Curious about Nome Alaska

[StevenHavillJr]

Has anyone here been there and worked the beach as well what are the dangers like for sharks?

 

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[stefen]

Stay above the high tide line and the sharks won't bite.

 

[Gold Maven]

My advice is if you are young, unattached, and looking for an adventure, get your butt to Alaska.

If you wait too long, it becomes impossible to go.

Go north young man, and good luck.

 

[russau]

If you go, youll NEVER regret the adventure! Im glad I went in 2000 because I couldn't do it now!

 

[fowledup]

"The rivers are winding, big nuggets their finding! NORTH to Alaska, go north the rush is on!" Go once you'll spend the rest of your life trying to get back. Better yet, just move there for awhile-guaranteed a no regret deal.

 

[63bkpkr]

Ummh, what was said above but they left something out that one Must consider- mosquitos/gnats/No-seeums(teeny tiny biting flies) and other insects that bite.

Then there are the bears (Grizzly& Black) that will rob your food, break up your camp and the moose that will stomp your butt clean into the ground and of course the bears might eat you. Alaska is remote, costly, with weather extremes (heavy rain & heavy snow & very cold & in the summer enough sun for a good sun burn), being remote it is at times hard to find people to talk with/have for company.

But Alaska is a special place with lots of wild food, catch fish with a bare hook, lots of firewood out in the sticks and just outside of Anchorage or any of the cities/towns IS the sticks. Lots of claims up there as well but lots of room to find you own spot. Write the tourism board and ask about the regulations about working the beaches for gold.

During the summer months it stays light all day long (making it easier for the bugs to find you) and in the winter the sun barely makes an appearance before it goes down.

It is a special adventure worth doing. I've been 'UP' a couple of times, flour gold can be found easily, lots of water (think marshes and bogs & bugs) and rivers and lakes. I was walking along Saint Ann's Creek parting the brush in front of me and was about to step over a bend in the creek when I noticed a bear paw print in the sand. The print was Way bigger than all of my hand making my .44 Magnum Revolver look puny but I'd go again as long as I had my .454 Casull with me! Plan and have fun..........................63bkpkr

 

[Jeff95531]

Lived 15 years in AK but never went to Nome. Everything said above is true. Sharks will definitely be the least of your problems there. Good luck if you go.

 

[winners58]

Steve and his son go up every year, I know last year they were looking for workers for both their Nome and inland operations
http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/p...teve-phillips-nome-gold-dredging-journal.html

 

[patiodadio]

If you can go.... Go ! I went way back in 1990 for 3 weeks and had the adventure of a lifetime . Here is my buddy with a nice gold pan.
One day we went to the tailings of an old abandoned gold mine, grabbed a few 5 gallon buckets of material from a bend in the creek that ran from the tailings. The picture is of him in the creek that runs out of the mine, if you ever dream of panning for gold in Alaska, the only way you are gonna do it is just ... Go ! We had a blast. Sure wish I could go back ! I highly recommend going to Alaska, someday you may wake up and find yourself an old man and wish you had went.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

I am 31 years old, don't have much of a job/work. My father was looking to doing gold stuff as hobby at first, he had a truck, a garret gold pro, we have gold pans buckets and a sluice, then if things were good (like we were finding gold well enough) we would see about doing it more serious. I am not afraid of adventure, it's having the means of doing so. At the moment I could only do what is around me because I really have no experience, it's why I have another post about panning here in Southern Cali.

With what little income I do have I was figuring on saving for a low budget dredge, but being here in Cali it's illegal to do I would have to go out of state to do such. So, keeping cost simple I am again stuck to just sluice and panning.

 

[Jeff95531]

It's good that you live in CA as it will prep you for the prices to be seen in AK. Since you have more time then money, practice close to home and research till you can go. If I were to do it again, I'd get a hold of forum members there in Chicken, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and exchange some pm's. In other words, I wouldn't make my first attempt as Nome. The further you get from the road, the higher the prices. Maybe Hope AK. To get an idea of what it's like inland, check out the posts by elkie13.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/346416-alaskan-pay-dirt.html

Do your research on Land Matters as you get better at it. http://www.mylandmatters.org/

 

[StevenHavillJr]

It's good that you live in CA as it will prep you for the prices to be seen in AK. Since you have more time then money, practice close to home and research till you can go. If I were to do it again, I'd get a hold of forum members there in Chicken, Fairbanks, the Kenai Peninsula and exchange some pm's. In other words, I wouldn't make my first attempt as Nome. The further you get from the road, the higher the prices. Maybe Hope AK. To get an idea of what it's like inland, check out the posts by elkie13.

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/gold-prospecting/346416-alaskan-pay-dirt.html

Do your research on Land Matters as you get better at it. Welcome to Land Matters

This was almost exactly my thoughts, wanted to see what others would say to be sure of what I was thinking. Though I have purchased paydirt in the past though I forgot where it exactly came from, think it was in northern Cali, I didn't get a whole lot(I didn't expect to get much) I know how to pan pretty really well, my problem is finding the compact/contact zones or even doing crevicing work.

 

[smokeythecat]

Alaska is insanely expensive. It's been mined for about 125 years, more or less. Somewhat less time than California has been mined for gold.

 

[mike(swWash)]

Don't forget to look into Juneau. A bit better weather and beach as well as inland gold.
Go man, GO.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

Looking into flight prices, $193 for one way isn't that bad, but my problem would be who do I know and what gear am I taking?.. Am I staying just for a month or am I staying for longer?.. so much to consider.

 

[goldenIrishman]

Get your skills refined down south first! Learn EVERYTHING YOU CAN about your chosen destination before you head up there. The internet give you access to many records on gold production, geology, mineralogy, field skills. (survival, land nav etc) Know your equipment inside and out and know how to set it up blindfolded! Doing all this before you head north is important if you want to have a good time up there. The Alaskan bush can and will chew you up and spit you out if you're not ready for it.

 

[Jeff95531]

The season in AK for tenderfoots runs from Memorial day to Labor day. No pressure.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

Well, I have been watching Ghost Town Hunter/Jeff Williams on youtube a lot since getting into it 2 years ago, I also watch a few others whom dredge and use bigger machines, though the only knowledge I know in AK is from the TV shows, but I stopped watching them a year ago, the drama brought up in those shows just killed it for me. I prefer real videos on youtube better, no BS needed.

When I first got my garret super sluice gold pan I purchased a thing of pay dirt off ebay for a reasonable amount, it only took me 45-1min to pan it and get all the specs out, I even panned twice to find nothing had slipped by. I learned panning from Jeff Williams off his videos. panning is relatively easy once you learn the motions needed and understand the tips miners give. I guess you can say I am a fast learner, but panning I consider it easy to be honest and it's not something I am gonna gloat about.

A sluice is a tad different for me since I never really used it in a good location I know how it's to be set up but never ran material thru it due to reasons.(honestly can't remember, our trip was rather short lived)

So, there is my experience that I have, to go somewhere around here would be great and I will take what you all have wrote into consideration.

 

[patiodadio]

Oops, I should have read the title better. I have never made it to Nome but have been in the far North (South Slope of the Brooks Range, ANWR) approx. 200 miles above the Arctic Circle.
Well, I guess there are at least a million reason not to go. Yes, its crazy expensive, sure its tough, cold, dangerous, hard, no quarantee of success. Whew, makes me wish I was 30 again

 

[smokeythecat]

Take a year and learn everything you can practicing in streams in California. In that year, research as much as you can. Nome may not be your best answer. The Fairbanks Mining District is a huge gold producer. The Canadian Klondike probably has at least as much in reserves as Alaska does. Both can be pretty remote, and expensive to go to. For a first try you might go with a group like the GPAA. On your own, it's a big gamble and remember, most everything good and discovered has a claim on it. You should be able to go to Alaska for $10k for the summer. Much less if you go with a group for a few weeks.