Elko, Nevada Day Trip (July 20) to Tuscarora

[jza01701]

If your interested in a day trip leaving from Elko, Nevada 6:00AM July 20th; I am driving to Tuscarora for metal detecting. I am a beginner. Driving up, looking through tailings, hiking the hillsides in Tuscarora, Nevada.

Thanks.

 

[galenrog]

Much of that area is private ranch land. Most of what is not is under mineral claim. Please be sure of land status before you start your walkabout.

 

[jza01701]

Public Land Maps

Good advice!

I have already ordered grid maps of the available public land for the all of the entire county near the area and even further in Nevada.

 

[Mackaydon]

In Tuscarora, watch your step; more than one shaft is at least 500 feet deep.
Don.........

 

[jza01701]

OMG!

Are we talking falling through the roof on flat ground or near entrances to open mines? Is it safe near the piles of tailings?

I am heading to Elko, then Tuscarora, up to Mountain City, to Winnemucca and back to SF in four days.

Any suggestions for nugget hunting?

 

[galenrog]

Many abandoned vertical shafts are unmarked. There are a number of reasons why that I will not go into right now. Sufficient to say that the dangers are there, and you are ultimately responsible for your own safety.

Rattlesnakes are common, as are coyotes. Wolves, having been introduced to Idaho, have been expanding their range and may be in northern Nevada, although many of the reported sightings have been proven to be mistaken.

The areas you mention are replete with active and abandoned mines, ghost towns, abandoned mining camps and homesteads, and a host of other sites that may be of interest. I suggest you look for books and guides regarding the above, plus any histories of the area. There are many stories of lost mines and lost treasures that may also be of interest, but remember that most of the stories are just that.

Be safe. Have fun.

Time for coffee.

 

[austin]

Coyotes and wolves are not dangerous and won't hurt you, the old mine shafts will. Just be careful...

 

[Mackaydon]

You may wish to first read Stanley W. Pahor's 500 page book entitled 'Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps'.
15,000th post; thought I'd never get here.
Good hunting; be safe.
Don.....

 

[jza01701]

My high content 15 years ago was more frightening in captivity than anything I have ever seen in the wilderness.

 

[jza01701]

Are there shafts under dirt on flat ground away from the entrance to mines? If I keep a greater distance from the entrance to any mines, will I also be a safe distance from any shafts?

 

[jza01701]

I wish I could find a hiking partner! Believe it or not...just outside Boston we have an above average poplulation of year-round resident coyotes. I have lived near Boston all my life and never seen a Timber Rattelsnake in Eastern MA. I have seen Copperheads on Cape Cod. Six years in SF and I saw several Mojave and Western rattlesnakes. There are plenty of wolves in Northern Vermont.

 

[tamrock]

There's a back road that runs from Tuscarora through Midus and back to Golconda. I've been on it many times. There good arrow head hunting all around the area. Just got a leave em on the ground though, as with old bottles also. Always felt like someone was watching me out there. You can see most shafts around by the tailings piles and a few still have head frames. I know where there's miles of old telephone poles with solid copper wire that no longer serves any phones as much of it is broke and hanging down. That's how I came to know it was copper. Somebody's going to get it someday if they know what they're looking at. My only concern would be that no one has ever figured out who the Nevada I-80 killer is yet.