Few things about prospecting in Alaska
Niccolo,
I've been to Alaska in the summer, about mid June through September. The outback of Alaska can be brutal on man and equipment as it is so rough. Mosquito's, black fly's and "no-see-um's" (teen tiny flies) will eat you alive. The country has deer, black bears, grizzly bears, moose, beaver's (that poop in the water causing a person to get very sick if they drink the tainted water) and if the Beaver Fever, the bugs and the bears do not get you then the dense forests with bogs and downed trees will be rough on you. The Alaska back country is not forgiving and if you are not experienced being out in wild country, if you can not take care of yourself when you are lost, if being in dense forest with odd noises spooks you, if you do not know how to work in fast moving cold water, if you are new to prospecting and have never done it before, if you do not have a good gold detector that you already know how to use and if you do not have contacts in Alaska right now then you have a lot of work ahead of you before you leave Italy. Alaska is not like Isolo De Giglio or Milano, or Sienna, or Florence or like being out on the Gross Glockner Glacier! The Alaska outback country needs to be respected for what it is, untamed and rough.
Now a person can drive on back roads in Alaska and there are a lot of them and any road that cuts across a stream has free access to prospecting within the right-away boundary lines of the road/bridge. In most streams/rivers there is some gold, usually fine flour gold. At a place called Gains Creek they offer prospecting outings where you pay to go there and prospect usually with your own gold detector (look up Gains Creek Mine, Steve Hershback(?) and Alaska Mining on the internet to contact them). Gains Creek is famous for nuggets large and small and smaller and there are other creeks that are known for gold production but most of the known areas are claimed. There are some small scale miners out there and they might want to hire some laborers for the mining season but it will be hard work! Contact the State of Alaska Tourism Department for information on visiting Alaska, ask them about recreational mining, ask them for information about mines you could work at for pay, ask them about known gold mining areas, ask them how you can find out where there are mining claims, ask them about the rules for prospecting in Alaska and there are so many more questions you need to ask you will be very busy doing just that.
You will need good sturdy boots, clothing, socks, a good sun shielding hat, rain suit, water filtering pump, tent with rainfly and lots and lots of gear just for camping let alone all the prospecting equipment and a vehicle. In all you could be spending upwards of $10,000 or more just to go on this adventure and who knows you might even find gold. You need to plan this so that you know ahead of time where you will be going to and what type of prospecting you will be doing as without this preplanning your trip will likely be an expensive failure and even with the planning finding gold is a pure gamble.
Now it could be an adventure of a lifetime with stories and pictures to share and tell over and over and who knows you could just possibly find 40 or 50 pounds of gold your first time out but THAT IS NOT LIKELY! Plan, investigate, know how to use a compass and map, carry a GPS device and make sure you are Physically Fit and Mentally strong as the back country can try the very best of men. One other item that will be a must is Insect Repellent. A repellent with a high percentage of DEET or just 100% DEET is recommended. This repellent should not be applied to the skin for long periods of time. I would obtain a sturdy NET jacket as well as a sturdy NET head cover that goes over you brimmed hat and drops below your neck. I would put the DEET on the net jacket and head cover and only put a minimum amount of the DEET on my hands wrists and on my socks around the ankles. When not in use keep the jacket and head cover in a heavy duty plastic bag and add a bit more DEET to it when they are put away. Without the insect repellent you will HATE your time in the back country as I've never seen or heard so many mosquito's in my life as there are in Alaska!! Also, just like any other part of the world some of the people in Alaska are just as nice as can be and some will steal from you, be careful.
So other than these few teeny tiny precautions, Heck Boy's have at it.........63bkpkr
The above pictures are of some fairly rough country in Northern California and what I found there. Again the amount of gold I found did not even pay for the trip but it was the adventure I was after as well as to just being out in the back country for the fun of it. The forests in Alaska can be very dense and all grown together making it nearly impossible to get through vast miles of forests. The rivers are used as highways in the back country as there are no roads in the real back country of Alaska.
Oh and as far as bringing back to Italy any gold you find in the U.S. well you should check with the U.S. and Italian customs departments with more questions.
