Mytimetoshine

[KevinInColorado]

I just read these two posts to my wife 'cause I'm so impressed with you two! Looking forward to pics of the four of you having fun!! ...and getting gold!!!!

 

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[Asmbandits]

Asmbandits,

Yea that's sound good. I'd love to meet some other miners in the area and my daughter would be super excited to meet a new friend. Let's make it happen.

By dedicated you mean. Deliriously ILL with gold fever right? Lol

Yes, im quite feverish myself! I spend pretty much any and all free time I can muster up looking for the yellow stuff..

I will defiantly contact you as soon as I can about getting together, the next few weekends between work and other obligations are taken but not much going on the month of July.. I work ever third weekend (two off one on and so forth) but I always find time to get out and prospect.. Will keep in touch for sure!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Last couple weeks I haven't got out as much as I would like. But got a few hours panning in last week l. I haven't been able to process it yet though because I sent the "laminate flow water table" back to exchange for the green one. The black one just wasn't cutting it for me i want green. So the guy was being difficult about the return but i should have it back by next week.

Also had been eyeing a spot on the river and had the trail worked out through Google maps. Made the journey on a really hot day and when I got to where the trail should drop down from the ridge line...I couldn't find it. According to the map it should have been close by but i guess it was overgrown. So halfway back, I stopped at one of the few spots you can actually see over the Manzanita. I could see not only the section of river I wanted to get too, but a very wide trail leading up from it. But it goes behind the hill and you cant tell if it connects up top... ugh.

Went back to my hole I've been working on Sunday. Been taking the bike with trailer which works well but realized I had an almost flat back tire when I got out there... then on the way down got chased by a pack of dogs... fun.

Didn't feel too good that day,so my production was modest. I've gotten to where I cant go any deeper without a mask and it's zero vizibility so that spot is done. Never hit any concentration anyway. I'm just gonna work the material behind it as its probably just as good.

I had planned to go out after work yesterday and today but... 105+ ? I think not..lol

 

[KevinInColorado]

Nice story telling, thanks

Sweet gold too!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Nice story telling, thanks

Sweet gold too!

Thanks Kevin! Always good to get a compliment from the legend!

 

[goldenmojo]

Stay safe out there. A hot day with a flat tire surrounded by a pack of wild dogs, Yikes........

 

[Asmbandits]

Good story and I'm glad you made it out of there ok, pack of dogs dang that's a new one lol. When you say bike do you mean bicycle our motorcycle? I ride a dual spot trials bike to most of my locations, it's especially useful for making it down to the claim, otherwise it's a mile walk on a very ruff steep trail. Actually am going to have to walk it this coming trip and am not looking forward to it at all with this heat.. I've been thinking about building a trailer to tow gear around.. most of my spots are really only accessible this way or you would be hiking a good 5+ miles but I do have a couple spots you can get to with a 4x4. I have a spot I did very well at that's easy to get to (no 4x4) that I've been dieing to get back to to do some crevesing and sniping.. Maybe when we meet up we can check it out, both me and Erik The prospector ended up with over 1.5 grams last time there and some small nuggets.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Well I wouldn't call them wild dogs. They brang in sheep to graze for June and July but I didn't know they had heard dogs too. So it's mostly downhill. I'm flying down on my flat tire at 7 am lol and I notice the heard in the valley and I'm thinking to myself I wonder how they keep mountain lion from killing the sheep. Litterally 2 seconds later I hear barking and see the dogs sitting in the tall grass. They b line for me and I keep going. I noticed some little fence they put up last time I was there and had wondered what it was for because it is 3 ft high and looked like string. Well its a little electric wire for the sheep. 2 of the dogs just chased me from the other side of the fence but one jumped the electric wire and was on my ass. I finally just turned around and yelled get back and he stopped in his tracks.

On my way back up when I was going really slow they came at me again but I yelled right away this time and they stopped.

You know I see a lot of young kids ands women on this trail. Don't think they thought the safety issues out all the way on this one.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Asmbandits. Just a regular mountain bike. Not much use for most areas but for this spot it's the way to go. Although I really would l9ve to get into some more remote country. Via 4×4 just adds to the fun.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Finally received the green table today. Not very happy. It's painted green. The paint fills in the the small texture features of the table that grab the gold and the green color is lighter than it looks like in the picture. Not really the same green as a gold pan. Oh well. It works...

Ran the black sands I had collected on 2 outings. Not a very big take but It's something and it adds up!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Went out to with Asmbandits today:

We got out to the spot at about 8. Worked some intersting bedrock deposits out of the water. Shallow cracks with seemingly new,light flood material but kicks out chunky stuff!
I kept trying to get away from the lighter stuff by instinct but that was a mistake. Im betting Bandits got 2-3x what I did.
It was a great day. 85 degrees. On the gold and nobody else around.

It was great to finally get to dig with somebody and Bandits is a great guy, really laid back and easy to get along with.

Welp, here's the money shots:

The .04 is my Daughters 25% cut for digging not one scoop of dirt and playing with grandma all day. That's how she rolls! And I'm more then happy to accomidate!

 

[Asmbandits]

I had a awesome time yesterday, it was perfect weather and the gold wasn't great but at least we came home with something! That spot is so hit and miss but it seems like overall I always come home with at least a little. It was nice meeting you and for sure will do it again in the near future, Maybe we can check out one of your spots on our next outing. The highlight for me with the spot we were at yesterday was getting in the water, I love swimming around in that clear cool water its like therapy to me lol..

I managed to get that blackberry stain out of my leather truck seat, man was I worried about that.. It was so hot in the truck that I put the bag on my seat and let the a/c blow on it to keep the berries from getting all mushy, but a big stain was the end result.. Got home and the wife made a killed cobbler! I don't normally pick them this was the first, but on the way out I noticed they looked perfectly ripe so I tried a few and I dont think ive ever had blackberries that good so I picked as many as I could!

I dont know how much more I got than you, doesn't look like a whole lot more, either way not bad for only hand tools and pans.. Im letting it dry now and will post weight soon, but here is a pick of what I have. I need to drag my blue bowl out and run the black sand as I noticed a lot of talcum powder size stuff in there I couldn't separate by hand so into the black sand jar it went.

Good times for sure we will do it again soon!

 

[Asmbandits]

.55 grams for me for the day

 

[mytimetoshine]

Nice! That added up well.
You know it's funny the gold from that spot is a slightly differnt color then what I've been getting. Maybe my eye is playing tricks on me but looks almost like a slight orange tint too it, And no mercury. I wonder why? There only about an hour away from each other. Different river thouh.The mineralization was Def differnt. I was finding pyrite and other stuff in my pan I don't normally see.
Nice place not far from the road. Only took 10 minutes to get down. It's pretty steep though. I was huffing and puffing big time on the way up! Lol :beer:

 

[Asmbandits]

Yeah its funny you say that, I noticed the color difference a while back when looking at gold from that area compared to other stuff I have. Its the darkest rosiest colored stuff I have for sure, while the gold from my claim is a brilliant white/silvery color, the most noticeable difference out of my lil collection.

 

[mytimetoshine]

I made it out to my after work spot. Messed around with some bedrock cracks for 45 min. And then decided to dig random material for the last 45 min. Not a great take but hey it yella!

Turns out my 5 dollar ebay scale doesn't work so good under .1 and not at all under .05.

Looks to be about .03-.05. Pretty pathetic but I have "plans" for this weekend. Hehe..

 

[Jeff95531]

I see NOTHING pathetic in that picture,

PS,,,I went thru the same phase on scales and love my latest one. $26

http://www.amazon.com/American-Weig...pebp=1437712739748&perid=045HMT71A9FF8P9CT2ZK

 

[mytimetoshine]

I see NOTHING pathetic in that picture,

PS,,,I went thru the same phase on scales and love my latest one. $26

Amazon.com: American Weigh Scales GEMINI-20 Portable MilliGram Scale, 20 by 0.001 G: Digital Kitchen Scales: Kitchen & Dining

Hey that scale looks pretty sweet! Thanks

 

[goldenmojo]

I made it out to my after work spot. Messed around with some bedrock cracks for 45 min. And then decided to dig random material for the last 45 min. Not a great take but hey it yella!

Turns out my 5 dollar ebay scale doesn't work so good under .1 and not at all under .05.

Looks to be about .03-.05. Pretty pathetic but I have "plans" for this weekend. Hehe..

Ha! Some friends of mine brought in a picker recently and dropped it on my scale. It did not move the numbers a bit so we put it on a second scale and the same thing. It became known as the "no way picker". The scales are actually fairly accurate.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Well, didn't get any prospecting in this weekend in Pine Grove.Had a great time with the family though.

Last weekend I went out early both Sat and Sun. Parked the truck by 7am both days but the hike to the spot is a very difficult 45-130 min depending on how you feel and what your carrying. Again I failed to reach the stretch of the river I want. I got really close but it gets pretty sketchy in the last bit it turns out. Maybe next time ; ) I did come upon a stash of gear. 2 sluice, shovel and several buckets. Probably the way to go but it would suck to lose your gear or need it for another place and not have it. I started digging around where they were digging just to see what they were on but it turned out not very good. They were digging some really light dusty stuff up the bank. Very little color so I went back downstream a little way and noticed a familiar "dark tone" to some of the gravels on the bank around some larger rock. As usual had to get in there with a small pick and collect material with my hands but it was good gold. Tons of fines. I decided to bring the 1/4 classifier and a smaller one #20? Lol o don't even remember what size it is. But together they worked well. Not sure if it's worth the extra time but it probably is... I can pan with large rocks pretty well. But I'm sure u lose some fines.. I noticed that after about 3-6 inches the material would usually turn from gravel to a very silty mud. It kind of acts like clay as good material sits right on top but while it's self had some gold it's not as much and hard to work. Never really been able to get beyond this layer as I don't dive (water always fills the hole after a couple inches). I wonder if there is another pay streak? So I basically pan down to black sand. Work it down to where the riffles are catching everything and then hit the other side of the pan to get a little more off. Then splash water in the pan above a 2 gal bucket and repeat.

Did about 7-10 5gal buckets 3/4 full each day. Left around 12 both days exhausted.. this gold mining is hard work! Sheesh!

I put my new Sawyer mini water filter to the test and it worked flawlessly. So small and light. I brang a 1 little Aquafina bottle and it screws right on top. I took water from the top of a small rapid. Lifted the bottle to the sun and it was crystal clear. Probably would be ok if you had to drink straight but not worth the risk when this thing is less then 20 bucks. Now you cant drink as fast as you want too because you have to squeeze the bottle to get any flow. But it's a game changer. No more hauling water and then having to ration it. I sweat alot and need water to be able to mine. This solves the problem! Thanks again Fowled up.

I ended up with a 2 gal bucket about 5-6 high in black sand peppered with fines. So the final review of the "Laminate flow water table" are in...I'm gonna have to go thumbs down... when using it for my rocker box cons it works great but with these basically INSANE black sands it wasn't perfoming. I would take 1 heaping teaspoon at a time. And it would take forever to get it clean. If you did not constantly move the material with the brush back and forth the stuff would glog up amd not move. I also wasn't positive, but pretty sure I saw gold going over the edge.. it's weird because at the same time I'm easily brushing gold barely visible to the naked eye into the vail. I guess it just depends on the piece shape. I thought I was seeing mostly larger stuff going over... weird but it was even worse then I imagined. So first when you unscrew the vial you can see a lot of gold stuck to the Teflon tape. No biggie came off easy when I dumped the vail in the gold pan full of water. Then I disconnected the pump and removed the table from the plastic tote. When I turned it over the was even more gold stuck to the threads...ok no biggie...dunk that in the pan too. Problem solved right? Wrong.... so I noticed there was a small drip coming of the vial into the tote no mater how I tried to connect the vial. Tight, loose didn't matter. In this tote is a smaller plastic tote (tuperware) that catches most of the black sands. The rest of the tote is just covered in silt. So I decide to snuffer the area under the vail and got a good amount.... then i take a teaspoon of black sands from the catch. And OMG. It had so much gold in it I was shocked!!!! Man these sands are crazy. No wonder these old guys used merc.. so now after hours on the table I have to go through it all again by hand.. FAIL. I was hoping to run this stuff through a rod mill once I get one but it's still way too rich for that. I have to rerun...

I got the finest stuff yet this trip. I love the way there is a smooth graduation in the size of gold collected.

The first 2 pics are Saturdays take and the 3 is sundays. 1.11 grams and probably another .5 in the sands!!!!