Shovel size White Mountain Nat Forest

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I was reading the regulations and it says you are restricted to small hand tools. Does that mean garden trowels or can you use short (4') shovels?
The ranger at the Saco station was saying garden trowels.

 

Amazon Forum Fav 👍

A History of Mining on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska - Grab it through Amazon!

[placertogo]

No one has ever bothered me using a #2 shovel. What I actually find more useful is a brick trowel, basically an oversized version of a pointing trowel. I like them because the flat thin blade is excellent for scraping material right off the bedrock. The blades are typically 8 to 10 inches long and 4 to 6 inches wide so they will actually pick up more material than a garden trowel and are compact enough to find in the bucket with the rest of the tools. Another great tool is the Estwing Geo/Paleo Pick. With a handle only 25" long, it should fit into the category of a "small hand tool." The only specific size in WMNF is that sluices cannot be more than 3 feet long, but appears to be no limit on width or the number of individual sluices a person may use at a time.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

placertogo
Great idea on the pointing trowel, hadn't thought of that. I am heading up tomorrow to Tunnell Brook, to check it out. Still haven't decided what sluice to get. no gold in the 30 pounds of gravel from last weekend. I figured for this fall probably stick with panning, although I have the itch to buy a sluice and am sort of leaning towards the Keene A51. My wife wants to camp at Twin Rivers in the next few weeks so I will check that area as well.

 

[placertogo]

If you stop at the bridge about a mile and a half up the Tunnel Brook Road, you will find some nice bedrock and plenty of good areas to run a sluice. A couple of hundred feet upstream from that bedrock area, Tunnel Brook makes a hard run through some huge boulders which tend to slow the flow during Spring runoff. Did as deep as you can on the downstream side of those boulders for some nice flood gold. Remember the 3 foot sluice length limit in the National Forest. I have used my modified Keene backpacker sluice there with great results.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

placertogo
That brings up a question, as a newbie, should I stick to panning for this fall and look into a sluice for the spring? I was thinking of a Keene A51 which is 36 inches long, an MacKirk Recon or grub steak, probably should get both eventually.

My son bought a plastic sluice that 39" should he cut that down to 36" or 35", how picky are they up there?

 

[placertogo]

I've never actually seen them measure a sluice. The rangers stop by and say hello sometimes. I think as long as no motorized equipment or something that looks like a production operation, they are not that picky.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

My wife won't let me take the sluice because she wrapped it up for my middle son's birthday

Oh well at least he enjoys it. I bought some dirt from J&J not concentrate, 15 pounds for $35 for practice and he is enjoying going through it. But I am jealous when he finds flakes and pickers. So far we are about 1/3 of the way throiugh it and have found 3 pickers and some flour gold, it is good practice, on par with buying a bucket of golf balls and hitting them out into a field.

 

[63bkpkr]

Take a look at a Gerber folding & collapsable shovel. It is a minituraized military shovel with a few twists to it including it is solid, sturday, useful, is a shovel, scraper, hammer and costs about $20 and has been a part of my kit for several years and it just hangs in there. It is a well made 'tool'....63bkpkr

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

Went to Tunnell Brook, went up a mile and saw a turn out, I hadn't written down the direction to go 1 1/2 miles I thought it was 1 mile so we stopped. Is this still part of the National Forest?
The reason I ask, first off it is a forestry dirt road, but someone had been in there with a power dredge, I would think, around two of the big boulders were 4 foot square 4 foot deep holes! I am amazed the rock didn't tumble. I nearly fell into one of them, luckily I saw it just before I stepped! Is there anyway without a power dredge (or C-4) do make a hole that deep?
Here is where we stopped, there are rocks lining the road so you don't drive off.

 

[placertogo]

Are you sure you were on the Tunnel Brook Road right off Route 112? From 112 to the bridge, about 1 1/2 miles, there is no place where the road is closer to Tunnel Brook than about 75 feet. Do you have Google Earth? You might be near where Tunnel runs into the Wild Ammonoosuc. Any any rate, check the downstream side of those larger boulders. Remember, during Spring runoff, the water probably ran right over the road in your pictures.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

What I see on google maps is that I went in Hummingbird, that is where the sign to Tunnel Brook was, I don't think I got to the fork where Tunnel Brook joins Hummingbird, I was exactly 1 mile in from the main road, I noticed that Tunnel Brook Rd on Google appears to go right to the main road but there is no outlet to the main road when we drove the main road.
Is the cement bridge beyound where Hummingbird joins Tunnel Brook Rd?

What about what appears to be powered dredge work?

 

[placertogo]

According to this WMNF web page, Tunnel Brook Road is closed:

White Mountain National Forest - Home

I am trying to figure where the spot is in your picture. Give me a little while and I will get back to you.

 

[placertogo]

It looks like there is another Tunnel Brook Road! Mine is west of yours. Your picture is actually on the Wild Ammonoosic east of where Tunnel Brook runs into it. Check the area on Google Maps. Nice gold in the Wild, too!

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

That explains why Tunnel Brook Rd on the map ends right at the river along 112. Hummingbird has a historical marker on 112 and a sign pointing to Tunnel Brook, Hummingbird goes into Tunnel Brook Rd so next time I will go tothe intersection and turn right on Tunnel Brook and go towards 112 until I find the bridge.

When you would go up TB would you see another road merge with TB?

 

[placertogo]

Yes, just beyond the bridge, there is an intersection where Tunnel Brook Road meets with the Noxon Road.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I see that on the map. I didn't go far enough up the road. Next time I will.

My wife wants to spend a night or 2 at Twin Rivers in the camping cabins. That would be good we could work the bridge and also the Twin Rivers claims on the Wild AM, saw 6 cars there yesterday.

 

[67miata]

I took a to drive to try to find the spot described by you guys. I drove right by where you took that photo, ... the river almost ON the road. Ben, you were very close to the bridge described. There is one heck of a bridge there for being in the middle of the woods. One half mile more up the road, ... tunnel brook road and that WAS tunnel brook after all.

This was my first time (attempt) panning for gold. It was raining ...... hard at times. I swear the river actually rose slightly while I was there. I had never really thought of bears, but other posts on this site put that thought in my head. I did bring my side arm, but the river was so loud a bear, mountain lion, crook, elephant or Abrams Tank could likely have crept right up to me without my knowledge. I also found I had to tell myself to "look up" every now and then to see what was going on, it seemed I rarely did.

Problems I encountered on my first outing. 1)My 18 inch boots worked perfectly well right up until I stepped into that 19 inch deep water, ... it also went much deeper. 2)Place cell phone in a ziplock and leave it in there, it still functions and sound is not really any different. I ordered a replacement for my water soaked one today. 3) When you tell yourself "that spot looks really slipery", ..... it really is...... listen to yourself. 4) Next time, find SOME gold ,.... even a little, ... a trace would be good.

 

[Ben Cartwright SASS]

I couldn't help laughing, sorry! My cell phone I just stick in my pocket, it is a milspec one that is water proof (I have tested it often enough) and I put my Olympus Tough camera in the other pocket also waterproof. I have hip waders, but usually wear the 18 inch boots. I don't carry, bought bear spray instead, figured my luck I would see the bear attacking my wife and would shoot the wrong one.

All this is why all the newbies who want to get gold will soon drop out of the hobby, it is hard work and uncomfortable most of the time.

 

[Goodyguy]

Ditto on the hard work and being uncomfortable most of the time
Ya gotta love it Cuz if it were a job and payed what I usually make at it, Id'a quit the first day.

GG~

 

[67miata]

Laughing is fine. Even I think it is funny ...... now, ..... sort of. But it still hurts to walk, ...stand up, ..... sit ......... breath. 5) join a gym and work out a bit so you can pan for a few hours without the need for tylenol or mydol for being such a ........wimp.

Brian