Long trip.... and worth every mile!

[DizzyDigger]

Days 1 thru 3...

Took off from home the afternoon of Sunday the 28th, made a quick stop about
100 miles south at my brothers place and then headed straight down I-5. Knowing
it was 1200+ miles to Ken's house down in Calif., the plan was to run as hard
as I could till fatigue stepped in and I had to have a short nap, then get going again.

Ran all night, and the first rest stop was in Dunnigan, CA. at what used to be one of
the best, old-time truck stops in Calif. It’s a Pilot Truck Stop now, but it used to be known
as “Pantyhose Junction”. The waitresses there wore shorter skirts (in today’s world ladies
commonly wear much shorter skirts..lol), the food was always lousy but the conversation
was good. Only thing the cooks couldn’t screw up were eggs and biscuits with gravy..and
they sold a lot of both!

This time I just bought gas there, and was feeling a bit sad at seeing “what was” be no more.

After a 2 hr. nap I took off again, got into Sacramento and then headed down Hwy. 99. Made
a stop in Fresno for lunch and shot down towards Bakersfield, taking the turn-off for Hwy. 58
and the run over the Tehachapi Mtns. My ’87 Toyota 4x4 is no powerhouse, and the 4-banger
(22R-E motor) was working hard pulling up some of the grades, but over we went and soon
I was at Hwy. 58 (aka: Kramer Jct.) My friends lived close to where 395 runs into I-15, and within
an hour was in Oak Hills, relaxing on Ken’s back porch with a cold beer and waiting for he and his wife
to get home from work.

Plenty of pizza, beer and memories of old times that night, but we called it an early night so we
could head out early enough to get a days work in on one of the GPAA claims.

Ken and I had both recently joined the GPAA, so before I ever left home we had selected 3 GPAA
claim locations we wanted to prospect.

Tuesday - Day 3
After loading my gear into Ken’s Blazer, we headed out for the Lytle Creek area. Unfortunately, we
were only 2 miles from it when Ken’s truck took a dump on us, and refused to restart. We finally
got it going again by using some starting fluid, and headed straight back to his house for my truck.
His Blazer was continuously stalling, and it took us about 3 hrs. to make the 30 min. drive back to
his place; quick swap of the gear to my Toyota. a stop at MickeyD’s for lunch and we got back into
the prospecting area by about 2:30.

Ken had never used a sluice, so we carried my Keene A51 down to the small creek running through
the valley. Most of the creek area looked like good material to me, so we just picked a spot and set
up the sluice so I could give Ken some tips.



Huge riverbed there, and in most spots it was at least 100 yds. wide. Took a few test pans and found
a few little flypoop specks, so we decided to take material from a dozen different spots and just run it
through the sluice. Unfortunately, at the end of the day we ended up with only the few specks I found in
the test pans, and nothing of visible size in the sluice concentrates. There is bound to be some good
gold left in this canyon, and now that he understands sluicing a bit he plans to go back and spend a few
days just prospecting the area in hopes of finding a pocket or two.

Snow was on the way when I left home, and 2 days later I’m working outside in nearly 90F.

Pretty much exhausted from both the long drive and the heat, I hit the sack just after sundown.

...to be continued

 

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[DizzyDigger]

Hey all..I'm working on the next part and hope to add more in a day or two.

Truth is, weather has been decent, and I've felt good enough to head out prospecting
every day for about the past week. Good gold is tough to find around here, and while
float/flood gold can be found in many rivers and creeks, a days work doesn't add up to
much. Starting to zero in on a new area, and by the time I get home there's little
energy remaining for creativity, etc.

Jeff:

Hope you find some serious gold to go along with you're incredible journey.

Me too!

Still...Sat (Day 8) of the trip was very interesting, so many details to share.

 

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[theseeker]

DizzyDigger, thanks for sharing your adventure! Looking forward to your next installment and hope you find a bunch of AU!

 

[Goodyguy]

Loving the adventure! Appreciate the ride along.
Wish I was there too!

GG~

 

[Jeff95531]

Bump

 

[DizzyDigger]

Saturday...Day 8

Last night was the very first night I had slept in the truck bed, and it didn't take long
for me to realize my head was at the wrong end of the bed! Talk about drafty! Still,
I managed it well enough by shoving blankets into corners, etc. that there wasn't too much
cold air blowing over my head. Turns out that there were 1/4" gaps on the sides where the
tailgate closed..nothing much I could do about them. Got a few hrs. of good sleep, and vowed
to get the truck re-arranged so my head was near the cab and not the tailgate!

Morning broke bright and early...too damn bright, and way too early! I've never been an early
riser, and this morning was no different. Finally crawled out about 7, and quickly got a pot of
water boiling for some coffee. It was as beautiful a morning as anyone could ask for; cool
and crisp, high mountain air. GPS said I was at 7560', and the air was definitely thinner up here
than the low country! Even with COPD there was no reason I couldn't manage it well if I didn't
over-do it.

As I sat down to eat some breakfast, I was surveying the terrain off the the sides of my camp.
On both sides were washes that showed loads of bedrock, and I couldn't resist the thought that there
was some color just waiting for me a few feet away.

BTW, all of the photo's are much sharper when viewed at full size. Not sure what causes it,
but when the forum software reduces the image size it also seems to blur them.



Slammed down breakfast, grabbed a bucket, shovel and classifier and had to hike a whopping 15'
over to a small "step" in the wash where material had built up on the low side. Scratched up a pan
full, and with great excitement I panned it out in a tub sitting on the tailgate.

Nuttin'....

I thought "no worries", as it was just the first attempt to find some color 15' from camp.
Decided that with all that bedrock everywhere it was time to break out the Gold Bug Pro
and see if I couldn't find my first nugget...

This was really the first time I'd done any serious detecting with the GBPro, so I decided to
have a go at ground balancing it manually. Balanced out real nice in that hot ground with
a GB number of 865. Found out later the "Ground Grab" was just as accurate as manually
balancing, and a whole lot faster!

Headed straight back from camp on the hump in between the two washes, and it wasn't
50' before I found more cougar tracks. These were fresher than the other set I'd seen,
although I suspected it was the same cat. Made a metal note to be very alert, and headed
off down into the upper end of one of the washes.

Started off with my first signal about 5 min. later, and it turned out to be a small bit of
rusted metal down about 2". Targets came every 5-10 min. after that, with a continual
string of old .22 bullets, bits of iron and an odd relic or two from mining operations
that were long, long ago. No idea when it was, but this ground had been worked, and
worked hard.

Got to the bottom of the first wash about 3 hrs. later, and sadly had little to show for
the efforts except a handful of non-target items. Did find what I believe is an old buckle
of some type (no pic), but that was about the only interesting thing. Frustrating, really,
as the entire bed of the wash was bedrock and pretty enough to make any placer fan
drool all over themselves.

Stopped by the truck and had some lunch on the way back up the other wash, and
decided to hike over to another wash about 50 yds. away, hoping things might be
different there. As I got to the upper end in the late afternoon (with another pocket
full of bits of bullets, etc.), I saw a stone marker that had been placed there to mark
the corner of a claim.

Well, that ended the prospecting right there. Even though I was miles from any human,
it just isn't right to poach another persons claim, and I wasn't about to. I had no way
to check if it was an active or abandoned claim, and decided to presume it was active.

By this time it was getting later in the afternoon, so instead of lamenting the situation
I pulled my chair over to a shady area, propped my feet up and promptly faded off. Woke
up 2 hrs. later to a completely different environment, and it was quickly apparent there
were some storms blowing into the high country. The rainclouds were thick, and I could
see the curtains of rain falling miles away..and heading towards me. Wind picked up in
a hurry, and everything that wasn't tied-down or rainproof got put under the truck.

Figured I had 20 min. before the rain hit, so I cooked up some dogs and beans for supper,
made coffee and then piled into the back of the truck to get out of the wind. Damn rain
never did come and the thunderstorms circled me for awhile. The "light show" was incredible,
and after eating I sat there on the tailgate for a couple hours just watching the skies.

Late that night the winds died down, and there were more stars visible than I've ever seen.
Even though I had not brought a telescope I did have my 10x50 bino's along. Most people
don't realize it, but you can see loads of "astro-goodies" by simply using binoculars. Mine
are a cheap pair of O&B's (aka: Old and Busted), and it wasn't long before I was racking
up a nice list of Messier objects that were surprisingly easy to find in the (now clear) super
dark skies.

(If anyone has interest in learning how to find some beautiful things to see in the heavens
above, I would be glad to write up a quick beginners tutorial on how/where to look.)

Here's a few more pics of the country I was up in.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Great story telling and a beautiful site, thanks for sharing!


Ps where's the gold?!

 

[Jeff95531]

Good times, places and prospecting. Usually I find like you do. The stuff we seek is replaced with unexpected wonders. If we hit we hit but it's the journey and not the destination. Recently, I too was humbled by seeing so many stars I couldn't find the big dipper. I did see the milky way in all it's glory...hadn't seen it since I don't know when.
Really really enjoyed this DD. Thanks for the story and your ability to tell it so well.
Jeff

 

[DizzyDigger]

And now for the rest of the story.....Sunday and Monday

Sunday morning I woke bright and early, as I had a some decisions to make about
where to go from here. Staying in this area was most likely not going to be a good use
of time, as every area close by that I checked on Sat. had claim markers, and I wanted
to do some nugget shooting and gemstone hunting.

Took about 1/2 an hour to get the camp broken down after a quick breakfast, and
once it was all packed in the truck it was time to start checking some maps and the
GPAA claim book. I decided right off to find a spot that was north of Austin, as that
would reduce the length of the drive home. That, and I was getting a bit weary of spending
all my time behind the wheel and not out swinging a coil, not to mention my travel budget
was starting to get thin and running in the wrong direction would burn too much fuel.

GPAA had a large claim over towards Reno, but also I knew of another, new claim
that GPAA had over off of I-84 in Oregon, and that was right on the way home.

Decided to make my choice over a big cheeseburger lunch at the Toiyabe Cafe in
Austin, as I was seriously looking forward to getting some "real" food in my gut
after eating my own cooking for the last few days.

Headed back out the glorified goat trail, and it was some pretty tough going in spots,
but my old '87 Toyota took it all like a champ and a couple hours later was back to the
pavement again. Stopped to unlock the hubs and give the wife a call to fill her in on my
plans, and as I was standing there my eyes were scanning the gravel and rocks off the
roads edge. Just like any prospector, ya never pass up a chance at the odd gemstone
or ? that you may find. Look straight down, and had to look twice...and what do I find
sitting right between my boots (as in damn-near stepped on!) ?


(expand pics to largest size for best image quality)

I reached down and picked him up, and he seemed to be in good shape, so I gave him
a couple scratches on the back and set him down about 10' further back from
the roads edge. Horned Toads are always cool to find, and check out those serious
horns!

Having run Hwy. 376 many times in the past, I knew it was an easy, straight drive
up towards Austin. Along the way I stopped and took this shot of a small part of
the huge Round Mountain claim. I believe this is one of their many tailing piles, and
it had to be a half-mile long, at least.



Took this shot from the same spot. Looked miles down the road in both directions from
where I was, and there wasn't another car or human in sight.... I love this state!



About 20 miles out of Austin things began to take a turn for the worse as I suddenly felt
that sickening shudder of a blown rear tire, and worse yet it was coming apart as I got the
truck stopped on the shoulder....



Dug out the jack, etc. and proceeded to wear myself out with that POS factory jack.
Took a couple tries to get it right, but finally had it high enough I could get the tire
swapped out. About that time the first vehicle I had seen in 30 miles came by, and
the fellow stopped to give me a hand. While I dropped the spare he pulled off
the blown one, then I popped on the brand new spare, tightened 'er down and was
all set to roll again.

Thanked the fellow for stopping and helping, and offered to buy him lunch, a beer,
or both (his choice) if he was headed to Austin.

"Nope, he said, I'm just on my way to church and couldn't just pass by without doing
what I could to help."

..and off he went.

Made it to Hwy. 50 a few minutes later, and after the long pull up the hill into Austin
it was time for some good chow, plus I had to decide what to do about getting another
spare as I wasn't about to head off into the bush without one.

**********************************************************

Final Chapter to be posted up this evening...the gold's on the way...

 

[Fullpan]

Hey Dizzy - its 10:30 pm here and i'm waiting for next installment..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Hey Dizzy - its 10:30 pm here and i'm waiting for next installment..

My apologies, as I'm not sure I ever mentioned it, but I'm a bit of a
night person, and my "day" is just getting rolling..

Got lots of writing to do, and have pics to post with it. Might be best to go and get some sack
time; it'll be waiting for you when you get up in the morning...

 

[Fullpan]

Ok -gdnite.

 

[blynch35]

great story make me want to make my own plans, im up all night maybe ill get to catch the next chapter..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Still Sunday afternoon...

The Toiyabe Cafe has always served up good food, and today was no different,
but it wasn't long before the local church service ended and a crowd came rolling
in for Sunday dinner. I finished up and headed outside for a smoke, and to call my
wife and fill her in on my situation.

I'd brought enough funds for the trip, and had a bit set aside for emergency needs
(like a tire!), but that would leave me with gas/chow money to get home on. I was
still some 950+ miles from home, and although I was getting a bit worn out from
being on the road a week, I still wanted to get in another couple days of nugget
shooting in Nev. or working my sluice at the new GPAA Oregon claim.

Doris was going to make some phone calls and see if there was a Les Schwab
dealer in Battle Mountain or Winnemucca, but even if there were, the odds weren't
great (like zip) that they would be open on a Sunday evening.

As I was waiting for her to call me back I wandered about town a bit, and stopped
in at the lapidary shop. Nevada Blue Rock and Gems is an amazing store to visit, the
owners are nice folks who do most all of their own gold mining and gem collecting,
the nuggets and gemstones they offer for sale include some gorgeous specimens,
and prices seem reasonable. Bought me a book on Nevada gemstones and where
some of the better fields are located (in general), and as I stepped back outside the
phone rang.....well, time for good news, or not so good news.

News wasn't all good, or all bad. There was a Les Schwab in Winnemucca, but they
weren't open on Sunday. Winnemucca was still 150 miles away, so I decided to head
up that way and find a good spot to camp for the night, and get the tire work
done first thing in the morning. Didn't even have to look at the map this time, as
I've always wanted to have a look around the Golconda Summit area.

Jumped on I-80 at Battle Mountain and headed back West towards Golconda
Summit, and after exiting I pointed the truck up Eden Valley Rd. I've been
to Midas before, and wanted to see what the country was like deeper in the
next valley. Pavement turned into gravel, and the terrain was far different than
expected. No rocky hills or washes, but rather miles and miles of rolling
land that looked much like the Palouse area in E. WA. Drove up the road nearly
20 miles before I found a suitable side road that would get me far enough
back in the hills so I could camp. It was getting late in the afternoon, and making
camp in the dark is never fun.

Couple hundred yards from the main road the road I was on started to head
up into what appeared to be a deep canyon, and I could see some rocky peaks
a couple miles up.



Also had some company as I drove further back. The three clowns followed me
for quite a while, and I dubbed them "Manny, Moe and Jack"..whattayathink, is
it fitting?



Not wanting to spend the night with such odoriferous neighbors, I continued to
follow the dirt trail further and further back into the hills. The road ended at a
watering hole closely surrounded by another 40-50 head of cattle, but there was
a 2-track trail that continued on up into the bare hills, and I finally stopped near a
bald-knob of a hill that gave me a spectacular view of the valley and surrounds.

Didn't do much more than unload the gear and roll out my bedroll, as it was
all getting loaded right back up in the morning. Did unpack the stove and coffee
pot, and started some water heating just before I took this odd angled shot..

 

[DizzyDigger]

Just about the time the coffee was ready and I'd sat down to relax and enjoy
the evening, I heard an unwanted rumbling that came from far off to the East.
A massive black cloud was over that way, and the damn thing was headed right
in my direction, too. Didn't worry too much as the storm was still a long ways
off, but if the rain was indeed coming then once again everything that wasn't
tied-down or rainproof got put under the truck. "So much for a hot dinner
tonight" ran through my mind while grabbing some hard-boiled eggs and packaged
food to replace the steak I'd been saving on ice since Tonopah. Tossed it
all in the back of the truck, and just about that time the first gust of wind came
blasting through.

Blasting is appropriate, as that storm was barreling down on the bare hill I was
camped on in a real hurry! Seconds later a wave of sleet rode along with the
wind, and it was high time for me to get in the back and wait it out. Started to,
then realized I needed my smokes which were still up front. During a quick lull
in the wind I stepped around to the drivers door (on the windward side), yanked it
open and just as I got the right half of me up on the seat and had my left leg
following in a hurry, a gust grabbed the door and slammed it inward. In slow motion
I saw the sharp edge of the door and the center of my left kneecap arrive at the
exact same spot at exactly the same time...and, after painting the hills with numerous
colorful metaphors while thinking.... "That's gonna leave a mark".

Cold sleet hitting me in the face brought reality back in a hurry, and after grabbing
a jacket, flashlight, smokes and 2 cans of smoked oysters that were in the glove box
I hobbled to the back and crawled in just as the freezing gusts were blasting in again.

While was swapping out Levi's for sweats I saw that my left knee was swollen already,
and there was a very defined red line running vertical right down the middle where the
door edge caught it. This was a game changer, unfortunately, and although it would
heal up in a week or two, I knew right then that my prospecting was done with for
this trip. Packed some ice on it, and sat there watching the storm blowing over all
around me, and not 15 minutes later the rain quit.....the retched wind never did.

The storm had mostly rolled around the hill I was camped on, moving westerly
towards what was quickly becoming a gorgeous sunset. Knee or no knee, I wasn't
about to pass up the chance to shoot some pics of a sunset with those storm clouds
blowing down the valley..

Wish it was in grams, but here is some of the gold I found on this trip...seeing it almost
made it all worthwhile...(view at full size)







Took my time packing up in the morning as the knee was quite pissed off about getting whacked.
I got into Winnemucca bout noon, bought a new tire and had it mounted up, hit McD's and headed
for home, arriving early Tues. morning.

The gold on this adventure came in the form of spending time again with old friends, recalling
old memories while getting back out there together and making some new ones. I had
driven hundreds of miles through country that will forever have a special place in my heart,
as there's nothing else like it, anywhere.

When I left home just over a week ago I had visions of a full poke and endless buckets
of concentrate to bring home. What we hope for, and what life actually has in store for us
can often come as a surprise.

I didn't find so much as a grain of the precious golden metal, but did re-awaken that spirit that
eternally calls some of us back again and again to the wild places, urging us to dig just a bit
deeper than the next guy while searching for that elusive paystreak, or pushes us just a little
further past the end of the trail to see what lies over the next hill.

It's a spirit - you can't hold it in your hand, you can't spend it, more precious than gold,
and no one can ever take it away from you.

I came home a rich man.

----------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------

Thank you all for "listening", and taking the time to follow along on the adventure. It has
been a pleasure sharing it all with you.

All the best,

Dizz

 

[Fullpan]

Great story - can't wait til next time. Thank you.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Great story - can't wait til next time. Thank you.

I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and that makes the time to write it up
all the more worthwhile.

Left out a couple pics of some critters whose company I had the pleasure of
at different times in the trip..

This hungry fellow snuck up on me while I was cooking dinner one evening...sat
there and gave me the evil-eye for a bit, then went about his business once he'd
decided I wasn't going to cause him any threat..so long as he kept his fleas and
ticks to himself.



Always seeming to be in a big hurry, this chubby Chuker ran me around a while
before finally giving in and posing for a decent shot..



Not sure exactly what brand of bird this is (Egret?), but it was fishing in a
muddy waterhole alongside some RR tracks near Golconda...



Never got pics of the Mule Deer, Pronghorn, Elk and a bunch of others that I crossed
paths with along the way. Very pleased to have not seen the cougars up near Manhattan,
but they should have been well fed with the massive number of deer and elk tracks in
the area.

 

[Jeff95531]

DD
Thank you so much for allowing us to be silent partners on your adventure. I've played and explored the deserts of Idaho, Nevada and Oregon. And your right, while each are desert like, they are very unique. I've often stopped and got out on some of those infinite two lane roads just to admire and enjoy the isolation and sounds.

DD-"In slow motion, I saw the sharp edge of the door and the center of my left kneecap arrive at the
exact same spot at exactly the same time..."

OUCH! I hate it when that happens. For me, it was the swat to the back of the head...like a two by four had hit me. The old struts holding the back camper shell window up decided to let me know it was time to replace them. I've had enough of replacing those expen$ive mothers before and now use a pair of fail-safe needle nose vise grips to make certain up stays up.

Anyway DD, thanks for all the pics and a wonderfully told story. Absolutely no shame with no gold...the trip and your story was priceless.

 

[H-2 CHARLIE]

This was a great trip and story... next time in so cal try the east fork

 

[DizzyDigger]

Jeff, I'm glad you and others enjoyed the story. Most often when extended trips are recounted
these days we only hear the "high points" of the trip...how much gold and how it was found.
Truth be told, every trip is a unique adventure with a thousand good memories if we look past the
prospecting part, and take the time to make ourselves aware of what is taking place around us.
Finding some color would have been awesome, but for me that's just one slice of the pie.

Howdy H-2! I started panning and sluicing in the E.F San Gabriel river back in about 1980, and even
took a few days and hiked a couple miles up the canyon looking for better gold. Even then there were
far too many people around (for me). During this last trip (early part) Ken and I went to Lytle Creek
and spent a few hours panning, and that's honestly about as close to the mega-population of the area as I
care to get. Appreciate the thought, as I know (even with all the digging that's been done) that there's still
good color to be found there, but I'm not sure I could handle having all those people around.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

DD I just saw your post. Great adventure for sure!

I've been going to Nevada for years, many of the places you wrote about, I've been to. Mostly heading to ghost towns to swing a detector, hoping to make that elusive find, but mostly building great memories with great friends, and seeing some of the most incredible open space on the planet! It's funny, when I first started going it was all about making those great detector finds, but as the years have gone by, it's really been about the freedom, hanging out with your friends, and living adventure after adventure of a life time. The great state of Nevada will always hold a special place in my heart, there's just no place else on earth like it

HH,
Brian