Mytimetoshine

[mytimetoshine]

Thanks everyone for checking out my prospecting adventures. I'm a big fan of the site and the community here. One of the nicest online communities I've encountered.

Let's get some GOLD!

 

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[mytimetoshine]

I got out the other day and managed to get 4hrs of digging in, maybe a little less. I took my new piece of equipment, the mini rocking gold grabber. First time in the field and it did great.

I worked an area between some larger Boulders that show some water wear. Heavy cobbles made tough digging (as usual). I got some decent gold and actually saw a larger flake in the middle of the matting. I decided to leave it there but then I noticed it move another quarter way down the box so I picked it out. I don't think it qualify's as a "picker" though. Didn't even way .1 still waiting for my first official picker.. I panned the tailings and got nothing so I think it works good. Here is what I walked away with, it was about 4 hrs but I can't ever remember the bucket count. As soon as I start, I just get obsessed with moving material. Anyways here is what I got:





I also wanted to show off my DIY bucket grizzlies. Taken from an old gas BBQ i was about to throw out. I took the lightweight upper grill, might not last forever but its very light.

I alway keep my eyes open for relics from the old timer while I'm out there.I find it very interesting and today i spotted this spike 8 ft up a large boulder,This large rock was right next to were i was working. First i noticed the moss that was growing on it about 6 - 10 feet off the ground then i noticed this spike. I always try to imagine what it was used for? Gold mining? logging? I can't figure why this would be were it was...

 

[Featherdfishead]

Love this forum also shine. Nice touch of the color and beautiful spot. Was the spike stuck into the rock? What shape is the spikes shaft? possible chisel? We call mysterious relics we find while detecting "whats its". Its kind of a game to play at home or in camp. We guess at the use or make up some goofy use for the strange rusty object. Great Fun

Thanks to sharing and chase that gold to a lunker,
AjR

 

[mytimetoshine]

Thanks feathered. Idk, I think it was more or less round but it was definitely driven deep in the rock and would not budge at all. It also has a coil around the base and was obviously pounded in pretty good.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Nice gold and great to see you got to try out your new gear

 

[huntsman53]

I agree that that is some nice Gold! It looks like your' new Rocking Gold Grabber is working fine. As far as the spike is concerned, I hope it is not someone's crude Claim Marker! Is the hole that the spike is in a drilled hole or is it au-natural? Maybe someone just used it to tie off their' equipment on or tie off to climb up the rock wall for a better look at what is there! Although it is hard to tell from the pic, the stuff above the moss looks pretty interesting to me and may be worth a closer examination.


Frank

 

[Duckwalk]

it could be an old drilling spike. One person holds the bit (spike) and one strikes it with a sledge hammer. Not a job for the weary. After every strike of the hammer, the person holding the bit lifts and turns it a quarter turn. Doing it wrong could cause the bit to get stuck in the drilling hole. Those were not cheap either!

 

[mytimetoshine]

The other side of the boulder faces the river and is easily climbed, although it didn't dawn on me to do it as I was seeing nothing but yellow and was focused. When your on the gold it's like a drug. All you can think about is moving material. I have to remember to drink water! Lol. I'm gonna climb it next time for sure.

 

[johnedoe]

Great job shine...... nice gold and it looks like that rocker is doing it's job too....

 

[mytimetoshine]

After being sick with Bronchitis for 2 weeks I finally started feeling better and planned to go dig Saturday and Sunday. The plans changed though cause while digging Saturday I JACKED my wrist tossing cobbles. This one may have been closer to a boulder though.. need to be more carefull. It hurt like heck as soon as I got home. It wasn't too bad as I continued to work and keeping it loose. By the time I went to bed last night I knew the was no way I could dig today..

So I went back to the same spot/hole and got a few inches deeper. It's only a few feet from the water line and as soon as you go 6 inches you hit water, so my hole stayed flooded and turns muddy as soon as you disturb it. The digging is way slower then I want it. I basically put on knee pads and kneel right down in there feeling for loose material to push up onto my small shovel. The larger rocks and cobbles are very difficult to remove because they are so numerous and cemented/suctioned in there. Then on top of that your doing it blind...
As I went deeper the material I was getting was smaller, more black sands and some clay. Test pans looked good so I started running my rocker and decided to go 6 buckets before cleanup of the bottom mat. I think this was too much for it though, so I'm gonna try 4 -5 buckets next time. I did find one flake in my tailings after two huge full too the brim pans...
I've noticed that the matting tends to build up material on one side more then the other so I know I the action of the box is not moving material optimally, but that's ok the rocker makes up for it with its other abtributes. Plus the spot it was setup on isn't perfectly level so I will see if it works better when I'm on a spot more flat.
I was actually able to keep my bucket count this time! Lol I placed a small pebble on the bedrock next to me every time I started a bucket. So, 10 buckets 3/4 full with grizzlies on the bucket. Have not measured the diameter of the bars but they will let some large flat rocks in. This was about 4hrs of digging and rocking. Can't seem to find the stamina to go longer yet. One of the problems is food. I never bring enough. I brought only an apple this day.

I also checked out that boulder with the metal spike. Opon closer inspection there are several more drill holes in it. None with the bit still in though. Some nice looking quartz stringers in it. I assume it's gold mining related cause there really isn't any large trees nearby for logging. Maybe they were drilled for dynamite? Maybe they were gonna blow it, but never did?..
Anyways here the bounty, gold was a bit more dirty this time. Quite a few with merc on em.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Oops, here ya go:

 

[kayakpat]

it would be nice to live around places where gold exist and you could go out for the day of fun.

 

[mytimetoshine]

New gear update:

I bought a frame back pack for hiking in gear. My mini Rocker fits perfect on it. Got a great deal on Ebay 50 shipped to the door.

 

[mytimetoshine]

Saturday.
I wanted to test out my new pack with rocker attached so I took my 6 year old daughter out for a couple hours. Picked an easy hike in spot for testing the gear and because my daughter was with me. Pack worked like a charm, but I need to carry my regular back pack and bucket full of gear in order to run it effectively. The pack itself wasn't too bad but when you have a decent load in both hands as well its a bit much.. wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't take the WRONG trail! Ended up hiking twice as far as I planned. Doh! The area stunk. Super sandy, rocker packed up instantly with black sand. Ran 3 buckets. Got 3 small flakes lol.

Monday took the same setup to a different spot without my daughter. Much tougher hike but much better gold. Unfortunately I just could not bring myself to go all the way to the spot I wanted, it was just to much load for the terrain. Settled for a pretty crap spot.... one thing I've noticed about the rocker is, it is much tougher to find/make a level enough spot in the area I want to dig then I predicted. Didn't find much ..was exhausted when I got back to my truck.

Thursday after work, decided to go back to the same place I went Monday without the rocker cause I know there is good gold just a little farther but packing the rocker and other needed gear at this spot by myself is a no go. Took gold pan, plastic scoop, pick, snuffer, 2 gallon bucket,knee pads,water shoes, liter of water and my super light weight grizzly bars this time... much better!
This was my first attempt at "after work" mining. I get home about 430. Luckily I found a spot 15 minute drive from the house but then at least a 45 min hike. I didn't get as far as i wanted but far enough. Water was low and I found a nice bedrock hole that I ended up digging by hand. By the time I actually started digging it was 6, so I dug till 715 in order to safely hike out. I panned down to black sand (which there is no shotage of!) And dumped in the bucket. I was seeing color in every pan but most were fly poop. One nicer size piece with dark quartz attached. Still not quite a picker...still waiting for one... anyways here is what I got. Not terrible for 1 hour with a pan.
Also noticed the un mistake able shape of a coin in one of my pans.. heart skips a beat.... just a rusted Jefferson nickle.. made out the date when I got home 1965. Didn't expect anything amazing being in California but a silver dime would have been nice. With 5 pieces of lead shot at least I know I was on the heavies.

 

[KevinInColorado]

Gotta love this time of year when the days are long and there's time for after work digging! Congrats on making it work and getting the gold!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Got out last Sat & Sun:

So I continue to work the same hole I've been for a bit. It's kind of a pinch point between two larger boulders. Here is what it looks like undisturbed and then as soon as I take a shovel full..it's 0 vizibility. So Saturday the water came up really fast and over an hour ahead of schedule. I had to scramble to save my gear. Forgot my shovel and had to wade into what was now chest deep water with a decent current. I was just able to make out the shovel looking through the water and was able to save it!. Got all my gear to higher ground and decided to pack up and leave. I dumped the excess water from my bucket of cons and left it right next to the water. Got momentarily distracted until the sound of a pail hitting the rocks caught my attention.....yup you guessed it my bucket of cons, while not dumping over had been snatched by the increasing eddy. No hesitation.. I charge into the water and just barely nab it a few ft from the main current!
That would have sucked soooo bad! Lol.

I was a little dissapointed with my take .35g Wanted to get more hours in.

Sunday thankfully was un eventful but I did pack up my gear earlier then I needed to just in case. Again a bit dissapointed with .41g

Not sure if I should keep on this spot or look for something better. I was hoping the gold would get better the deeper I went but then again I'm still a ways from the bottom. Doubtful I can go a whole lot deeper without a dredge anyway. There is of course more area to work behind this that probably has just as good gold I just thought this narrow spot would have some larger stuff. Opinions welcome

 

[mytimetoshine]

New gear alert:

Bought this miller Table set up. I still have the fever but not for panning out cons/black sands anymore. Just too tittious,time consuming and hard on the back.

Was super excited when it arrived only to find out they shipped me a black one instead of green.. and the side was slightly bent. Don't think it's gonna effect performance though.

Still trying to work out things with the seller. I'll probably get stuck with the black one as I doubt he is gonna ship me the right one unless I send this one back which will cost me shipping and being without it...

 

[mytimetoshine]

Just ran my blacks sands from last week's after work trip. Got about 1 1/2 hrs of digging and panning. Just down to black sand and into the 2 gallon bucket.

Did NOT find my green plastic scoop that I left on the previous trip.

Almost had a bad fall on the way in and on the way out I slipped twice getting my boot wet.

 

[Asmbandits]

Looks like you are pretty dedicated! I haven't spent much time on the south fork but the time I have Ive done decent.. You have a 6 year old daughter thats cool I have a 6 year old daughter as well, shes loves to look for gold but I dont take here with me as much as I would like since where I go its way to ruff to bring her.. Mabey some time we could meet up with the girls and we can get our kicks while they do the same, Im sure between the two of us we could find somewhere to take them, think about it and let me know!

 

[mytimetoshine]

Looks like you are pretty dedicated! I haven't spent much time on the south fork but the time I have Ive done decent.. You have a 6 year old daughter thats cool I have a 6 year old daughter as well, shes loves to look for gold but I dont take here with me as much as I would like since where I go its way to ruff to bring her.. Mabey some time we could meet up with the girls and we can get our kicks while they do the same, Im sure between the two of us we could find somewhere to take them, think about it and let me know!

Asmbandits,

Yea that's sound good. I'd love to meet some other miners in the area and my daughter would be super excited to meet a new friend. Let's make it happen.

By dedicated you mean. Deliriously ILL with gold fever right? Lol