here is a dumb question,

[USTiger]

Why do you pan for gold,

to make money ?? or for the thrill of the color in your pan ??,

any other thoughts are welcome

USTiger

 

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[dunc]

For me it is like fishing is for most. I just like to be outdoors doing something active. If I find gold, great, if I don't, well that's why I don't do it for a living.



Of course there is always that chance of hitting a big one.

 

[strickman]

For me it is like fishing is for most. I just like to be outdoors doing something active. If I find gold, great, if I don't, well that's why I don't do it for a living.



Of course there is always that chance of hitting a big one. i think dunc summed it up!

 

[keverett]

I guess for the same reason that I metal detect and CRH.......I enjoy finding things that most people completely ignore, walk right over, drop, throw away, or just don't want to waste their times searching for. Gold in the bottom of a pan is like silver in the bottom of a plug....brings a smile to my face every time!!

 

[DanB]

It is the thrill of the hunt........and the color is the reward.....worst case scenario..... I all ways enjoy just being out doors and taking in the day.....a day in the field is better than any day in the office ....

db

 

[kiwi jw]

Hi All, Just to add to all the good answers above. It is in its own way mentaly relaxing but it isnt always about the panning alone but the whole journey. It takes you to some amazing places which are advantures all of there own. You will meet some great people along the way, some if not many will become life long friends. It awakens something in you that can not be explained. You will be drawn more to the beauty of the mountains, the bush, the critters, the babling brooks & chattering streams. You will take more notice of the wild flowers, the butterflies, the birds & the bees, the change in the seasons. The sunrises & sunsets The way the light is so sharp at certain times of the day. The shadows that cast across mountain valleys as the sun archs across the a sky so blue & the ridge lines so sharp & defined. You will be haunted by every creek you drive past wondering if it has gold. You will plan outings that will always be in gold country & you will always find an excuse to do just one more pan..........You got to love it aye.

Happy golding

JW

 

[surfin]

Well its not the money. I got into it watching that stupid show gold fever. the first one I watched he was going into a cave that had mountain lion tracks in front of it going "here kitty kitty" and the next one he drank water from out of a mine and then said "I shouldnt have done that because of the arsenic they used here". After that I started watching because I was certian there was going to be an eppisode where he eaten or piosoned. suddenly I though "HEY!" he outside doing something and I am just sitting here watching it. I ordered the buzzard kit, I got the kids involved, bought a metal detector and started a new hobby. I has also gotton me in to a bunch of different things as I move around alot. (Military) I just never seem to get placed where the gold it till now but I am cursed with snow. But I got into shark tooth hunting and found a bunch, I want to start CRH'in and I am into metal detecting. Everyone in the fam will have an ace 250 by spring. I havent found jack thats valuable but I have found a water jug full of change and I get to spend time with the kids. This is my year though. I have permission to pan in the UP of MI all I want on private property right inside the gold belt up here.
I wont ever do something for the money again.......The treasure has been getting closer to my family.

............................OK money would be nice.

Ian

 

[russau]

what good is a dream if you cant pursue it?

 

[dave wiseman]

Good one Russeau,it's all about the chase anyway..after you've done this gold thing for 35 years and found your share..the adventure is what's it's all about.Being somewhat free in a restricted world.Seek and ye shall find,it's in the good book,and what one finds eventually is themselves,if,if,if they don't QUIT.The yellow just a bonus.

 

[kiwi jw]

Hi all.....Yes.....the HUNT. It is a basic human instinct. Especially in the male species of our race. It goes back to our cave man days of survival I guess. You know....Survival, hunter, gatherier, provider etc. Even war, fighting & conquering. These instincts have sort of been replaced in the so called modern age, for most of us anyway apart from governments, by sport, hunting & finding. The fighting & conquering instinct has been fafilled by sports such as rugby, soccer, gridiron, baseball, basketball etc. You know....two teams battling it out to the death. There can only be one winner.....right? The hunting & gathering instinct, although still for the same reason, food, by fishing, wildlife hunting & stalking etc. With the hunting & gathering instinct comes the CHALLENGES & ADVENTURES that need to be overcome. The study & research. The thinking & planning involved. Reading of the land & the enviroment & the obsticles in the way that need to be overcome. Out smarting nature & devising ways to WIN etc. To walk away with what ever it is you seek. In our case it is gold or minerals that the earth is so eager to hide & squirrel away from us.
So yes.....the HUNT & all those CHALLENGES that go with it in our quest. It involves all of the above CHALLENGES to our instincts. The satisfaction & feel we get when we CONQUER & recover the bounty we are looking for. Weather it is for financial reasons, or an excuse to just get out into the beautiful wild blue yonder & share special times with special like minded people, gold of another kind, or just get out of our zone. Be the reward so often so small today.....but it is what makes us keep on at it year after year........ INSTINCT, FRIENDSHIP, LOVE FOR THE OUTDOORS, REWARD.

Here is a poem. Author unkown. Enjoy.

THE PROSPECTOR

Sitting by the fireside, staring into flames.
Remembering lonely diggings,
Which now are only names.
Seeing in my minds eye,
Beneath the gravels swish.
The glitter of the gold
In the bottom of the dish.

I feel the icy water
Swirling round my hands.
I feel my fingers raking
The dirt & stones & sands.
I feel the the sudden surge
Of the miners greedy wish.
The sight of little nuggets
In the bottom of the dish.

I've hunted in the mountains,
I've shot an eighteen pointer stag.
I've tramped the streams of Southland,
And carried home a bag.
But more thrilling than the stalking,
Or the tug of a fighting fish.
Is the glimpse of flaky gold,
In the bottom of the dish.

They think Im sleeping soundly,
Sitting here so still.
But though my limbs are quiet now,
My mind roams free at will.
And sees beside the river,
Even while they're saying " shish".
The glitter of the gold,
In the bottom of the dish.

JW

 

[kuger]

To get gold

 

[sapphire miner]

I pan to clean up fast mostly, never to process.
I also pan to test for presence of gold, mainly checking zones and or bed rock.
Check this link, also see other video for the plant in operation.

 

[Jarbacoagold]

For me its like hitting a jackpot on a slot machine when you see that nugget in your pan........

 

[liftloop]

Hi All, Just to add to all the good answers above. It is in its own way mentaly relaxing but it isnt always about the panning alone but the whole journey. It takes you to some amazing places which are advantures all of there own. You will meet some great people along the way, some if not many will become life long friends. It awakens something in you that can not be explained. You will be drawn more to the beauty of the mountains, the bush, the critters, the babling brooks & chattering streams. You will take more notice of the wild flowers, the butterflies, the birds & the bees, the change in the seasons. The sunrises & sunsets The way the light is so sharp at certain times of the day. The shadows that cast across mountain valleys as the sun archs across the a sky so blue & the ridge lines so sharp & defined. You will be haunted by every creek you drive past wondering if it has gold. You will plan outings that will always be in gold country & you will always find an excuse to do just one more pan..........You got to love it aye.

Happy golding

JW

 

[Hoser John]

pan due to damn dredging ban

 

[enamel7]

pan due to damn dredging ban

LOL!!! You the man John!

 

[63bkpkr]

Hey There USTiger,

You've gotten every response on this you could so mine will not be any different, for the most part. Check out some of my posts under Sluicing and look at the pictures. One can have some of the best Trout or fish dinners ever if the river has them in it and the dinner will be eaten in one of the finest eating places ever built, the Out of Doors Cafe. This year I finally arrived at a spot with nuggets and it is a thrill. With the current price of gold what I've taken this year is likely worth around $1,000.00 and I've no intention of selling it. I am actually giving some of it away as presents but most of it I will keep. Picking up that sample bottle brings back the memories of the place I was at and what I went through to obtain this gold. Also, as I prospect in Historic California Gold Country, I stumble across old camps and the miners leftover stuff and the work I've done this year is no different than what has been done by the miners who came before me. Then when my children are there with me, what can be better! The overall experience is it for me, just like in the movie HEAT, and by normal standards I'm a bit older to be doing this but because I'm me its just what I do.

I used to live on Whidbey Island and did a little coin shooting there. Washington is beautiful country and there is gold there.

Try it you might find you enjoy yourself even if you never find any. Always be honest! GooD LucK, 63bkpkr

 

[Tank69]

If you Have to ask you wouldn't understand .


HH Tank

 

[FiresEye]

Hi All, Just to add to all the good answers above. It is in its own way mentaly relaxing but it isnt always about the panning alone but the whole journey. It takes you to some amazing places which are advantures all of there own. You will meet some great people along the way, some if not many will become life long friends. It awakens something in you that can not be explained. You will be drawn more to the beauty of the mountains, the bush, the critters, the babling brooks & chattering streams. You will take more notice of the wild flowers, the butterflies, the birds & the bees, the change in the seasons. The sunrises & sunsets The way the light is so sharp at certain times of the day. The shadows that cast across mountain valleys as the sun archs across the a sky so blue & the ridge lines so sharp & defined. You will be haunted by every creek you drive past wondering if it has gold. You will plan outings that will always be in gold country & you will always find an excuse to do just one more pan..........You got to love it aye.

Happy golding

JW

 

[rwells]

I like reading this. Some great thoughts here. I have a lot of hobbies and I try to get them to pay for themselves. It grubstakes me on to the next dream. Good ideas.
Rick