Current thoughts and questions from the newbie / teacher all in one.

[OneStudPuppy]

Ok, I have the gear, sluice, pans, classifiers, gold magic wheel.

Many thoughts as I take on the adventure of re self teaching and learning panning etc.
My friends kids like nieces basically are learning with me as well. I think I’ve gotten the panning down quite well. 3 1/2lb bags of gold rush paydirt resulted in .5 grams of gold. A nice snag!

I have over 30lbs of other purchased pay dirt which seems to have very small gold to almost micron gold.

As of now here is my kind of thoughts / questions in my head.
1. The big challenge I’m finding is a way to even using the blm to do a map/claim overlay! Im looking to avoid claims don’t want to accidentally end up on someone else’s claim.

2. I’ve thought about the GPAA, but I also figure a shared claim even at 20 acres had have to been quite well picked over. There is a claim in the area I’m looking at but it’s 20 acres at 2k..

3. With panning as a test of areas, once I find a good one I think I’m ready to sluice for hours and bucket up the concentrates for detailed clean out at home.

4. Pops in my head as usual.. how can I see these maps of claims and be able to
Recognize locations, maybe overlaying another map google earth etc?

5. Due to current job will be interesting to see how my body holds up haha, current shape isn’t the best.

6. Other than gold in the pan, gold in the sluice and gold in the vial, is there a cure for
Gold fever?! Haha. But also
I love nature, camping and getting out into wilderness.

7. So people always say east fort San Gabriel, or Lytle creek, is there any other areas where one can really run a sluice not 3 hours away from whittier ish area.
Or Any non traditional areas but legal lol!

I’ve done so much bought pay dirt that I also want to dig and classify some of
My own concentrates as well. Then when trapped at work I’ll have some pay dirt to work from home..
And

 

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[OneStudPuppy]

Oh yea, here is the gold rush gold

 

[winners58]

sounds like you need an intervention, just say No to paying $60 for a 1/2 gram of gold.
There are lots of clubs that have claims and outings, use that money you would have paid for paydirt
and instant gratification that only lasts until it's panned out, join a club and have claims to play on all year.

 

[OneStudPuppy]

sounds like you need an intervention, just say No to paying $60 for a 1/2 gram of gold.
There are lots of clubs that have claims and outings, use that money you would have paid for paydirt
and instant gratification that only lasts until it's panned out, join a club and have claims to play on all year.

I have thought about joining a club or Gpaa but I head that meetings with a lot
Of them are required, my problem is now a 7 day a week job.
Once in a blue moon comes a day off. Usually last minuet notification.
I could be mistaken in this but from What I read some time ago. And it would be a nice social thing to meet others while digging. Just hard to schedule anything with this nuts work routine.

 

[Goldwasher]

Gpaa is the cheapest. Don't count on club claims being cleaned out. You will still find gold.

You don't have to go to meetings to be a member.

I would try to hit up club "outings" most of the time they are free to newbies.

Good way to judge who is most active in the club.

 

[OneStudPuppy]

Well I pulled the trigger and joined the GPAA. For a 3 year run. Taxes and all was less than 200.
I figure with some access to claims if anything I’ll get some practice and not worry about being in
The wrong place..

 

[Goldwasher]

Pretty logical.

Once you visit a claim you can do some research and map it for practice.

start looking at that area more in depth and see if there is any open ground near by.

I believe your local chapter is Temecula Valley Prospectors.

The GPAA forum is pretty BLAH

But, the website is cool you can enter you Zip code and it will list the closest claims and shops to you by distance.

You can do that for any where you want to go.

As far as better claim mapping. The only maps that really exist are owner made and filed at the County.

Though most times it will be a shaded rectangle or square as you only have to map it by description if your within a surveyed area and filing a simple placer claim.

You also will only be able to see the full land description in the county or blm file at the recorder or State Office

Learn the PLSS and how to label a claim

I.E.
W 1/2 SW corner of the NE quarter..... "W 1/2 SW NE sec. 10 township 11 range 14 mdm Diablo" .

that is a description of a fictional 20 acre claim.

Each claim will have different numbers and descriptions. There are also numbered lots. But, that's the basic way a claim is described.

There are claims that are Metes and Bounds...literally walked out with tape and compass, corner to corner some because they don't conform to the survey or there isn't a survey to conform to.

It takes a little bit of learning but, once you get it you can plot out claims that exist correctly and will know how to locate your own if you want.

or just be able to avoid claimed ground.

In Ca. placer claims are only required to have location monument. No corner markers unless its a lode claim.

Don't expect signs or easy to discern boundaries.

 

[IMAUDIGGER]

Check your scale or your math. That gold rush gold in that vial is not .5 grams by a long shot. Maybe .5 grains.
But high fives for reaching out for advice. Hopefully someone local will throw something out there.

 

[smokeythecat]

Yes, the GPAA for your area is wise. The cure for gold fever is to go to the beach and detect the bling! There is a lot there if you spend the hours necessary to find it. Or you can just purchase one humongous nugget and get it over with!

 

[Duckshot]

Dump that vial back into your old paydirt and pan it again. Practice, practice!

You might even find you have more gold in your paydirt than you recovered when first finished. Happens to me all the time.

 

[OneStudPuppy]

Check your scale or your math. That gold rush gold in that vial is not .5 grams by a long shot. Maybe .5 grains.
But high fives for reaching out for advice. Hopefully someone local will throw something out there.

I’ll check the manual, it’s possible I was on a wrong setting. I took that measurement of same bottle empty weight from the bottle vs the gold. It’s also a amazon 10 buck special lol! No calibration weights etc. could be I was in grains I’ll check in the AM..

 

[OneStudPuppy]

Yes, the GPAA for your area is wise. The cure for gold fever is to go to the beach and detect the bling! There is a lot there if you spend the hours necessary to find it. Or you can just purchase one humongous nugget and get it over with!

HAHA! I’ve been to Santa Monica so many times later in the day, quarters and foil and juice packets have been my big score there. I did once pick up a wallet and cellphone, but that didn’t require my detector, for that one just kept a eye out for the people searching the area knowing they would come back and look for it. They did, once I verified his name and state of issue from his license gave it back and was happy they came back Searching for it. Paid for the parking with the tip of 5 he gave me. I need to hit beaches closer to normal times, for now it’s always after work 7pm

 

[OneStudPuppy]

Dump that vial back into your old paydirt and pan it again. Practice, practice!

You might even find you have more gold in your paydirt than you recovered when first finished. Happens to me all the time.

Yea practice cAnt be beat, after 2 lbs or so through my gold wheel, there was a few mini pieces but over all did pretty good, I’ve found mason jars are great for sampling and checking left overs are the. Seen

 

[Reed Lukens]

Now that you've joined the GPAA, it's time to start going to some outting with them to learn everything from the basics to advanced, all in one weekend. They are having a national outting in April in Stanton, Az., which is right over I10 from you basically. In order to learn right, you need to learn from the right people. Take advantage of the club that you now belong too and schedule an outting to suit. The desert isn't that far away from you and there is lots more gold out there for the people who take the time to learn how to get it.

 

[OneStudPuppy]

The bug has me.. thinking about buying my first claim tomorrow

 

[Bonaro]

The bug has me.. thinking about buying my first claim tomorrow

Pump the brakes! A novice should not go out and buy a claim until he has learned enough to confidently test it and determine there is worthwhile gold to be found. There are many people out there who are willing to sell you a patch of worthless dirt.

Join a local club, use their claims and learn from their members. When you are ready to buy maybe take a member with you to help you test it.

 

[OneStudPuppy]

Yea it’s kinda crazy to think about it, but it’s also an area that I can get to within a few hours.
1500 for 20 acres. It’s a area I know has some and there is over 50 other active claims in the area
Other than annual fees, is it that not a pretty solid price?

 

[mikep691]

Don't do it EVER!!!! Buying a claim usually turns out to be buying someone else's mistake. If you're buying it from a seller online, odds are good that the seller has never even set foot on it. It can quite possibly be an over filed claim, or just worthless dirt in a non-gold area. Do your research, put boots on the ground, sample and test then sample and test some more. It costs under $500 to stake your own claim once you have acquired the knowledge and experience to know what to do. If you choose to move forward with this, at least gain permission prior to purchase to test and sample this claim. If it's in the desert, you'll need to learn a different skill set for extracting the gold (if any). You still need to master the pan first.

 

[Bonaro]

Yea it’s kinda crazy to think about it, but it’s also an area that I can get to within a few hours.
1500 for 20 acres. It’s a area I know has some and there is over 50 other active claims in the area
Other than annual fees, is it that not a pretty solid price?

Look at it this way....
Would you buy a used car without seeing it or driving it?
If the car was only a few hours away, only $1500 and parked on a lot with over 50 other cars, would it be a more reliable car?

 

[Medina Joe]

I started with a spaghetti strainer, 5 gallon bucket, shovel, and one hell of a drunkin weekend after getting divorce....... Free at last Free at last was my quote of the weekend.

I still don't own a claim, I still find gold, And I own more Equipment. Use that $$$$ for better Equipment............ Learn,Learn,Learn.....