detecting for gold in Trinity County, CA

[inthedark]

anyone have any luck there?

 

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[patches63]

many have had luck in in trinity county,easy pickins were cleaned up long ago.many pounds of gold found with vlf machines,then the minelabs cleaned up after.most of the hydro pits look like they have been strafed by a-10 warthogs.and some of those dig holes still have a picker in them.a small piece of gold long buried has a halo effect,when dug up they disappear,mainly with operators that pinpoint in tracking mode.so scanning old dig holes can be productive.small elliptical coils,under or beneath bushes,rake down tailing piles,move cobble piles,anything to get your coil where no coil has been before.research,research,research.there are still lbs of gold in these hills,but you need a good strategy.large areas of trinity county produce only very fine small gold,so being in a nugget producing area is key to your effort.are you in the area?

 

[Lanny in AB]

Wow patches--great advice and powerful tips!

All the best,

Lanny

 

[inthedark]

many have had luck in in trinity county,easy pickins were cleaned up long ago.many pounds of gold found with vlf machines,then the minelabs cleaned up after.most of the hydro pits look like they have been strafed by a-10 warthogs.and some of those dig holes still have a picker in them.a small piece of gold long buried has a halo effect,when dug up they disappear,mainly with operators that pinpoint in tracking mode.so scanning old dig holes can be productive.small elliptical coils,under or beneath bushes,rake down tailing piles,move cobble piles,anything to get your coil where no coil has been before.research,research,research.there are still lbs of gold in these hills,but you need a good strategy.large areas of trinity county produce only very fine small gold,so being in a nugget producing area is key to your effort.are you in the area?

not in the area yet, but I do have a claim there I will be visiting soon

Thanks
Frank

 

[patches63]

itd thats great, am holding two claims here myself,zigzag3 and rocky point placer,both 40s. sampled both extensively last year,4 inch and 2.5 dredges.worked until oct 10.(protesting).made 7+ ounces for the season.not much,but was working alone,so no split.tx lanny, and learned alot of these trix on this and other forums.an old mining pard of mine once said,we caint git no tuffer,but wese kin git smarter.itd if you ever need a hand,or a claim check done,just give me a pm.best a luck

 

[trinityau]

TRINITYAU HERE, FIRST TIME POSTING ON THIS FORUM. IN REPLY TO PATCHES, I AM NOT SURE IF YOU TALKING ABOUT DREDGING OR DETECTING WHEN YOU MENTION THE FINE GOLD. I HAVE BEEN DETECTING TRINITY COUNTY FOR A LONG TIME AND I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT IF YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT DETECTING THEN I WOULD HAVE TO SAY YOU HAVE IT REVERSED. THERE ARE MANY CRUMB PATCHES AROUND, UNION HILL, RED HILL, DUTCH CREEK AND MANY OF THE HIGHER RIVER BENCHES... THERE ARE ABOUT 30 KNOWN AREAS THAT MOST PEOPLE GO TO FOR CRUMBS AND SOME PRETTY NICE NUGGETS. HOWEVER, IN MY RESEARCH AND HUNTING OVER THE LAST ALMOST TWENTY YEARS THERE ARE ANOTHER 250 HYDRAULIC SITES ALONG WITH PROBABLY THOUSANDS OF GROUND SLUICE OPERATIONS FROM BIG TO SMALL. THE KEY IS BEING ABLE TO RECOGNIZE ALOT OF THEM. MANY OF THESE AREAS HAVE PRODUCED POUNDS OF GOLD, ALL DETECTABLE. MOST OF MY GOLD OVER THE YEARS IN TRINITY HAS RANGED FROM .05 DWTS TO 1.7 OUNCES. LOTS AND LOTS OF NUGGETS RANGING FROM 3 DWTS TO 12 DWTS. THE OTHER PROBLEM WITH TRINITY COUNTY IS THAT MANY OF THESE AREAS ARE FAR FROM ANY ROAD AND SOME AS MUCH AS A DAYS HIKE IN. IN MANY CASES YOU WILL NEED TO BACKPACK IN AND STAY FOR A FEW DAYS. THE GOOD PROBLEM IS THAT MOST OF THE AREAS I AM TALKING ABOUT ARE PUBLIC LANDS AND MOST ARE NOT CLAIMED. ANOTHER BAD PROBLEM THOUGH IS MOST OF THE SMALL GROUND SLUICE OPERATIONS ( WHICH I DONE VERY WELL AT ) WILL NOT SHOW UP ON GOOGLE. SO WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO IN TRINITY COUNTY IS PRETTY WELL HAVING TO RESEARCH, COME UP AND WALK LOTS OF AREAS. AGAIN THOUGH, A GOOD THING, TRINITY COUNTY HAS ALOT OF AREA TO DO THIS IN. I STILL CONTINUE TO FIND NICE PIECES WHEN I GO OUT. AS FOR DETECTORS, YOU ARE RIGHT PATCHES, WE DID KICK BUTT WITH THE FIRST VLF'S UP HERE . HOWEVER, I THINK A MINELAB WOULD PROBABLY SERVE BETTER, UNLESS YOU RUN INTO AN AREA THAT ONE OF US UP HERE WALKED RIGHT OVER. ITS OUT THERE, IT TAKES TIME. THERE ARE ALSO ALOT, AND I MEAN ALOT OF HARDROCK AREAS TO USE A VLF WHICH WILL PROVIDE MANY HOURS OF SEARCHING SOMETIMES WITH FANTASTIC RESULTS. I CANNOT SAY MUCH FOR DREDGING. I HAVE KNOWN PEOPLE THAT HAVE DONE VERY WELL AND I HAVE KNOWN MANY THAT MAKE FUEL. MYSELF, I LOVE TO SNIPE SOME OF THE THOUSANDS OF WATERCOURSES WE HAVE HERE IN TRINITY. AGAIN YOU CAN DO VERY WELL AT THIS IN THE RIGHT AREAS. HOPE THIS HELPS SOME. THANKS, TRINITYAU

 

[patches63]

ahoy trinity au.i live within a mile of the union hill pit.still like to hunt it occasionaly,joey mono in sharp.millions of shotgun pellets can be had there.and the occasional crumb of gold.have seen some nice flakes from that pit,but it was a popular trap/skeet range for many years.dutch creek,spent time there last winter,been worked over pretty hard.my point was that if you are hunting a fine gold area,such as douglas city,nuggets will be far and few.however if you can hunt where big gold has been found,chances are better for finding a nice nug.agree with the backpack strategy,easy access means trash,and pounded areas.not that remote areas arent trashy as well. might see you at olney one of these days

 

[trinityau]

HEY ALL, TRINITYAU HERE. I HAVE POSTED A COMPRESSED FILE OF THE DOUGLAS CITY AREA. I DO THIS TO HOPEFULLY TO HELP WITH MY EXPLANATION OF THIS AREA.

THE UNION HILL AREA DOES HAVE THE REPUTATION FOR VERY SMALL GOLD AND IT WAS HISTORICALLY A VERY RICH PLACER OPERATION. THE POINT I WISH TO MAKE IS THE AREA IN GENERAL IS NOT A FINE GOLD AREA. ON THE MAP YOU WILL SEE AREAS I HAVE MARKED AND SIZE OF GOLD I AND OTHERS HAVE FOUND IN THE PAST. THERE IS ALSO A BLUE LINE GOING THROUGH THE SAME REGION. THIS LINE IS OLD OR ANCIENT RIVER CHANNEL THAT I HAVE PROSPECTED OVER THE YEARS WITH A DETECTOR. I HAVE DONE VERY WELL IN THIS AREA . THERE ARE DIGGINGS SCATTERED AROUND HERE AND THERE BUT FOR THE MOST PART OAK AND MANZANITA COVERED SLOPES AND GULLIES. I HAVE GOT GOLD AT ALMOST ALL THE OLD DIGGINGS. HOWEVER, MOST OF THE NICER NUGGETS HAVE BEEN FOUND ON THE OPEN SLOPES AND GULLIES BETWEEN ALL THESE DIGGINGS.

MOST PEOLPLE WHEN LOOKING FOR A OLD CHANNEL ARE EXPECTING TO FIND A WALL OF GRAVEL OR PITS. THESE CHANNELS ARE OLD AND A LOT OF THEM HAVE ERODED AWAY WITH GRAVITY. I USE INDICATORS TO POINT ME WHERE I MAY FIND A NEW PATCH. HERE ARE A FEW. FIRST AS I SAID MOST OF THIS COUNTRY IS OPEN SLOPE WITH A LOT OF OAKS AND MANZANITA. THE AREAS I AM TALKING ABOUT HAVE NEVER BEEN WORKED. I GENERALLY WILL JUST START WALKING UNTIL I COME UPON AN AREA THAT HAS SOME COBBLE (RIVER ROCK). AT THIS POINT I SEARCH THE AREA FOR A FEW MORE THINGS. I LIKE TO SEE THE RATIO OF ROUND ROCK TO FLAT ROCKS CHANGE. I CALL THESE FLAT ROCKS SPECIFIC GRAVITY ROCKS. JUST AS IN A FLOWING CREEK THESE ROCKS WERE HARDER TO LAY DOWN. REMEMBER THIS OLD CHANNEL HAD WATER AT SOME POINT IN TIME. I THEN TRY TO NARROW THE SEARCH DOWN BY FINDING THESE FLAT ROCKS IN A ZONE WHERE THE BEDROCK IS RELATIVELY SHALLOW. TO ME SHALLOW IS TWO TO THREE FEET. I WILL CONTINUE IN HOPES OF FINDING A FEW MORE INDICATORS, SOIL CHANGE AND POSSIBLY CLAYS. IF I CAN FIND AN AREA WITH ALL THESE INDICATORS THEN I START HUNTING. USUALLY YOU ALSO FIND THAT IN AN AREA LIKE THIS YOU WILL ENCOUNTER A LOT OF HOT ROCKS.

I AM NOT SAYING THAT THIS WILL WORK EVERYTIME BUT IS HAS HELPED ME TO FIND MANY NICE PATCHES IN AN AREA THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD WALK RIGHT OVER. REMEMBER THAT AN AREA LIKE I DESCRIBE COULD BE ON A STEEP SLOPE, GENTLE HILLSIDE OR IN A DRAW OR GULLY. REMEMBER ALSO YOU MAY ONLY SEE JUST A VERY FEW ROCKS TO INDICATE ANY CHANNEL PRESENCE. IT CAN FRUSTRATING SOMETIMES AND I HAVE COVERED A LOT OF GROUND OVER THE YEARS LOOKING FOR PLACES. THE THING IS THAT THEY ARE OUT THERE. ONE OTHER POINT IS THAT MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT AN OLD CHANNEL HAS TO BE NEAR A PRESENT STREAMBED. MANY OF THE AREAS HERE IN TRINITY COUNTY WHERE CHANNELS EXIST ARE HIGH AND DRY. IN THE DOUGLAS CITY AREA MANY ARE RIGHT ON HILLTOPS, WAY UP HIGH.

BACK TO THE POINT I AM MAKING. DOUGLAS CITY OR THE UNION HILL AREA IS NOT JUST FINE GOLD. I BELIEVE THAT THE UNION HILL PIT WAS JUST THE TAIL END OF A RICH CHANNEL THAT HAS SINCE ERODED OVER THE YEARS. THERE ARE MANY PLACES IN BETWEEN THE AREAS I HAVE GOT NUGGETS THAT PRODUCE JUST SMALL GOLD ALSO. CURRENT STREAMBEDS ARE JUST THE SAME, THEY HAVE PAYSTREAKS WITH BIG GOLD AND SMALL GOLD THEN FINES. MAYBE IT IS JUST MY WAY OF THINKING BUT I BELIEVE YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THE BIGGER PICTURE, THINGS DO COME TOGETHER.

TRINITYAU

 

[trinityau]

TRINITYAU HERE, I HOPE THIS MAP LOADS.

 

[HuntFish]

That’s some great info!

What’s the story with metal detecting within the Trinity National Recreation Area boundaries? I want to take my kids up there metal detecting, but I want to have my facts straight first. I’ve called a couple different ranger stations and get different answers every time. I also talked to a Ranger in Trinity county a few years back and even his answer on metal detecting was vague at best. Is it totally off limits? Thanks!

 

[patches63]

if you mean around trinity/lewiston lakes,lotsa guys beep there.main thing is,no motorised mining equipment.over the hill at whiskeytown lake (national park) dont even think about it.that place has its own police force.at trinity lake you can mostly stay out of sight from the highway.filling dig holes,taking the trash out with you can only help our hobby. took this pic from a hardrock mine dump last april. the lake is very low. good luck.

 

[HuntFish]

Thanks Patches! Yeah, Trinity Lake area, no desire at all to hunt anywhere near whiskeytown lake. Being a national park, I wouldn’t even go fishing there. It seems like a grey area. Even people in charge aren’t even sure what the facts are, they just assume. On top of that, it seems the BLM and Forestry in California go out of their way to NOT help miners. Just trying to find proper mining forms like Notice of Location and the likes, is such a pain here, unlike Nevada and Alaska, etc.

Like you say, by staying out of sight, would be the best bet. And thanks for posting that pic!

 

[patches63]

huntfish, location notices etc. are available at the trinity county courthouse recorders office.which is where you start the process anyway.first title search the township section range accross the hall in assessors office,then back to recorders office.you should actualy do this before sampling a prospective area.as you may be examining an active claim.due to vandalism,flooding,forest fires etc., claim markers at the property may be absent,and the claim still valid. initial title search of target areas at courthouse is necessary. try www.ca.blm.gov you should be able to pdf all the forms,then print .or even pdf the whole validity of claims book.luck

 

[HuntFish]

Patches… couldn’t agree with you more. What I’m driving at is just convenience, the CA/BLM/Forestry make it inconvenient for people looking for forms online, unlike Nevada or Arizona. This is what the CA/BLM Public Room>Forms has on their website now… “The Bureau of Land Management can no longer have the Maintenance Fee Payment form and the mining location notice forms online.” No biggie, I can get a location notice at my county office, it’s just odd, why can’t they?
I’m deviating from the subject of this thread, I apologize.

That’s some nice gold in that pan! Any Trinity nuggets or gold in quartz pics?

 

[minerjoe]

i think you guys are nuts for putting that info out there!!!!! i'll tell general, but nothing other! i live 29 miles from there, and thank god that country is as traverse as it is, or people would be all over it!

 

[Hoser John]

THIS FORUM IS FOR MINERS HELPING MINERS LEARN. The sharing of information is absolutely imperative to help folks stay outta trouble, stay off others claims and disseminate current status and information on new and old equipment,process and procedures .John

 

[trinityau]

WELL I AM GUESSING YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE TO HAPPY WITH MY BOOK, SOON TO BE OUT ON RECREATIONAL MINING IN TRINITY COUNTY. IT WILL COVER MANY OF MY EXPERIENCES OVER TWENTY SOME ODD YEARS. I WILL BE WRITING ABOUT DREDGING, DRY WASHING, SLUICING, SNIPING WITH A MASK AND SNORKEL, AND DETECTING AREAS WITH VLF AND PI MACHINES. I HAVE DONE VERY WELL OVER THE YEARS IN TRINITY COUNTY HOWEVER THERE ARE STILL LOTS OF PLACES TO FIND.

TRINITYAU

 

[enamel7]

No shouting please!

 

[Hoser John]

WTF delicate ears-sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

 

[shepcal]

Doesn't matter if 'he's shouting'. If you're interested in hunting that area, he is the one man to listen to and doesn't keep his knowledge to his self.
Have only met the gentleman twice(?), so far; first time, he took us to an area that had produced for him. Being cocky (like I can be sometimes ) he pointed out a little patch that did well for him; after working other 'hard detected areas' behind guys that knew their detectors, I figured I'd get my skunk killer and move on. Spent way too long there and no skunk-killer! If he's hunted a patch, don't even try for a bitty one, it will be clean. enough said!
Ray when book comes out, let me know, I'll buy one!
Shep