Looking for members in SoCal for Hunting

[Philo Beddoe]

Hi SoCal TNet members. New to this great forum, but eager to get started and out in the field. Wouldn't mind meeting up with some fellow hunters for day trips or longer. I'm really looking to hunt lost legends, caches, mines, and the like. I've been doing quite a bit of reading and research for a short list of my own, but also wouldn't mind joining on your hunts as well. I'm in the SFV part of L.A., but happy to venture out to meet. If anyone is interested in teaming up give me a shout. Thank you everyone for reading!

Philo

 

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[Tom_in_CA]

Hi SoCal TNet members. New to this great forum, but eager to get started and out in the field. Wouldn't mind meeting up with some fellow hunters for day trips or longer. I'm really looking to hunt lost legends, caches, mines, and the like. I've been doing quite a bit of reading and research for a short list of my own, but also wouldn't mind joining on your hunts as well. I'm in the SFV part of L.A., but happy to venture out to meet. If anyone is interested in teaming up give me a shout. Thank you everyone for reading!

Philo

I'm @ 4 to 5 hrs. north of you. But there's a few clubs in your area. One in Riverside (if it's still active) and another in central L.A. somewhere : Prospectors Club Of Southern California - Home They might be populated with timid sandbox and beach hunter and prospecting (nuggets) types. But ... ya never know.

There's also several So. CA turf-hunters who post on FMDF. If you're into silver-hunting park turf.

As for "lost legends", then .... me thinks that they are all exactly that : "legends". You will find no shortage of "stolen stage coach loot" and "lost mine" stories. They're a dime-a-dozen. Camp-fire stories and telephone game gone awry. Good luck. If you really want to find a cache, simply git yer-self a TM 808, and hunt old cellar holes and ghost-townsy type sites. But as for chasing the legends...... never mind , haha

I go down your way to the high-desert (east of you) and have done well hunting down old stage stops, resorts, cellar-holes , etc.... Most of the hunters down your way are beach and park and nugget type guys.

Final note: The rule is: 30% of all your finds go to me. I accept paypal !

 

[Philo Beddoe]

I'm @ 4 to 5 hrs. north of you. But there's a few clubs in your area. One in Riverside (if it's still active) and another in central L.A. somewhere : Prospectors Club Of Southern California - Home They might be populated with timid sandbox and beach hunter and prospecting (nuggets) types. But ... ya never know.

There's also several So. CA turf-hunters who post on FMDF. If you're into silver-hunting park turf.

As for "lost legends", then .... me thinks that they are all exactly that : "legends". You will find no shortage of "stolen stage coach loot" and "lost mine" stories. They're a dime-a-dozen. Camp-fire stories and telephone game gone awry. Good luck. If you really want to find a cache, simply git yer-self a TM 808, and hunt old cellar holes and ghost-townsy type sites. But as for chasing the legends...... never mind , haha

I go down your way to the high-desert (east of you) and have done well hunting down old stage stops, resorts, cellar-holes , etc.... Most of the hunters down your way are beach and park and nugget type guys.

Final note: The rule is: 30% of all your finds go to me. I accept paypal !

Thank you for the info Tom and yes I realize that many of those legends are just that. I’ve read a lot from members on the site, and one I met in person, that searches for Spanish and Jesuit stashes with some success, and while I’m under no illusion that hoards are sitting out there awaiting my discovery, you just never know. For me the excitement of following the leads and signs and see where they take you is the real reward.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... one I met in person, that searches for Spanish and Jesuit stashes with some success, ....

Can you elaborate on this ? What did he find ?

The reason I ask is, sometimes persons will say things like "found" (as in .... past tense) something good. But when you press them for details, it turns out they have simply (in their opinion) honed down a supposed treasure to a "certain canyon" or "certain lake bottom" or etc... Now it's just a matter of pinpointing the exact right spot. Or over-coming govt. red tape. blah blah. But in their mind, they've "found" a cache or whatever.

So ... can you elaborate on this person , who you say had "some succes" at "Spanish and Jesuit stashes". Thanx.

 

[Philo Beddoe]

I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on the subject, but I would say I found the information and source credible. To be fair, there were no claims of any major finds but I would say finds certainly worth the time and effort. In any event, I have done many hours worth of reading and education on the site from what I assume are knowledgeable members on various area of interest and while most would not encourage anyone to chase legends so to speak, they would make a substantive case for learning about Spanish trail markers and the existence of mines and caches. That to me seems to have credibility, but then again, I am admittedly the novice here.

 

[Dirt1955]

Check out www.1oro1.com. Owner spent a lot of time documenting Spanish & Jesuit activity in SCAL. He is active on TNET under handle “Gollum”. I have a considerable library of treasure hunting material. If you need any research PM me with particulars. I am located in Orange County CA.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

I wouldn’t say I’m an expert on the subject, but I would say I found the information and source credible. To be fair, there were no claims of any major finds but I would say finds certainly worth the time and effort. In any event, I have done many hours worth of reading and education on the site from what I assume are knowledgeable members on various area of interest and while most would not encourage anyone to chase legends so to speak, they would make a substantive case for learning about Spanish trail markers and the existence of mines and caches. That to me seems to have credibility, but then again, I am admittedly the novice here.

Philo Beddoe, I'm looking long & hard at your post, and .... I see that you are going by what the other fellow told you was his research, and "no major finds". (yet no finds, not even the "minor ones", are specified). But that's fine, because as you admit, you're just going by what someone else has talked about. WHICH DOESN'T MEAN it's not true. But just saying .... we haven't seen it.

Check out www.1oro1.com. Owner spent a lot of time documenting Spanish & Jesuit activity in SCAL. ....

Dirt1955, your link doesn't work. Got a link to something this guy is saying is Spanish and Jesuit treasure in the USA southwest ? I did a general google search on www.1oro1.com , and also just came up with dead-links. One of which was to a supposed "82 pounds of gold bars found", etc... I hate to be a doubter, but .... Get a calculator, and divide by ounces. Then multiply through the current spot-market of gold.

Listen fellas : I'm a history tour leader at Carmel mission, CA. Which was the headquarters of all the 21 missions. As such, I've studied mission history extensively (yes, I know, they didn't get up till this part of CA till 1770-ish, yet had been in AZ, NM, and Baja earlier than that). But I can tell you for a fact, that the missions of the SW USA were NOT "swimming in gold and silver".

There's been extensive archie digs done @ all the missions of the SW (both alta CA, and the ones in AZ, NM, and Baja). And I CAN ASSURE YOU , that they are not finding gold and silver, other than meager fumble fingers losses. And yes, you'll find reales, coppers, trinkets, etc.... in the museum collections of each mission. And I'd venture to say that NONE of them is gold. For example, in Carmel's collection (where EXTENSIVE digging and sifting has been done since the 1920s/30s), there is a good 40-ish silver coins (reales, a smattering of foreign coins, etc...). Amid scores of buttons, medallions, etc... And guess what ?? No gold coins ! (I might add, that I contributed 2 of those Carmel-dug reales, and several buttons, d/t I was granted permission to swing the coil there .... long story).

And the same is true for all the other mission's tourist/museum wing dug-artifacts displays: Silver coins (and meager amounts) is all you'll see. I know of much (ahem) detecting that has gone on at the mission sites and their outlying chapels, ranchos, adobes, etc.... And ... in all of CA, I know of less than 10 escudos found @ free-lance md'ing.

And don't think for a moment that the earlier Spanish/Jesuit forays into TX, NM, and AZ and Baja were any richer. THEY WEREN'T. In fact, they were poorer ! Any manufactured goods had to come all the way up through the desert overland. So as evidence of the poorer status, all you have to do is take a look at the structures themselves of those remote outposts in those states. And compare them to the elaborate stone structure of something like Carmel, or Santa Barbara, etc... (which could be supplied by ships, albeit difficult).

There is a common misconception that the SW missions were rich, or "mining gold hand over fist", etc.... Me thinks that's one-too-many Spaghetti western movies gone awry.

I'm welcome to counter-evidence. But the archie and mding evidence isn't bearing it out. The missions here were lucky to get trade trinkets, silver coins (@ for pocket-change to end up fumble-finders stuff). I've found well over 100 reales in CA. And hunted with some of the most brazen ballsy guys in my ~40 yrs.. So I hope I'm a bit qualified to be a bit skeptical of these supposed "Spanish and Jesuit treasures". Markers, clues, cryptograms, skeletons in caves, etc.... I say all this with utmost respect.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Also, re.: "82 pounds of gold bars" : Yes I know that there is naturally occurring gold in AZ, NM, and .... of course, ... CA. As for CA, we can argue that it wasn't even DISCOVERED here till Sutter. But I know someone will come back and point out the gold @ Placerita Canyon or Los Burros, etc... But even that, if you look hard at the history, was more like Mexican era. And then when you look harder still, they were p*ss-p**r strikes (why do you think the Sutter 1848/49 Sierras took front and center, and no one ever went back to the aforementioned sites ?)

And as for gold elsewhere in the SW, stop and think for a moment of the marvelous modern machinery and industrial scale gold mining going on these days . Ie.: where they can move mountains by the truck-load, process on massive scales, etc.... And see what a year's production, at that rate, is. And now someone's going to say that some dudes on burros , with miner's picks and tin pans and shovels, are going mine and refine 82 pounds ?

 

[Dirt1955]

Tom. in CA, you are correct, the 1ORO1.com link no longer works. (Gollum) who posts on TNET and other forums non longer maintains the website. My point was he did a lot of on the ground research of the old Spanish Trail in California and connections to mining & transportation of goods. He also has threads regarding jesuit activities in southwest. He is still active on Tnet and is a good resource for SCAL research should Philo want to contact him. As for the 82 pounds of gold story it was supposedly found south of Tucson, Arizona by Ron Quinn and partners. For anyone interested in the story, Ron Quinn authored a book entitled "Searching For Arizona's Buried Treasures A Two Year Odyssey", 2013.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Dirt1955, now that I think about that name "Gollum" some more, I seem to recall that, many years back, he and I sparred on this issue. I'm sure it's in the archives somewhere. I don't remember if it was about the general overall question (of whether "Spanish and Jesuit treasures are able/likely to be here), or if it was just about one of his particular stories/legends. But I just vaguely remember a pro/con debate with that name.

If his "research" was on the "Spanish trails" leading up from Mexico to alta CA, then ... no problem. Sure, they came up and found/made a route through the mountains and deserts, to create the land route to the CA missions. Sure. But where I'd differ with him, is notions that the missions, Jesuits, and Spanish were rich. Ie.: to the point where we could reasonably expect to find "treasure chests", etc... And to whatever extent books have been made about searches: Well ... sure ... legends abound. There's always a good # of treasure lore stories, that get told in ANY locale, around the world.

 

[Tpmetal]

I hate to be a doubter.

lol but tom that is your default setting, and usually the default setting for people who do things sucessfully like scientific research or stuff like detective work.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

lol but tom that is your default setting, and usually the default setting for people who do things sucessfully like scientific research or stuff like detective work.

Born out of decades of "wild goose chases" where, ......... I began to scrutinize stories BEFORE I would pursue a lead. To see if other explanations might not be at play. Or if human nature could subconsciously embellish a story.

Same for fumble fingers hunting (stage stops, beach storm erosion, etc...). After researching and driving long distances, only to find some modern home on the site, or only to find that the tides and swells hadn't eroded, I began to think: "Maybe there's a way to study tide and swell/surfer sites, to hone down good vs bad days AHEAD OF TIME. Or to research and discover that ... odds are ... a stage stop under a modern shopping mall *maybe isn't* worth hunting the planter boxes at, etc....

Or rushing to our local boom & bust rivers here. After reading a history citation of how people used to swim there. Only to come to the discovery that ... since we're in chaparral boom & bust cycle country, then all the sand that the person sees along the creek bank NOW, is NOT the same sand that was there even 5 or 10 yrs. ago. It gets washed out, and re-filled in, @ every heavy winter flow. Doh!

Thus after enough decades: You can start to "poo-poo" a lot of things, to save time & energy. Someone might say that's "limiting your potential". Or "you might be wrong, and a good site exists". Which is true. But all-in-all, it makes for BETTER finds. Since you tend to spend your time at "more likely" spots, than "less likely" spots.

 

[Philo Beddoe]

Good morning all. I appreciate all of the input Tom, TPmetal, Dirt1955. I think we're getting a little bit off in the weeds here from the original post.

Tom, I certainly appreciate insight, sharing of experience and research, and overall good advice. I want to add some context and hopefully some experience of my own. I am not an easily impressionable or persuadable person. I'm a grown man, business person, long time pilot, etc. Not exactly the traits of the delusional. Again, I have no visions of grandeur of chasing mythical "treasures". I think it's important to be cautious when giving said advice as many times we run the risk of doing what we call projecting, which is pushing too hard our beliefs or disbeliefs to others without knowing their purpose or intent. That said, my only goal here is to enjoy this hobby and be able to share whatever my experiences are and what I find and don't find, both in the field and research, with others . That is the real treasure for me. I'd like to believe many here feel the same or you'd have a full sight here of people chasing ghosts. If I did choose to go looking for a "lost mine" or the like, it's mostly for the experience and the hunt so to speak and seeing what I might find along the way. Nothing wrong with taking a MD and walking around yards and missions, but I'm a bit more adventurous.

Some things I've learned in my career: share experience without discouraging others. When you have experience, give people the benefit of that experience to suit their own endeavors, not your own. Never assume intent or goal...ask and clarify, then go back to points 1 and 2. It's OK to give an opinion, but stop short of telling someone what they are seeking is unrealistic or doesn't exist.

More times than I can count, with all of my own experience, I've been wrong. I learned some time ago that while my experience is valuable, it is not absolute knowledge and circumstances and the unknown can always outsmart me.

I say all of this with the utmost respect for everyone here. I am in fact here to benefit from experience and knowledge, share any of my own, and maybe make some new friends. I encourage anyone to continue to chime in, give advice, and share.

Enough of my babbling for one day. Off to work. Enjoy the day all.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

..... I encourage anyone to continue to chime in, give advice, and share.....

Ok, then with that :

.... When you have experience, give people the benefit of that experience to suit their own endeavors, ....

Ok, thanx, and that's what I've done. D/t over 40 yrs, 15 gold coins, over 100 reales, all in CA ....

..... without discouraging others. .... stop short of telling someone what they are seeking is unrealistic or doesn't exist.....

Here's the pickle: Because if the "experience" is to tell someone : "Doesn't look likely" or " has more plausible explanations", .. And if that "discourages" them, then .... I guess those of us who have been-there-done-that, CAN'T share the experiences after all ?

See the pickle and bind that puts someone in ?

 

[Philo Beddoe]

Ok, then with that :



Ok, thanx, and that's what I've done. D/t over 40 yrs, 15 gold coins, over 100 reales, all in CA ....



Here's the pickle: Because if the "experience" is to tell someone : "Doesn't look likely" or " has more plausible explanations", .. And if that "discourages" them, then .... I guess those of us who have been-there-done-that, CAN'T share the experiences after all ?

See the pickle and bind that puts someone in ?

I truly understand your point and all said. Years from now, with more experience of course, I would certainly be compelled to share said experience with others starting out. I think I would tell others coupled with my experience that although the likelihood of finding life changing treasure legends is not high, the real gratification can be found in the hunting and what you learn both on your own and through the engagement of others. You may in fact find interesting things out in the field, old relics, abandoned mines, foundation ruins to search etc. and that can be exciting and a great deal of fun and certainly enough to keep you going with the great past time.
I suppose I tend to look at things with a Tony Robbins like enthusiasm, but my expectations are always realistic.

 

[Tom_in_CA]

... the real gratification can be found in the hunting ...

Well, and if there weren't for the occasional "finding", then there wouldn't be any point to the "hunting"

.... that although the likelihood of finding life changing treasure legends is not high, ...

That is the unfortunate aspect of weighing the pro's & con's of some stories. Some might have more merit, while others (*sigh*) might not

 

[Tom_in_CA]

To expand a little on what I meant by "finding" vs "hunting" :

Let me clarify that .... I enjoy getting out and "hunting", even if a particular hunt didn't turn out to be fruitful. Ie.: a supposed stage stop we hiked 3 miles into the desert , to try to locate, turns up nothing but sterile ground, etc..... It certainly doesn't dampen my enthusiasm for future such research/reconn's.

But after 40+ yrs. of this (since I was a teenager), I can look back on many many fruitful successes, that happened d/t research and the "hunting". Ie.: they were not ALL "sterile" ground. I have found multiple virgin stage stops, a virgin country picnic site, virgin "cellar hole" type sites, old-town urban demolition tear-out sites, beach erosion resulting in 50+ silver and 100+ wheaties etc... (essentially as fast as you could dig), etc....

If it had never been for those occasional "gotchas", then I'd venture to say that I'd never have the patience to "weather the storms" of the "dry days".

I have hunted along-side of many many beginners, who truly want to know-the-secrets to finding old coins. But I have noticed a curious trend: If I take them out to multiple reconn. efforts, all-of-which turn out to be lame (dry), then ... the detector "goes in the closet". Versus those friends of mine who have developed a passion (and some of which went on to be HEAVY HITTERS in the circle of md'r names), they are invariably persons who, like me, have past red-hot spots that they wax romantic about.

So as you can see, there has *eventually* got to be some "finding", and not only "hunting", lest .... what's the point ? It would end up being a bit like snipe-hunting, if every single hunt always-ever turned out to be lame , sterile, etc...

 

[expl0rer]

Hi Philo!

I'm in the San Diego area and would like to ream up on some day trips!

Shoot me a private message and we can discuss.

 

[suberdave]

Hey Philo, I live in Eagle Rock. I usually go with my brother out detecting, he's retired now and watched his grandson so it's harder for him to go overnight somewhere. I was going to go up North this weekend, Gaviota or the general area,in search of the Spanish trail. Seems like we're going to get a lot of rain so I might cancel. Anyway, I've got a lot to say not enough time to talk about now. Maybe we can go somewhere sometime? Your close by. Dave

 

[Philo Beddoe]

Hey Philo, I live in Eagle Rock. I usually go with my brother out detecting, he's retired now and watched his grandson so it's harder for him to go overnight somewhere. I was going to go up North this weekend, Gaviota or the general area,in search of the Spanish trail. Seems like we're going to get a lot of rain so I might cancel. Anyway, I've got a lot to say not enough time to talk about now. Maybe we can go somewhere sometime? Your close by. Dave

That would be great Dave. I’m local to you in Burbank. I’ll send you a PM to make contact.