My Kingdom For A Sluice

[Island_Hunter]

While I patiently wait for my mats to come in the mail, I decided to head out into the bush to scout for some ground to test.

This is what I found!

 

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[Island_Hunter]

Crap! I hit post by mistake before I was done.


















Its a stream that has eaten its way to bedrock. There are lots of slides that end with potholed pools. I dug out a pot hole and found a few specs of flour and classified a few buckets down to 1/2" and then panned it 90%. The rest I brought home to finish off. I wished I had a sluice!! It would have been a perfect spot for my new contraption. In a picture you can see where there is a nice drop off at the end of slide. I dug down about 2 feet. Nice spot!

 

[bevo]

That bedrock makes me jealous. Very nice.

 

[63bkpkr]

Oh my, where are my Nitro pills my heart is acting up. What a lovely spot!! Gee, I guess all of us have to wait. Nice pictures!!.........63bkpkr


And you are on Vancouver Island BC. A few years back I was on Whidbey Island, we were close.

 

[Island_Hunter]

So wouldn't you just know it. The gallon and a half of cons I brought home had tons of quartz and pounds of black sand. There was just one thing missing! Not one flake of gold in any of it. I guess that just shows that you could be in the prettiest piece of country on bedrock and find nothing.

Im going to follow the stream down to where it meets the main river that I know has gold in it. My hope is that it stays on bedrock and has exposed the bench on the main stem.

 

[63bkpkr]

Island_Hunter ,

Bummer but, "gold is where you find it" and if it ain't there it ain't there. Years ago I was up this little tributary to the main river for the first time. The stream was quite low at that time with lots of exposed bedrock. On top of one piece of bedrock was this little pile of dirt, I brushed it into my pan and after panning I had two very nice pickers! I mean all I did was knock the dirt into my pan and pan it and Bingo there it was. I looked at the stream itself and my brain went "if this gold is just sitting here on the side bank then what the dickens is out in the middle of it"!? I purchased a 2" backpackable dredge and carried in ~ 200 lbs of gear in all requiring three separate trips in and out. My take..........NADA! Why none, in my case I suspect I did not read the find correctly AND I did not know squat about operating a dredge. That little stream is still in the back of my mind as somewhere I believe their is still at least some gold in there.

The stream itself is a set of natural riffles.

View attachment Dredging 2.bmp Equipment yes, experience no! circa ~ 1992-1993

 

[Island_Hunter]

So yesterday I decided to walk the steam down to where it meets the main stem and pan there for a bit. The whole way the stream has eaten into the rock creating waterfalls and potholes. In the video you see where it has dug out underneath the rock before coming to a big log jam. The second part of the video is from below the jam.

I followed it another 200 yards to where it joins the main river. To my surprise, I am standing at the top of an 80' cliff with my stream cascading over the edge to the river below. Im going to hike in from the other side so I can take some pictures head on and post them.

With no way down, I bushwhacked back to the log jam and noticed that when the stream is swollen it floods the inside bend where there is a nice bench with smooth boulders. Only having time to work through a few pans, I was happy to find more flour than I had the other day. Next time I go I will bring the sluice and hit it hard!

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=cUbZFpnyNoY





From the top of the falls

 

[russau]

whada ya mean,no way down? do what i do, FALL! its the quickest way,ive done it for years! Just ask Hoser! haha

 

[Island_Hunter]

Haha I couldn't get a picture of the falls because it was nothing but slippery moss and I didn't dare get any closer to the edge. I know that there is a way down about a km up river.

 

[63bkpkr]

Island_Hunter, whether there is gold there or not You Have Struck Gold with the place itself! How's the fishing? What sort of wildlife is on the island, bears?......................63bkpkr

 

[Island_Hunter]

It truly is a beautiful spot. I returned today and sampled gravel from the stream bed, the bank and the bench and found nothing. But for 3 hours all of my senses were flooded with nature and I really enjoyed myself.

On the island we have lots of wildlife. Deer, elk, cougars, black bears and just in the past couple of years grizzlies that have swam over to the northern tip from the main land. The fishing is amazing, both salt and fresh water. Big salmon, steelhead, trout and 6lb+ bass. I love it here....I just wish there was more gold!

 

[Colt gold]

Tht is sweet . Good luck and post the things you get from there!!

 

[63bkpkr]

IH, as I understand it you have the ability to protect yourself with what, bear spray??....................63bkpkr

 

[Island_Hunter]

Ya, our laws are a little different up here. Under no circumstances are we allowed to have a handgun with us. I believe we can have a rifle or shotgun, but my hands are always to full of buckets and other gear to be weighted down with one. My only protection is my Buck knife that I always have on my side.

I was a field biologist in the interior for Fisheries and Oceans for 5 years and the put me through extensive bear and firearms training. On several occasions I have been bluff charged by Grizzlies and once I noticed the signs of a Black Bear that if was no bluff and I put it down with a 12 gauge slugs when it charged me.

The bears on the island are totally afraid of people and run like their asses are on fire when they see you. The winters are mild and there is plenty of food for them so they aren't desperate hungry bears like in the northern interior. The only big threat is if they have cubs near by. Then all bets are off.

When I am out bushwhacking in the back country by myself, I usually sing or call out every few minutes. If they know you are coming they get out of your way. In my opinion, cougars are much more dangerous. They can stalk and take you down before you even know they are there. I have encountered them a few times. Once with kittens. Back away slowly!

How is the wildlife situation down there?

IH

 

[Hard Prospector]

The wildlife situation can be much the same down here except that our Government is having a much more difficult time taking our hand guns away( thank God for the 2nd Amendment)

 

[63bkpkr]

IH, I am in northern california and I hike some really back country places where I see Zero folks in two weeks time. In ~1978 the black bears in the area started hitting anything that was raised off the ground, prior to that time no problems! Since then they come right into camp. I used to carry only a .22 revolver till one morning a sow stood in front of our tarp tent grunting and rocking back and forth till her cubs cleared out of camp. After we left camp for a hike they returned and destroyed it and got the food. The food attacks have only gotten worse as the sows teach the cubs about humans and food. I've now had many bear encounters and have had a sow send her ~100 lb cub into camp so I could help train it. Again, after I left camp they destroyed it but could not get my food as I had it on a steel cable. The sow stood 10' tall on her hind legs and was easily 400 lbs. Anyway lots of dangerous bear encounters so I now carry a .454 Casull and so far the noise from it has been enough to keep them permanently away. I've no desire to shoot a bear but I will protect myself and my camp. Note: the .454 will go through 3/8" thick steel plate. 12 gauge slugs are good!!

There must be mountain lions in the area as there is a sizable deer population and some nice ones at that. Once I found a large dead deer on the riverbank. When I returned many days later it was gone? Not eaten, just gone. The big cats have got to be there its just I've never seen them and likely they have seen me as I do go in very wild areas. Bobcats Yup they are there!

You have some beautiful country there!......................63bkpkr