M & M Mining the Northern Sierras

[gold tramp]

Made up for stolen firewood
View attachment 1604367

Not so muck likin the fire,
But the thought of it being cool enough to want to have one.
Right on.

Gt...

 

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[mikep691]

It's always chilly in the mornings at the claim.

 

[mikep691]

Last weekend Rockguy did a solo trip. He had to swing by my place to get his sluice and new pump. The HFT pump wouldn't start, so back to Reno to get a new one. The
HFT people told him it would be three weeks for his refund... and keep the dead soldier. Hmmmm, wonder if I can slap a B&S on that pump and not have to buy another one in a month or so.

Anyway after all the extra BS he went through, he managed to pull over a gram. So now his fever is back and he'll be joining me for my midweek three day trip. It does mean we're working two spots, though they are close together, and I'm downstream so I'll be working in cloudy water with a smaller setup. It is what it is though, and there's still gold to be collected from Meat Creek.

Hopefully I'll have the energy to post some pics Friday evening...

Film at 11....

 

[mikep691]

The cost of owning a claim in Commiefornia has nearly tripled, at least in Plumas County. The property tax was doubled this year to $75, up from $38 last year. And with the add on recording fee tax it's nearly $175 a year to own a claim. I better do well on my next trip mining to pay for the increases.

The 1 1/2" has been upgraded to 2" thanks to Hefty and Harrington & Baldwin Mining Supplies in Grass Valley. I'll be moving gravels measured in yards instead of shovel fulls next week. I also got my leaking waders replaced at Sportman's Warehouse in Reno, but with this heat, I may opt for cut offs and creek sneeks. Tomorrow, I'm ops checking Hefty's 7.5 HP, 2" pump and rigging some sort of sling to get it down the 100 or so feet drop from the road to the water. I'm also reducing the outflow from 2" to 1 1/4". That should build good pressure at the end.

I figure I'll work 4-6 hours next Wednesday after getting camp set up and equipment in place, then 8-10 hours Thursday with a 2-4 hour last day Friday. I know I'm back on the gold so I'm hoping for a banner type trip, 3-4 grams. After doing some looking around my new dig site, I believe Fred Hurt was in the wrong state. I have bedrock at two feet on one side, climbing bedrock 30 feet upstream on the other side, and in between two wash confluences. I think I have the makings of a plunge pool. This may be the spot I need a snorkel at least, or maybe an air set up. I'll know after the next few trips.

If results are promising after this trip, I'll update with some gold porn and start planning the guest list for Labor day outing.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Glory hole! lol

 

[mikep691]

Last trip out did produce some gold, but it was a tough start. I couldn't get the pump running that I got from hefty (not his fault), so off to Harbor to get a new pump. This all took place Wednesday morning when I should have already been at the claim. With the new pump out of the box, oiled up and out feed hose reduced to 1 1/4", I set about making sure the hoses were ready for the water. I had what was supposed to be 2" vacuum hose that I got from my former job turned out to be 1 3/4 " and just wouldn't work. So off to town once again to buy 15' of hose.

By now it's 2pm, and I'm feeling like the ring master of the "Greatest Sh!t Show on Earth", I'm finally on my way to the claim. The first mining day was completely lost. I got my camp set up, and most of the gear to the dig, sluice, hoses, tools, etc., were now in place with only the pump to go down in the morning. I went to the dig early, and set up the box, and laid out the hoses when I realized I had 1 1/2" fitting on my pressure hose and had reduced the pump output to 1 1/4". At this point, my saving grace is town is close by and it's a weekday, so off to the hardware store in town I go to get a 1 1/2" nipple, and extra ice for the beer cooler. Another hour and a half of mining wasted.

By now it's 10:30 and Rockguy has arrived. We're finally ready to get some gold. We worked Meat Creek hard for about eight hours Thursday, and a few hours Friday morning. When all was said and done, I was impressed with the size of the gold, but not so much with the weight. I eeked out a measly half gram while Rockguy pulled a gram. Sorry, no pictures as we kind of rushed to get loaded up. With my hole following the bedrock is widening and getting deeper, my three day trip next week may find me abandoning the waders and putting on the mask and snorkel. I think with the current heat wave and cool water temps, I'll be able to work in 1-2 hour sessions without a wet/dry suit. We'll see how that works out.

Today is modifications to the sluice, and brakes on the truck, then overtime work Sunday. I'll hopefully not have the same "show" this week as last trip, so I might remember to take some pics.

 

[63bkpkr]

Hi Mike, we've all had similar 'not so productive times' if not mining then at home or on the road - glad you were able to get yours sorted out without loosing too much hair over the delays and trips back and forth to town!. In your post you mention hefty, would this be Hefty1 that lives in Sacramento (or used to) and has a claim on the North Fork of the Middle Fork of the American? If so, please say hello to him for me!! Several years back, when I lived in NorCal, he kindly gave me permission to stay at and work his claim. We had several good nights talking around his campfire!..................63bkpkr

 

[mikep691]

One in the same Hefty. He follows my posts I believe, so it's safe to say you just said "Hi". We all have our life setbacks, and some take the wind from our sails. Mark has endured more than his share the past couple years. I love my brother from another mother, and I'm constantly after him to take a mental health weekend at my claim to reflect. When he's ready, he will. In the meantime, all I can do is lend my support any way I can.

You're invited as well Herb. Come up a little farther north, get wet and get some yella stuff

 

[63bkpkr]

Thanks mike for the invitation, I'd really like to take you up on it just as soon as I'm in NorCal though I've no idea when that would be.

It is a shame that things have been hard for Hefty, he'd been through enough already. Hefty why not head on up to Mike's and have some enjoyment and relaxation in the water or getting smoked out around the campfire!! Best Regards,.....................63bkpkr/Herb

 

[Hefty1]

Hey Mike, I am really sorry about the pump. If you get down this way, bring it with you and I will work on it for you. If I cant get it working I will send you your money back.
Hey Herb, that's the same pump we used on the claim. I don't understand whats wrong with it.
Lots of crazy things things going on here. I wish I could go for a month. You take care Herb.

Hefty

 

[mikep691]

Like I said Mark, it's not your fault. I pulled the plug and cross threaded it a bit putting it back in. I didn't have the time to deal with it so opted to go buy a new one. One of these days I'll remember to turn the damn thing on before running out of breath start the damn thing.

 

[Hefty1]

Like I said Mark, it's not your fault. I pulled the plug and cross threaded it a bit putting it back in. I didn't have the time to deal with it so opted to go buy a new one. One of these days I'll remember to turn the damn thing on before running out of breath start the damn thing.

Aww geeze Mike, thanks for making me feel bad.

 

[mikep691]

What are friends for, Brother? LOL

 

[mikep691]

This wasn't the best gold gold trips, but it had a highlight. I really hate mining alone. Dora is a horrible conversationalist. I'm old so there's no pressure to do anything fast these days anyway. After camp was set up, I shuttled everything to the dig.... except the nozzle, so I didn't even get wet Wednesday afternoon. So it was tunes, beer, and relaxation into the evening. I grilled up a New York steak for Dora and I, along with her favorite side dish of spud salad. I'm getting very good at the grill marks on a steak with this Coleman grill camp stove BTW. But the damn igniter for the the burner puts up a fight when I most need it to work. That's for morning coffee. I usually have to light a stick to light the burner to get coffee going in the early morning.The Harrington and Baldwin French Roast is course ground coffee, and needs some finesse to get it right. This morning, the burner lit from the igniter, and for the first time, I was able to back off the heat to just right to let it perk a good long time to have a full flavored pot of coffee. Damn good coffee when things work right. Thanks Sam.

I did promise some pictures this trip, and yes, I took a few. But I'm mad at Harbor Freight for their free AA batteries. Seems they are too short for most American devices. Flashlights with a compression spring, no problem, but they just don't work in my Japanese camera. I had to dig the Duracell batteries out of the trash that I took out of it, along with two I had that had started to corrode to take any pics.



These are just a view of where I'm working.

When all is said and done, In late August, the water in this creek is still numbing cold. It's so cold I couldn't get the button, or zipper down at a crucial moment. I was doin' the dance, and blowing on my hands and fingers looking for enough feeling to get that zipper down. The censors would have been very busy if the camera was on.

Here's a little tour of the claim, with some unverified history included:



There was really nothing photo wothy of the gold from this trip, except this one little piece. It was bigger before I dropped it back in sluice:



Final view of camp with a little bit of gold:



All gold trips are successful regardless of the amount of gold you get.

 

[mikep691]

The holiday dig starts earlier that I planned. I was planning on leaving Friday morning for five days of diggin' bliss, but my new Extreme ice chest arrived a day early, so I'll finish working on the truck today. Front brakes are done, K&N air filter is being cleaned as I type, and spark plugs are last on the list to do today. I did find a bad tie rod end while changing the pads so that will go on the "TO DO" list for the near future. I have my final shopping list ready, and will pick up the ice chest early Thursday morning, finish the shopping, load up, and head to Meat Creek a day early. Rockguy and his woman left for the claim Tuesday for his few days of mining, but has to return to civilization on Friday. That means he'll be packing up while I'm getting going, and by Monday I'll be naming bugs with nobody to talk to.

The plan for this dig is to finish cleaning all the bedrock below the root ball of the downed tree, then wash all that dirt that's trapped in the roots onto the clean bedrock, then send that material through the sluice. The bedrock now has leveled out at knee deep, but should drop as I get under the stump. Even if it doesn't drop much, with the two drainage confluences at the central location should be a good settling spot for the gold. I'll hopefully know by Tuesday.

I'm getting extra batteries for the good camera, and have an extra storage chip, so I'll have no excuses to not take some pics and vids. I'm hoping for a good reason to video the happy dance....

 

[63bkpkr]

Hello Mike691, there is nothing like getting in and around ones own Rig as if it breaks down 'out there' at least a person is familiar with the machine. Naming bugs with nobody to talk to, yup being out there by yourself is like that though maybe you might get to talk at a Deer! Best of luck on your mission, have a great time, be safe and we will all be awaiting your return for the results of your adventure!..................63bkpkr

 

[mikep691]

What a long week!! Happy to report I didn't run out of food, ice, propane (after making another trip to town for a bottle fill and and paper towels), patience, or sense of humor. Rockguy and his woman hung out from Tuesday to Saturday afternoon. He had an excellent gold trip, scoring 2.95 grams, with some nice chunkies. Here's the only gold porn of the trip:



Since I'm working 20-30' downstream of his dig, I spent Friday and Saturday morning working by braille, in about 30" of water, but still moved a lot of gravel through the sluice. But for all the labor this whole trip, and with the little bit of gold from the last trip, I only scraped up a quarter gram of very small gold.

Here's a series of still shots of the dig and my camp:



Some time late Sunday late afternoon, I felt a twinge in my lower back and realized I slipped my disco which made for a very painful Labor Day:



Here's some more vids of the week:





Tuesday morning was a short mining day, and very painful as well:



With significant gold not being discovered, but still have dirt in deep water under that root ball (I stepped in a hole TWICE that was over the top of one of my waders), I've once again decided another move is in order. I'll stick it out one more trip to clean up what I left this week, then move my operation further downstream. I'm going back to where the .95 gram nugget was found early last year. I had so many equipment issue last year, I never gave that spot a chance to get better. Now, with upgraded equipment, it's time for a revisit. Since this season is winding down, it will likely be early next year when I move my operation and hopes for better gold.

The best way I can look at things: "It's so bad now, it can only get better"

 

[mikep691]

Due to unforeseen circumstances the next trip may be sooner than expected. While not a big fan of mining during hunting season, it could be as early as this coming weekend. Another vendor at the Gigafactory had an incident that set off the sprinkler system on our floor which has effectively shut down our operations for the next few weeks. I may be on a temporary lay off while things dry out and get restarted. They also have some extensive work to be done to the exhaust system and HVAC ducting. Our ovens cannot be refired until this has been completed.

With the possibility of a few weeks extra vacation, I may return to the claim and finish up that root ball, then get things relocated downstream. The debate will be whether to pack ALL the camping gear, or go light. The fall morning temps scream "Take it all", but that decision will have to wait a few more days.

One thing, this time I won't forget extra hoodies.....

 

[arizau]

Due to unforeseen circumstances the next trip may be sooner than expected. While not a big fan of mining during hunting season, it could be as early as this coming weekend. Another vendor at the Gigafactory had an incident that set off the sprinkler system on our floor which has effectively shut down our operations for the next few weeks. I may be on a temporary lay off while things dry out and get restarted. They also have some extensive work to be done to the exhaust system and HVAC ducting. Our ovens cannot be refired until this has been completed.

With the possibility of a few weeks extra vacation, I may return to the claim and finish up that root ball, then get things relocated downstream. The debate will be whether to pack ALL the camping gear, or go light. The fall morning temps scream "Take it all", but that decision will have to wait a few more days.

One thing, this time I won't forget extra hoodies.....

Hoodies? About the only reason to wear one here is to rob Circle K's.

Good luck.

 

[mikep691]

That would be the difference between the desert aridzona, and being 5000 feet in elevation in the norther Sierras. I just checked the forecast for next midweek. Yes, they got stuff at work back up and running so what could have been extra time off, didn't pan out. Planning my normal late week trip instead and the lows are forecast high 30's to low 40's with daytime temps to the low 80's. The creek water will still be cold (when you step in a hole that's deeper than your waders), the beer will be even colder. The gold, well, hopefully will be enough to take a picture of for a change. I'm going to try and finish off the root ball on a weather allowed basis for the rest of this year. Then back downstream early next year, again as weather allows.