Oh, us treasure hunters are a bunch of........nutcases, sometimes.
We went out panning in a creek that we had brought hammers and a hatchet to, so that we could break up the ice, so we could pan in.
Darn close to frostbite by the end of that adventure!!!
I actually did get very mild frostbite up in Alaska - Chickaloon Creek, I remember it like yesterday - 1990 - a trip to Alaska (second one), Chickaloon Creek, straight off a glacier, brand new highbanker. I went in with my shoes still on. It was cold for a minute or so, but it was ok.
I sucked up bottom for a couple of hours or so - Roy stopped and built camp, started a fire - got my very first Alaska nugget in the quartz matrix.
Getting darker, I pulled everything up, got out of the water, and it felt like someone had stuck two huge weights to my feet. Got over to the campfire, took off the wet shoes, and socks, and found blue/white feet - had to warm up towels to wrap around my feet - but they didn't hurt a bit - until they started to defrost --- for the rest of the night, it was doublehell. Man, that hurt!
See what us treasure hunters will do for "fun". It's an addiction, I tell you, an addiction. Hello, my name is Beth, and I am a treasure-holic.
B