M-3 GoldenIrishmans Monsoon Mining Thread

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
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Got some coffee but it didn't help at all. Wind is supposed to keep up like this until 11pm tonight. Nothing I can do but hunker down and ride it out. Makes no sense to me to fight the wind to rebuild the camp to have it get torn up again.
At this point it's get everything secured and try to make up for lost sleep. I'll make up for the lost time later.
 

Clay Diggins

Silver Member
Nov 14, 2010
4,862
14,183
The Great Southwest
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Well I'm fresh out of Darts for the tranquilizer gun Barry so,that idea is out.
The wind did a pretty good job on the camp. Looks like,I'll be spending some time rebuilding it after the wind dies down. Right now,I'm just trying to find a place to,set up the stove so I can get some coffee in me.

You are out of tranq darts already? No wonder you can't sleep! :laughing7:

Coffee will improve the situation. The winds are supposed to calm down by tomorrow night. At least it's cool! It could be 110 degrees this time of year. 70 degrees is good mining weather. :thumbsup:

Heavy Pans
 

azblackbird

Sr. Member
Sep 27, 2011
259
312
Glendale, AZ
Detector(s) used
TDI Pro, GMT
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Got some coffee but it didn't help at all. Wind is supposed to keep up like this until 11pm tonight. Nothing I can do but hunker down and ride it out. Makes no sense to me to fight the wind to rebuild the camp to have it get torn up again.
Man I know how you feel. My pool is full of leaves and I'm debating whether to scoop them out now, or just wait until the wind dies down and do it all at once. :laughing7:
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Of course I'm kit of tranquilizer darts man!!! I'm trying to quit smoking after 45 or so years so,I pretty much went through the case of them I, the first couple of days.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
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Well the winds died down to a tolerable level about 9:30 last night so I was able to make some minor repairs to the tent and get some much needed sleep. Today is going to be starting off with getting the camp back into working condition and then finishing up the samples I already have on hand. I have to admit it is very nice to be able to hear myself think again.
 

GoldpannerDave

Bronze Member
Apr 17, 2014
1,076
1,279
Colorado Springs, CO
Detector(s) used
Bazooka 48" Miner and 30" Sniper, Le Trap, Wolf Trap, A52, 2" dredge, Miller tables, Blue Bowl, wheel, Falcon MD20, old White's detector
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Glad to hear you got some sleep, now get some gold!

Be grateful, we had wind and snow; well over 5 inches here, probably more like 6-7 inches in some higher places. More falling this evening. I froze my tail off last fall up in the mountains; no snow, but the temp dropped about 10 degrees below the projected 32! So you could be freezing, too. Glad you aren't.

BTW, take good ear plugs next time or better yet buy some good ones next trip to town. Flents foam ear plugs work great for me.
 

KevinInColorado

Gold Member
Jan 9, 2012
7,037
11,369
Summit County, Colorado
Detector(s) used
Grizzly Goldtrap Explorer & Motherlode, Gold Cube with trommel or Banker on top, Angus Mackirk Expedition, Gold-n-Sand Xtream Hand pump
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Dave, up in Idaho Springs they got a couple feet of snow in this storm!
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Kevin, you know I don't allow the "S" word in my thread! That's is why I moved to the desert to get away from it.

Also... can anyone explain all these bee swarms that are flying through? I've seen / heard over seventy of them since I've been out here and that just one small area. Are there really that many bees in arizona?

I'm taking the day off and just relaxing for a change. I think I've earned it.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

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Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Thanks brudda Hefty1. They (so far) don't seem interested in the activities of this "silly human" and just fly on by. Had one swarm go right thru camp but they didn't even wave as they went through.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

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Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
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Well the weather turned on me so I headed back into town a bit earlier than I had planned on. I was getting lightning strikes on the ridge next to the one I was working and since Irishmen make lousy lightning rods I figured I'd get out of Dodge while the getting was good.

The stretch of river rock I've been testing isn't looking all that good. I'm not sure if I hit the bottom of the layer, a break in the rock between layers or what. The gold dropped out with the exception of a small amount of flour in the sands. Needless to say this isn't going to be enough for me to make wages off of, no matter how much mercury I use on amalgamation. I'm more than a little bummed about this because the area looked to be so good and at first I thought that all the research I had done was going to pay off.

So after breaking down camp in record time, I headed into Kingman and I'll be here till the 3rd or 4th of the month. Last night I was invited to go bowling with my lady and her family and I'm starting to feel like mining is easier on the body than throwing a 16 lb ball for 4 games. I'm finding muscles I had forgotten about here. Still I did our mining brothers and sisters proud and took 3 out of 4 of the games. I am worried about what Debby may have planned for me next. Bull riding? Cross country skiing? Or dare I say it, KARAOKE? I don't think Kingman is ready for my voice!!!
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

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Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
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Well I'm back out at the site. I decided to give it it until the end of the month to turn something worth claiming up. My plan is to start hiking into some of the areas that "Mule" just can't get into due to the sugar sands that are between me and where I want to get. Going to load up the large daypack and then drive as close as I can then walk the rest of the way. General tools can be hauled in the pack and my shovel will make a good walking stick as well as give me something to take out Mr. Buzztail should he show up. Been out here for quite a while and I still haven't seen a single snake. (Knock on wood) I'm going to do a little,dry panning and see if anything turns up. Going to have to do as much as I can as early as possible as,its getting a bit on the warm side. If in Sony find anything with potential then I'll be heading back in to Kingman and doing my monthly shopping for beans and bullets. Then it will be north to Gold Basin to try my luck there.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

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Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
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Well this mornings expedition consisted of driving as far up the wash as I could get, walking up the wash or a couple of miles. I hauled my 1/8 classifier, pan, cracking gear and assorted other hand tools with me. Weight wasn't bad and I was able to make very -good time.

When I got to the start of the wash the first thing I saw was a boulder the size of a small house pretty much plugging up the end of the canyon. The terrain went to a flat plane strewn with smaller rocks. My first thought was " This would be a great place for gold to drop out of the flow!". Getting gear into the area would be a MAJOR P.I.T.A but something like a small drywasher and a metal detector would be very do able. The main drawback would be the total lack of a breeze to keep things cool. Maybe this fall or winter I'll come back and plan on staying a couple of days and give that section a good going over. It is going to be a place that I'll have to haul everything in on my back, including water, so it's going to have to be done following the 7 "P's". Those being:
PROPER
PRIOR
PLANNING
PREVENTS
PI$$
POOR
PERFORMANCE

Any time you're out in the boonies you have to remember those seven little words or go home empty handed!
 

Jeff95531

Silver Member
Feb 10, 2013
2,625
4,094
Deep in the redwoods of the TRUE Northern CA
Detector(s) used
Teknetics Alpha 2000
Primary Interest:
Prospecting
Hey Jeff...here is your 10 day forecast from TWC. Looks like Monday am would be a good day to move.

DAY COND HIGH LOW DESCRIPTION PRECIP WIND
TODAY
May 1
Weather Condition Icon
91°F 60° Partly Cloudy 0%
SSW 18 mph
SAT
May 2
Weather Condition Icon
89° 57° Mostly Sunny 20%
SSW 17 mph
SUN
May 3
Weather Condition Icon
86° 56° Mostly Sunny 0%
SSW 16 mph
MON
May 4
Weather Condition Icon
77° 53° PM Thunderstorms 80%
S 10 mph
TUE
May 5
Weather Condition Icon
81° 52° AM Clouds/PM Sun 0%
SSW 15 mph
WED
May 6
Weather Condition Icon
80° 50° Partly Cloudy/Wind 0%
SSW 20 mph
THU
May 7
Weather Condition Icon
76° 47° Sunny/Wind 0%
SSW 22 mph
FRI
May 8
Weather Condition Icon
76° 49° Sunny 0%
WSW 14 mph
SAT
May 9
Weather Condition Icon
80° 51° Sunny 0%
SW 13 mph
SUN
May 10
Weather Condition Icon
85° 53° Sunny 0%
SW 12 mph
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Lol. I've got TWC on my phone bud. Not much use for it at the current moment, but come monsoon season it will be my best friend. Well next to the folks on T-Net that is...��
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

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Feb 28, 2013
3,465
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Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
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Oh... the temps differ quite a bit between Kingman and many of the surrounding areas. I'm about 1500 ft higher where I'm at now so it's actually cooler. Not sure about the difference between Gild Basin and Kingman yet. I'll be checking my maps when I get into town to get an idea.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Ok guys, y'all in trouble now! I downloaded the T-Net app for my smart phone and now it's a lot easier for me to post. When going on with the chrome browser it was a major pita to enter text but now that I've figured this app out I'll be able to post more often.
I'm writhing up the rest of my notes for the area that I've been working since I got here almost 2 months ago now and getting ready to pack up and head north. I'm leaving the campsite in much better condition than it was when I got here and anyone that comes out here will be glad to pitch their tent there. Its been a great place to camp while prospecting and exploring the area, but all things must come to an end.

I will be heading into Kingman to get supplies and some items to make things a bit more comfortable in the coming heat of summer. Shade tarps, support poles for starters as well as a couple of evaporative water bags to keep water cool without ice. I don't know how many of you will remember the old school radiator bags but they work on the same principle. The water soaks the fabric of the bag and the water evaporates off of it and cools the water inside. I'm picking up two of them and each will hold a gallons worth of water. It may not be ice cold but it has to be better than what I've had since I got here. Having only sun warmed water to drink may keep you alive but it's not very refreshing to say the least.
At this location I had access to a spring for processing water. Not drinkable by any means but still good enough for the recirc system to run on. Once I move up north I think it's unlikely that I'll be so lucky again to find another spring so I'm going to have to haul water with me. Water is most likely going to be the controlling factor on trips into town now.
 

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goldenIrishman

goldenIrishman

Silver Member
Feb 28, 2013
3,465
6,151
Golden Valley Arid-Zona
Detector(s) used
Fisher / Gold Bug AND the MK-VII eyeballs
Primary Interest:
Other
Just got a call from "The Gold Lady" and my water bags are in at long last! No more having to drink warm / hot water out in the field!!!! Yee hawwww!!!
 

Duckwalk

Hero Member
Mar 21, 2014
966
1,312
Lincolnton North Carolina
Detector(s) used
30" Bazooka Sniper, Drop Riffle sluice box.
Various Gold Pans
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There is a way to make a "cooler" out of planter pots. Get 2 pots one big one and one that stacks inside of it with about an inch around it. Put tape over the bottom he is the big pot and line the bottom with about an inch or so of sand. Put the smaller pot inside and carefully fill the gap between the 2 pots with sand all the way to the top. Then take just enough water to pour in the sand just to get it damp. Put whatever contents you want inside the smaller pot and cover the whole thing with a damp towel. Over time the evaporation of the water in the sand will chill the contents of the smaller pot. Usually down to about 65ish degrees. Sometimes cooler!
 

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