San Diego gold

[Sample Pan Dan]

Got out today for a little sampling, and found a nice little spot I will return to. Found a couple "chunky" pieces for SD gold.

 

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[Sample Pan Dan]

Thanks Hard Prospector, I appreciate it.

 

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[Back-of-the-boat]

yeah hard prospector is correct it will dry up, and yes there are a lot of claims in that area.if you can find a spot you would have to dry wash.when I was a kid a classmate was hiking banner creek found nice nugget on surface of dry creek little more than ounce nugget so I know its there.

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Thanks for the info guys, maybe we will bump into each other up there sometime.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Hey Drywallman! I grew up in Ramona and there is a HUGE bench that runs across the east side of town on top of the ridges. Very large river that got pushed up by mother nature and is now on top of many of the hills in that area. They're not hard to spot. Just look for areas where the rocks are round and the plants don't grow worth beans! I've pulled fingernail sized flakes out of there. There is some BLM land that we worked located just north of Mt. Gower Open space preserve. You can access it from the north side of S.D country Estates.

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Thank you GoldenIrishman. This is still a very new game for me. I was lucky enough to find some color near pine valley, and hopefully will continue to do so, but I definately appreciate your input as I do need to venture out and find some more spots close enough to make a day trip out of so Ramona area is perfect... Maybe next year I'll be ready to do a 2-3 day trip out to Anza-Boreggo area

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Hey Drywallman! I grew up in Ramona and there is a HUGE bench that runs across the east side of town on top of the ridges. Very large river that got pushed up by mother nature and is now on top of many of the hills in that area. They're not hard to spot. Just look for areas where the rocks are round and the plants don't grow worth beans! I've pulled fingernail sized flakes out of there. There is some BLM land that we worked located just north of Mt. Gower Open space preserve. You can access it from the north side of S.D country Estates.

You think that's part of the huge washed boulders between Romana and Poway, ancient river?

 

[Hard Prospector]

You think that's part of the huge washed boulders between Romana and Poway, ancient river?

No, this area forms the western edge of the Peninsular Range Batholith and is mainly large intrusive igneous rocks(white crystalline), decomposed granite and clay. I refer to the Hwy 67 area between El Cajon and the west end of Ramona. Now the further east you travel the more mineralized the ground becomes starting around the S.D. Country Estates east toward the Cuyamaca/Laguna Mtns. and north east toward Ballena Mt./ Witch Creek, Mesa Grande and Ranchita. As the batholith spreads east the geology becomes more dynamic where it mixes with schist, quartz, sulfides, gabbro etc. Many of the hill tops and ridges east/north east of Ramona were thought to be part of an ancient river system(as irishman said) before the batholith was formed and drained following a coarse to the south.

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Hard Prospector, again... Thanks...I am still relatively new to prospecting in general, and have only ventured so far... So much to learn! And so much gold to find ;-)

 

[NJnuggetpirate]

Hard Prospector, again... Thanks...I am still relatively new to prospecting in general, and have only ventured so far... So much to learn! And so much gold to find ;-)

Keep it up your not the only new prospector

 

[Hard Prospector]

Helping brother prospectors is how this forum rolls. When it comes to mining techniques and practices I still have plenty to learn but, I've wore out my share of boot leather hunting and prospecting the Cleveland. Speaking of Banner, the upper canyon has always been popular for the weed....Just a heads up bro

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Thanks for the heads up, I've come across lots of it in northern az, and in ga when I used to dear and turkey hunt. I am really enjoying the fact that the only other people I run into in Mt Laguna area other than hunters during season is mountain bikers and hikers, and they have no clue why I'm there. Think I'll keep it that way for now :-)

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

I will definately be looking into Ramona area though ;-)

 

[NJnuggetpirate]

Helping brother prospectors is how this forum rolls. When it comes to mining techniques and practices I still have plenty to learn but, I've wore out my share of boot leather hunting and prospecting the Cleveland. Speaking of Banner, the upper canyon has always been popular for the weed....Just a heads up bro

It's nice to know that most prospectors will help you find new spots to search instead of keeping the info to themselves

 

[Hard Prospector]

It's nice to know that most prospectors will help you find new spots to search instead of keeping the info to themselves

Prospecting is somewhat of a mens club if you will where general help and info. is usually gladly given. However, asking a prospector to reveal his exact spot and how much he's pulling out of it is considered bad form. He found it with a lot of hard work, be happy for him. Perhaps in the future if you become friends he will invite you into it.

 

[NJnuggetpirate]

Prospecting is somewhat of a mens club if you will where general help and info. is usually gladly given. However, asking a prospector to reveal his exact spot and how much he's pulling out of it is considered bad form. He found it with a lot of hard work, be happy for him. Perhaps in the future if you become friends he will invite you into it.

Agreed don't be greedy or jealous that's why miners some get bad records bc ppl see these old movies with killing each other for gold sin finds away to turn ppl against each other

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Prospecting is somewhat of a mens club if you will where general help and info. is usually gladly given. However, asking a prospector to reveal his exact spot and how much he's pulling out of it is considered bad form. He found it with a lot of hard work, be happy for him. Perhaps in the future if you become friends he will invite you into it.

And it has been a lot of hard work, 4 months searching and testing in a new area until I found the first little flake, a couple months later still on the hunt, I find my first "honey hole"... We shall see what lies upstream.

 

[discordia]

I went gold panning with my friend at banner creek and san felipe creek which is in the desert below. Didn't get any gold. It was a lot of fun though. Banner creek was all dried up except for some pools on one of them had running water from a spring I think and we panned in there. We need a shovel though, were using a small folding trowel and it doesn't cut it. tried dirt under some boulders on top of bed rock. Finding gold is hard whhyyyyyy.

Only the second time I've gone gold panning. Anybody know if there is gold in san ysabel creek?

Also I lost my green nalgene bottle hiking out of there because my zipper on my back pack was opened by a branch and it fell out and I didn't realise and and we couldn't find it.

RIP GREEN NALGENE BOTTLE I LOVE YOU *sobs*

EDIT: I might actually have a small piece of gold. In the last bit of one pan I found small tiny rock that was black on one side and yellow on the other. I don't have the best vision and I need a better magnifying glass but it might be gold.

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

I'm not sure about Santa ysabel creek, but banner definately does. Finding gold can be very hard, I panned and tested many many times before I found any. Keep at it, the first time you do a little reveal in your pan and find that first piece of yellow metal, you will never forget the feeling. Good luck

 

[discordia]

Yeah thanks. I can tell this is going to be alot of work. I definatley need better tools. This week I plan on buying a folding shovel and next time I'm bringing a crow bar to get under rocks and a machete to bushwack.

OK here is some pics I just took of the piece I found. Is it gold? I think it is..

smaller than it looks


side

back

 

[Sample Pan Dan]

Can't really tell by the pics, but it looks like it is.