search for the elusive gold patch, we always get something. Please share your recent east fork stories, so we may help eachother find the elusive yellow stuff. Any detectorists have any advice or locations, as the river is absolutely loaded with buck/lead shot/weights/etc.

Yours Truly,

Rawdog

 

[TerryC]

Rawdog. I am also interested in finding color on the East fork. I was last up there in '82. I found color up Allison Gulch. Not much, but I was a newbie then and got pretty excited about it! Would like to know what's coming out of there now. Tnx. TTC

 

[NeoTokyo]

wow, very nice color in your pan there.
Had my pans looked that good when I was a kid I would not have waited so long to get into prospecting. :P

 

[mf1arch]

Ok, so I'm new to this thread. Can anyone provide directions off of the I-10 to this easy fork spot? I guess I'm looking for gold hill? Is this someone's claim? Or...

 

[NeoTokyo]

~Hears the zippers of lips zipping shut~

I would just head down and have fun, check first to make sure you arent on a claim.

 

[NeoTokyo]

~Hears the zippers of lips zipping shut~

I would just head down and have fun, check first to make sure you arent on a claim.

 

[mf1arch]

~Hears the zippers of lips zipping shut~

I would just head down and have fun, check first to make sure you arent on a claim.

Haha...ya I'll head on up there probably next week I guess. It's 2 hours away, so I'll probably stay the night. It's been a while since I've had my sluice in the water so I'm gettin a little stir crazy.