We all started that way. What I found is that
1) That whole easily accessible area is mostly tailings. It's been worked a thousand times by dredgers, panners etc.. (That doesn't mean there is not gold there still)
2) There is not enough gold there (unless you are super lucky or good) to get very far with just pans. You really need a sluice to process enough material. I like the Bazooka ( $100 - $200) since I feel it's a little more fail-safe than a regular keene.
3) That area is very high in micah. Generally micah floats in your pan and gold will stick right to the bottom. Once you get a real piece of gold the difference is unmistakeable. Also, micah will tear or rub on the bottom of your pan. The flats are absolutely coated with micah laying on the surface. Don't mistake this for gold like my Dad did and almost have a heart attack over all the gold on the ground.
4) The nice thing is that there is a lot of gold flake in that area so most times we go we end up getting some gold. The gold pieces are generally very small, but still obviously recognizeable as gold.
5) We met a guy up there that was getting bigger flakes. Corn flake size maybe, but he had dug a hole 10 feet deep on the bank so that means he actually dug 20 feet down from the top of the bank. He used a hand winch to move the bolders.
6) I like the area right where the road to Mt Baldy intersect with East Fork.
7) Be careful and use common sense. It's too easy to get into a bad situation where something caves in on you.
8) A digging bar is a good tool up there.
9) Keep your eye on your gear. Mostly everyone up there is cool, but there are some methheads hanging around. They'll steal your shovel then help you look for it.
On average, if we run 20 full 5gal buckets through our bazooka we will end up with about 30 flakes of gold after cleaning our cons.
Hope this helps. I heard someone up there just hit a streak so maybe you will too.
