Going out tomorrow no hell but highwater

[Jeff95531]

lol...not only the shortest day but the warmest in a while (Sunny/58 predicted) so for tomorrow I'm gonna go find me an old river channel crevice to bust open. At least that's the plan. Merry Christmas to all. Can't believe hardly no one said what's on their list so if it don't happen, well...

 

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[Kenmitch]

Nature pictures are nice but we really want to see some of the shiny stuff. Glad you had a nice trip! Camo job looks really good.

 

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[Jeff95531]

arizau...Tease? Jeez! Who da ya think was 5 gal bucket panning today after I classified the first batch to -12? And the wash off was black clay. A first for me! What ever that may mean Or maybe I should plant some now CA legal seedlings in it this Spring. IDK, we'll see! Alright?!

Besides...you know me. How much could there be?

 

[Jeff95531]

Part two...

After watching two toes video's on cracks and crevices, I had some fresh knowledge to try out. BUT, since I spent so much time in the tree hole, I had to find something quick. I had to find a channel, next to or in bedrock and it needed to be horizontal with the flow of the river. When I found this, I wasn't completely convinced the surrounding rocks wasn't just large boulders. But I liked it.



I put on some brand new vulcanized grip gloves and brushed off the top layer without bothering to check for flood gold. I got out my new tools and zeroed in on the trap in the upper left pocket (about 11:00) rather than the seam that fed into it. I was getting a good mix of gravels and just as expected, the hole narrowed and got harder to dig. Huh? Where is this blood coming from? Turns out my new gloves needed to be ALL vulcanized. Especially the back. oops



Otherwise, all was going according to plan and time to bring out another new toy...



Worked like a champ.

And after awhile, it happened to me, once again. Have you ever been working something like this and suddenly you break into thin air? A cavern of some sorts where you have your tool in as far as it will go and can touch nothing? Exciting yes but very disappointing when you can't get to the bottom of it. And I couldn't, at least with the amount of time I had. So I packed up my gear and dirt and we headed home. I have both places mapped so if either pan out well, I'll be back. Maybe even if it doesn't show up. I mean...What's not to like here?



Still processing and I'll post up any kinds of results soon.

 

[johnedoe]

I would be tempted to take along my telescopic fishing pole.... might catch dinner .... Win Win... gold and dinner all from 1 spot.

 

[Laz7777]

White Castle? you from the midwest or the NYC area?
the frozen supermarket ones aren't the same....plus you don't get the service you'd get at a typical WC.
one waitress told me she hoped i got diahrrea after I ordered 20 or so...ah memories.

hope the gold was there BTW....

 

[Jeff95531]

Yep. My Dad was from Columbus Ohio and born in 1921 and turned me on to em. He was born the same year as White Castles start. And yep again...nothing like you get in the restaurant but a man's gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[Laz7777]

had a 24/7 WC a ten minute walk from my house growing up in NJ.

no gold in Joisey tho....but it is where you find it.
just ask Harold and Kumar

 

[Jeff95531]

LOL. Only in America can you make 1100 calorie six packs out of lil sliders. That puts my 450 calorie beer to shame!

 

[Jeff95531]

I would be tempted to take along my telescopic fishing pole.... might catch dinner .... Win Win... gold and dinner all from 1 spot.

Oh there is fish there. Difference is they don't charge me to prospect...yet. Shhh

 

[Dave N Japan]

Good Luck"

 

[Laz7777]

more WC memories:
one of my earliest of recollections of being on this earth, must've been about 3-4.
sitting at the counter at WC with Mom and Sis, the smell of grilling onions was getting to me.
"Mommy, I'm going to be sick"...you should've seen that place clear out...bwahahahah....

sorry for hi-jacking your thread Jeff, you opened a floodgate though..or maybe a sluice gate?

 

[Jeff95531]

No worries Laz. Been a little sentimental myself here lately...this being my first holidays without either parent on the planet and all. BUT, I know Mom would want me to get back out there and get after it. So...I'm seriously thinking about going back this coming Thursday for the very last trip of 2016. The weather is supposed to be just like last trip and just like Todd, I may go back and hit it again without finalizing the cleanups. Why? Cuz I have a score to settle with both sites. But unlike Todd...I have given this a lot of thought over the past couple days. For example:

Tree Hole. I need my full size shovel, a pick and a post hole digger. Upon arrival, renew stairs and take post hole digger into the hole and do a core sample starting at my last lowest point. (gotta un-camo it first of course). I should be able to hit bedrock in a few minutes and pan it to see what to do next. I'm still wondering about the charcoal I found 3 feet further down in the hole and under this 75 year old Alder. So far the results are in a -12 state, a total black clay brick that remains out of two gallons. I know it looks pretty but I've been fooled enuf to not get too excited over shine on top.



Pocket Hole. Last time, I had the equipment but not the time. This time, I will see what is in the bottom of that crevice! So far -12 out of 1/2 gallon has been processed. The p-nut butter clay brick from a 1/2 gl.



Hard to believe but he distance between the two sites was 20 yards.

and neither +12's inspected as of yet...



(and yes, the amount of "fresh" root material from the crevice tells me I'm messing with current stuff but what's below I gotta know.

 

[Jeff95531]

What the heck is it about prospecting and breakdowns

So I've been being lazy lately. Just cooked the turkey that was supposed to be done Christmas day but it was still froze solid at bedrock inside the cavity. Of course I suggested blocking the hole with wood and setting fire to it but ultimately was overruled. So...cooked the turkey today that finally thawed. I been really wondering what's in my dirt tho and so well after dark, I get some water, pans and a bucket and proceed to get to the bottom of some left over +12 classified. I turn on the valve and hear HHHHIIIIIISSSSS. It's dark of course, so I grab a light and this is what I find in the supply line to the hose reel.



Yes...it has been freezing and yes I've been draining the hose after use but it still let go right when I wanted it. So no, it didn't stop me and yes, I did find tiny fine colors (about10-12)...which only told me I was too quick in classifying.

So still trying to follow up on some remaining +12 and re-visit the site tomorrow for a core sample and crevice clean out.

 

[Au Chit]

That's winter steelheading weather! The Skagit was one of my favorite rivers to fish- when the run was good!
Once fishing went to from bad to worse we pulled up stakes from Gig Harbor and now reside in NorCal. Although the temps are much better right now.

Remember Jeff...pics or it never happened...

Glad ya got out! Weather has been less than stellar here. Cold, wet,
snowy, windy and just plain nasty..mercury hasn't risen above 32F. for
about 2 weeks.

View attachment 1393676

View attachment 1393677

Been looking for something to keep me busy this winter, and think I'll
see if I can build a fully functioning "mini-plant" along the lines of "Big
Red".

And of course dream about the bedrock you're hacking into...

 

[Jeff95531]

Sorry it took so long to get to the "gold found" pic. I really didn't expect as much because:

A. Most was hiding in the cons
B. I didn't get to bedrock in either of the 2 holes
C. I wanted to finish both sites and then show pics
D. All of the above

So here is what cleaned up from the last visit.



Looks like I should go back and finish the jobs.

 

[nh.nugget]

Nice going Jeff! Looks like you graduated! Go back and finish what you started and show us a big ol' pile! You can pat yourself on the back you did good!