Extreme hiking for some mediocre gold

[quintcork]

So I decided to get out and check a new spot on the Raging river. As most prospectors in the Seattle area know, this river gets hit hard even though the gold is.. let's just say thin, light, and overall bad. So I decided to get access to a section which would not be easy to get to. Needless to say it was not worth it. I hike in 2.5 miles via a power line trail which ends abruptly 400 feet above the river. Extremely thick brush all the way down and 45 degrees+ steep. I check out if there's a path on the side and it's a shear cliff (pic below 👇) finally I get around it into a forested area and bushwhack using my shovel all the way down. After 2 hours of production panning and testing I end up with .02 grams 😬. Was the adventure worth it? Yes. Will I be going back? Absolutely not.

 

[DizzyDigger]

Been to the Raging...you'd be far better off if you could find a spot on the Sultan, but be sure to check for claims, first.

As for the effort to get there, men have gone much further for far less. This I understand.

 

[quintcork]

Been to the Raging...you'd be far better off if you could find a spot on the Sultan, but be sure to check for claims, first.

As for the effort to get there, men have gone much further for far less. This I understand.

I've been to the sultan once, when I first started panning and went to a park at the mouth of the river. Barely found a speck but I also sucked at panning and locating spots. I've been doing bunch of research on N.F and M.F Snoqualmie which are closer to me and more accessible. Any idea what it's like out there?

 

[Mudflap]

Yea but you found that beautiful 2017 D Lincoln ! Grin

 

[DizzyDigger]

I've been doing bunch of research on N.F and M.F Snoqualmie which are closer to me and more accessible. Any idea what it's like out there?

Never worked the Snoqualmie, as it's quite a ways south for me, and to be honest I haven't panned in the Sultan for over 30 years...got no idea what's there now.

As far as larger rivers go, I've also worked on the Stillaguamish, Sauk, Nooksack and a few more, plus I live right on the Skagit. The Stilly, Sauk and S.F. Nooksack all hold gold, but the Skagit is pretty much a bust.

Are you running a sluice, or just panning?

 

[Quinc]

You probably just need to hike another 1/4 mile up stream to hit the mother load! =)

 

[quintcork]

Never worked the Snoqualmie, as it's quite a ways south for me, and to be honest I haven't panned in the Sultan for over 30 years...got no idea what's there now.

As far as larger rivers go, I've also worked on the Stillaguamish, Sauk, Nooksack and a few more, plus I live right on the Skagit. The Stilly, Sauk and S.F. Nooksack all hold gold, but the Skagit is pretty much a bust.

Are you running a sluice, or just panning?

Driven over all of those rivers up north on the way to canada. As someone who doesnt have a car (19) it's hard to get out to new places. I have a small plastic California riffle sluice which doesnt run material any faster than panning. I really need to get a wider sluice so I can run some real material but I first need to find ground thats good enough to justify dropping more money on prospecing.

 

[Quinc]

Driven over all of those rivers up north on the way to canada. As someone who doesnt have a car (19) it's hard to get out to new places. I have a small plastic California riffle sluice which doesnt run material any faster than panning. I really need to get a wider sluice so I can run some real material but I first need to find ground thats good enough to justify dropping more money on prospecing.

keep an eye on FB marketplace and craigslist. Great way to save some cash.

 

[BoulderTroll]

Driven over all of those rivers up north on the way to canada. As someone who doesnt have a car (19) it's hard to get out to new places. I have a small plastic California riffle sluice which doesnt run material any faster than panning. I really need to get a wider sluice so I can run some real material but I first need to find ground thats good enough to justify dropping more money on prospecing.

You could also get creative and make your own. Make a box out of wood and put some old carpet down, or old rubber floor mats. Hell, make one out of old legos haha, it's been done and it works.
But good you're getting out and having some fun adventures!

 

[achanceforgold]

You probably just need to hike another 1/4 mile up stream to hit the mother load! =)

You nailed it.
That little bit came from a lot.

 

[quintcork]

You could also get creative and make your own. Make a box out of wood and put some old carpet down, or old rubber floor mats. Hell, make one out of old legos haha, it's been done and it works.
But good you're getting out and having some fun adventures!

When I prospected for the first time I made a 4 inch sluice (which quickly fell apart) out of some sheet steel and made a short silicone rubber made using a lego mold inspired by Alan Robertson. I've heard bad things about making wooden boxes although cheap they fall apart and are heavy. I think the plan is to bend up a 10 x 36in sluice and invest in some dream matting considering all the ultra fine gold we get here in the cascades. And yeah, always in it for the adventure!

 

[BoulderTroll]

When I prospected for the first time I made a 4 inch sluice (which quickly fell apart) out of some sheet steel and made a short silicone rubber made using a lego mold inspired by Alan Robertson. I've heard bad things about making wooden boxes although cheap they fall apart and are heavy. I think the plan is to bend up a 10 x 36in sluice and invest in some dream matting considering all the ultra fine gold we get here in the cascades. And yeah, always in it for the adventure!

Nice, sounds like you're having fun getting creative. Something you might want to consider if you do it again.... instead of looking for pieces and parts you can put together to make a sluice, try looking for something that's you take parts off of. It'll likely be a bit stronger, and less headache.

i.e. Think of something that is a sheet metal rectangular box, and cut off a couple ends with a hack saw. I've seen old fluorescent light fixtures that I thought would make a nice box to put some matting in.

 

[Quinc]

Find a used one on fb or craigslist. Even the fold up sluice boxes on amazon are decent and so cheap it's not worth your time trying to build one. Unless you have a specific need you are trying to meet.

 

[quintcork]

Yeah I've been looking on those sites. The amazon boxes have caught my eye but the idea of it folding just leads me to believe there's more points for them to break. If I can purchase a cheap used moss riffle sluice Ill just toss out the expanded metal for dream mat.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Yeah, that gold looks like my results on the Raging a decade ago. Fun times with my teenage nephew and his GF. Skip forward a decade - they are now married and wearing wedding bands that include gold they dug. I helped them get the rings made. Oh, and yes, they are still prospectors!!

 

[quintcork]

Find a used one on fb or craigslist. Even the fold up sluice boxes on amazon are decent and so cheap it's not worth your time trying to build one. Unless you have a specific need you are trying to meet.

Thanks for the Facebook market place suggestion. Picked up this 8 x 38 dream mat sluice for 75$ from a guy who is moving to a state with no gold. Here's a picture of it next to my old drop riffle. Can't wait to test it out on the Raging river and not lose out on flower gol

d the old box liked to miss.










Recently I've been doing some exploring and getting skunked a lot. I went up the N.F. of Snoqualmie and tried Lennox and Bear creek (no luck on gold but did have luck finding Bear Basin mines!).

I tried a spot or two on the M.F / Taylor river. Lots of light sand covering the gravel bars so no flood gold to be found (I still should try some of the old river bends or eroding banks on the M.F). Next step might be to try some hiking in the upper parts of the raging river where I heard of larger pieces being found or attempt to access horseshoe bend on the Sultan if that's still possible.

 

[BoulderTroll]

That’s good news on scoring the sluice, and awesome you got up to those bear basin mines! Did you have to do a lot of bushwhacking? Last time I was there a few years back, it was incredibly overgrown. And I also suffered the same results on Lennox/Bear/Cougar creeks. Lots of cool history up there makes it worth it. There’s that old collapsed miners cabin in the area too.

 

[quintcork]

That’s good news on scoring the sluice, and awesome you got up to those bear basin mines! Did you have to do a lot of bushwhacking? Last time I was there a few years back, it was incredibly overgrown. And I also suffered the same results on Lennox/Bear/Cougar creeks. Lots of cool history up there makes it worth it. There’s that old collapsed miners cabin in the area too.

Oh yeah, After you past the switchback that takes you up to the summit of Bare Mt its all machete work and watching your footing so you don't step in a stream or trip on something. And don't get me started on how bad the road has gotten I'm lucky to have a hiking buddy who's got the right vehicle for all the potholes and washed out road. However, Lot's of cool artifacts up there. No luck panning on Cougar creek either? Darn I had a little hope after reading on a nwhikers forum that an old timer told someone about good placer gold and I think there used to be a placer claim up there. That cabin is the Pine Marten one on the one on the way up to Dog Mountain? I saw that on google Earth and am planning on checking it out along the way to summiting Dog later this summer.

 

[BoulderTroll]

Oh yeah, After you past the switchback that takes you up to the summit of Bare Mt its all machete work and watching your footing so you don't step in a stream or trip on something. And don't get me started on how bad the road has gotten I'm lucky to have a hiking buddy who's got the right vehicle for all the potholes and washed out road. However, Lot's of cool artifacts up there. No luck panning on Cougar creek either? Darn I had a little hope after reading on a nwhikers forum that an old timer told someone about good placer gold and I think there used to be a placer claim up there. That cabin is the Pine Marten one on the one on the way up to Dog Mountain? I saw that on google Earth and am planning on checking it out along the way to summiting Dog later this summer.

Yup, we’ve read the same reports, and forum posts haha. I was pretty inexperienced in prospecting when I went there, so take it that into account. I’ve kinda wanted to go back up there, but ended up going to other places that weren’t as difficult to bushwhack
One place I wanted to make it to, but never did was the mine in Devils Canyon. My friends and I tried hiking up the river to it, but got cliffed out. Turns out the way to get to it is from that old miners cabin. Just side hill your way over and there should be an adit. Take pictures if you go!!

 

[quintcork]

I'm not the most experienced either I know all the classic gold traps and stuff but it's pretty much only good for flood gold or if I find bedrock cracks or eroding gravels. Also the Lennox area is pretty much my first "treasure hunt" and I'm willing to navigate the difficult terrain. Since I haven't found anything here's some leads and stuff I've collected on the area which I'm sure you have
read maybe you have some insight that I don't? I don't doubt there is placer gold here it just might be buried under tons of boulders or overburden. Also I didn't really see any quartz in Bear creek or Lennox. If the area doesn't pan out the exploring is worth it.

supposed placer gold recovery sites