Nokta FoRs Gold, a Gold Cube, 2 Keene Sluices and Lord only knows how many pans....not to mention a load of other gear my wife still doesn't know about!
It's pretty well rusted away, but I'll take a wag at it. My best guess is
it's an old pipe with a valve.
When you post an item like this, it always helps to have a known item
in the picture to be used as a size reference. Dollar bill, quarter, pack
of smokes, etc.
Hunting alongside those tracks I'd bet you're going to find plenty of old iron
items like this. Were there any old railroad camps in the area?