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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[StevenHavillJr]

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.

Actually my father and I are members of the GPAA and wow 10k to save for Alaska? Are you saying I should have some sort of dredge and mine the depths? I figure most of the water out there is already claimed.

 

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[Jeff95531]

Since we're dreaming...why not go for the full on AK experience? All you have to do is just get to Anch or Wasilla by 10 a.m. Saturday March 5, 2016 to arrange a ride to Nome via sled dog and get in on some Bering Sea Gold at the end! Then there's the Iron Dog snow machine race that is run prior to the race to break the trail for the dogs later. Be sure to take your go pro and watch this video before you go.

Into the Wild (2007) - IMDb

 

[patiodadio]

Actually my father and I are members of the GPAA and wow 10k to save for Alaska? Are you saying I should have some sort of dredge and mine the depths? I figure most of the water out there is already claimed.

If you go with the GPAA they will get you started won't they ? I have seen the videos, seems like you have a choice where you might mine.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

Since we're dreaming...why not go for the full on AK experience? All you have to do is just get to Anch or Wasilla by 10 a.m. Saturday March 5, 2016 to arrange a ride to Nome via sled dog and get in on some Bering Sea Gold at the end! Then there's the Iron Dog snow machine race that is run prior to the race to break the trail for the dogs later. Be sure to take your go pro and watch this video before you go.

Into the Wild (2007) - IMDb

Hahaha I don't even ahve a go pro XD but yeah this is sort of a dream taking about it all. I though was only asking really about what dangers are in the waters up there, is it like any part of the ocean.. fish and sharks around you all the time? Then it became what if I was going, yeah most of this was dreaming, but it's fun to have a fantasy of what if's, however mine is more of can there be an opportunity to do so and can I possibly make it happen on what I have?

 

[StevenHavillJr]

If you go with the GPAA they will get you started won't they ? I have seen the videos, seems like you have a choice where you might mine.

That is something I will check into further, getting started from them is attending their meets and talking to fellow miners who are in the area that work that land, or like me just showing up. Though you have access to their claims whenever you want to, I don't know if there are any in Alaska.

 

[Jeff95531]

That is something I will check into further, getting started from them is attending their meets and talking to fellow miners who are in the area that work that land, or like me just showing up. Though you have access to their claims whenever you want to, I don't know if there are any in Alaska.

Just remember look for what is available to you. The best spots are also the most closely guarded secrets and/or claimed. Nobody goes on line after a find and says "looky what I found". Unless you're on Gold Rush.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

Just remember look for what is available to you. The best spots are also the most closely guarded secrets and/or claimed. Nobody goes on line after a find and says "looky what I found". Unless you're on Gold Rush.

Will do, Gold Rush doesn't deserve any real attention, but they do find lots of gold on the show, will give them that, however it's over dramatized and don't know how much of it is really 'real' and what's just for show other than the gold of course. It's like bering sea gold, I tell you what that one guy Scott Meisterheim from the 'wild ranger' who did not watch that show just to see that guy blow up OVER EVERYTHING ? I dunno if he has changed at all but his attitude was off the charts.

Anyway, if I ever go I will be like look what I found on here, a photo is uploaded every like 5 minutes... (Being sarcastic)

 

[goldog]

I have a friend who want up last summer. He managed to hit the GPAA, another pay to play op and even met the dredgers in nome. I'll see what he knows.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

I have a friend who want up last summer. He managed to hit the GPAA, another pay to play op and even met the dredgers in nome. I'll see what he knows.

That would be awesome, thank you!

 

[fowledup]

Start contacting some of the fish canneries, packing plants and processors. There are also caretaking and remote camp jobs for the fishing and hunting lodges. Or try Ak. Dept of Fish and Game. Now is a great time to look for some seasonal work that will pay for your trip. Fish and Game has some remote salmon counting jobs that can last anywhere from a month to several months. Some are on gold bearing rivers. The Herring season in western AK is an early fishery, you could work that in the spring to get some gold and go mine for a month. If you have no responsiblities other than taking care of yourself -go man go. Opportunity seldom knocks twice, and when you get older it quits knocking. GO LIVE you got the rest of your life to be responsible- I'm not joking, do it!

 

[Jeff95531]

Start contacting some of the fish canneries, packing plants and processors. There are also caretaking and remote camp jobs for the fishing and hunting lodges. Or try Ak. Dept of Fish and Game. Now is a great time to look for some seasonal work that will pay for your trip. Fish and Game has some remote salmon counting jobs that can last anywhere from a month to several months. Some are on gold bearing rivers. The Herring season in western AK is an early fishery, you could work that in the spring to get some gold and go mine for a month. If you have no responsiblities other than taking care of yourself -go man go. Opportunity seldom knocks twice, and when you get older it quits knocking. GO LIVE you got the rest of your life to be responsible- I'm not joking, do it!

Not to mention bragging rights. When you talk about AK and you been there...people listen. Yes...it is that awesome.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

If there was some sort of guaranteed work up there it would really get me thinking on being up there

 

[AlaskaGold]

If there was some sort of guaranteed work up there it would really get me thinking on being up there

This completely depends on the type of work you do. If you come here do you want to work or look for gold? A seasonal job puts the damper on mining, unless you are working at a gold mine! I don't live in Nome or go there often but there's plenty of open ground around the state to find gold.

 

[StevenHavillJr]

This completely depends on the type of work you do. If you come here do you want to work or look for gold? A seasonal job puts the damper on mining, unless you are working at a gold mine! I don't live in Nome or go there often but there's plenty of open ground around the state to find gold.

To be honest, I have not a clue what I should be bringing to even start, I just have basics nothing mechanical/advanced.

 

[russau]

If there was some sort of guaranteed work up there it would really get me thinking on being up there

When I was up there in 2000 the people I talked to had 3 jobs to coinside with the seasons. Heck even the taxi cab driver had a gold pan on his dashboard of the truck he picked us up in! Be prepaired and bring the cash you need to support yourself for awhile until you get some temp work! and be prepaired to see some expensive food / room costs.

 

[patiodadio]

Start contacting some of the fish canneries, packing plants and processors. There are also caretaking and remote camp jobs for the fishing and hunting lodges. Or try Ak. Dept of Fish and Game. Now is a great time to look for some seasonal work that will pay for your trip. Fish and Game has some remote salmon counting jobs that can last anywhere from a month to several months. Some are on gold bearing rivers. The Herring season in western AK is an early fishery, you could work that in the spring to get some gold and go mine for a month. If you have no responsiblities other than taking care of yourself -go man go. Opportunity seldom knocks twice, and when you get older it quits knocking. GO LIVE you got the rest of your life to be responsible- I'm not joking, do it!

Great advice and TRUE !

 

[Goldwasher]

I worked summers in Alaska for five years. Going up in April and back in October The most money I ever made fore the time put in. Most employer's if you go that route proved housing and food for an affordable fee. And if you complete your contract you get that back and a bonus. I did cannery work the first year and made enough connections and gained enough info to decide to never work with salmon again. I made way more money the next seasons and actually had time to fish, prospect and explore. Try to drive up. Being in Alaska without a vehicle expands it's giantess tenfold. And that's considering how dew roads there actually are. There are Numerous places you can pull off the highway and overnight for free.
Those fish counting jobs go almost exclusively to biologist undergrads. I would start now looking for jobs at lodges or tourist areas. In my experience it is not hard to get a job In Alaska. If you start early and have a decent work history you shouldn't have a problem. I went up every spring with a promotion and contract. Left with six to eight un cashed paychecks and still had a blast doing things the tourist pay out the nose for and I did it cheap....rafting....plane trips HELICOPTER rides...overnight at remote cabins....It's all up to how much of a go getter you are. My Alaskan season paid for my four month snowboarding season in the winter lower 48!!!!

 

[Capt Nemo]

My 8th grade science teacher used to ferry RV's up to AK during the summer. He'd pan gold in the streams and get enough to cover the sightseeing up there. He'd use some of the photos of the trips to help teach geology. That got me wanting to pan as a kid, too bad I didn't get one till I was 46.

Wouldn't mind trying that!

 

[StevenHavillJr]

So, I found out we are LDMA members for lifetime, in turn makes us part of the GPAA and can use their claims. There are 7 total claims that are open to me out there, though looking at this with positive and negatives in mind I think staying here and going around Cali would be more beneficial. Once it becomes a routine I can move onto Alaska at some point in the future.

 

[Lanny in AB]

I've been to Nome. I've mined the beach-line north of Nome.

I spent a couple of weeks running beach boxes, spent time fishing for salmon (caught lots and lots) and I did a lot of exploring.

I had a wonderful time and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Mining on the beach depends a lot on what the ocean is doing. If the ocean is rough, you can't keep a foot-valve down to keep suction for your pump, so beach-box mining takes place when the ocean is calmer. You'll have to learn to pan in the ocean which is a bit of a trick. Take hip-waders and back into the surf; face the beach and time the dips of your pan so the waves don't knock the contents of your pan back into the ocean; it's a bit of a trick, but after a while, you'll get used to it. The ocean water rusts and corrodes everything, so keep that in mind. You'll need a wide beach-box to spread out the water volume to allow the tiny gold to drop. A carpet in the box will trap the fines. You'll get lots and lots of fine colors to a pan; use polarized sunglass lenses to spot the heavier concentrations of ruby sands along the beach to locate pockets of super-heavies lying on the surface; the gold likes to hang out in such places. If there's a whack of driftwood along a beach line, check behind the driftwood pile (opposite side from the ocean) as it works rather like a big riffle to concentrate the heavies. If you dig down in the sand, you'll notice lenses of black sand and ruby sands: work the pockets of heavies as the surrounding sand is usually hardly productive at all compared to a lens. Be sure you have bear protection of some kind as it's very likely you'll bump into one somewhere, sometime. If you're only there for a short time, gather your concentrates, concentrate them some more and bring them home to process to save time and maximize your gold gathering opportunity. Stuff up that far is expensive so be ready for that. If you can take a quad (have it shipped in a container) you'll have way more fun.

All the best,

Lanny