Gold Prospecting Adventures - How I Caught Gold Fever
![Goldefevercover.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPLFR1xugfSHEwoiZGbpd74sraHSQozCzFP7GKv5gNGPz/Goldefevercover.jpg)
So as many of my followers already know, I love gold prospecting!
![shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiy4zKRtA14rhsRakU7dDB8jajsupTwXk1XGHfJiUQac/shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png)
![shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiy4zKRtA14rhsRakU7dDB8jajsupTwXk1XGHfJiUQac/shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png)
![shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiy4zKRtA14rhsRakU7dDB8jajsupTwXk1XGHfJiUQac/shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png)
![shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmUiy4zKRtA14rhsRakU7dDB8jajsupTwXk1XGHfJiUQac/shovel-clipart-black-and-white-pick-and-shovel-gardening-icon-GiEXbV-clipart.png)
For as long as I can remember I have always loved hiking and backpacking in the mountains. As a child my parents started taking me out into the mountains at a real young age and the effect it had on me was very prolific.
![1544586_725620400796204_2051525096_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmVWWyXZRozDgd5tg471gJnNcy9to65jUkbqNobABXbHqq/1544586_725620400796204_2051525096_n.jpg)
Me, my mom (@doverland), and my brother. Backpacking back in the 1990's
As an adult I took my love for the mountains to a whole new level. In my early 20's I read the book Into the Wild and I was absolutely enthralled by the story of Chris McCandless. I could really relate to his attitude and his ideas about life.
From then on I spent as much time as I could hiking, camping, and exploring the mountains of California. I spent the next years climbing any mountain I could find and spending as much time as possible as far out into the wild as I possibly could. Including a life changing 32 day backpacking trip on the JMT(John Muir Trail) which I will tell you guys all about in a future post.
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Relaxing in the High Sierra on my JMT hike
So in the process of all my mountain escapades I did a solo backpacking trip up the East Fork of the San Gabriel river. This was early 2009 and the water levels were really high making the trek quite difficult and even dangerous, but I managed to get up into the Narrows and spent a few days up there trying to fish. I didn't catch many fish, but I did see lots of gold prospectors. This was my first encounter with prospecting, but it didn't really effect me.
![11707525_1001794433185028_458561295836173656_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmPiJKin4Rn87pB7kDH8fnCGPhZscfoemCiSUK41dJc2Rf/11707525_1001794433185028_458561295836173656_n.jpg)
East Fork of the San Gabriel river
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Small Rainbow trout from the East fork
Then in fall 2010 me and a friend did a great backpacking trip where we climbed up and over Mt. Baden Powell, dropped down into the top of the canyon and hiked down the East fork river all the way through to the bottom trailhead. On this trip I really fell in love with the canyon. It is such a big beautiful canyon, full of so much life. But although we saw more prospectors, it still did not have any real effect on me. I was still just completely clueless about prospecting.
![222536_238181276213018_3572103_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmc5M4YqyNruCgZLqeUb54bXitCVCD9WNcASy94rUmac7N/222536_238181276213018_3572103_n.jpg)
View from the summit of Mt. Baden Powell
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Bighorn Sheep
![13466178_1177584608939342_1699672466494723050_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYVj7jiqcUAQN9CvDebnhME9hcX6q9gYC4EqZyY5dLyUM/13466178_1177584608939342_1699672466494723050_n.jpg)
Wildflowers in the Canyon
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The lush beauty of the East Fork
Then in early 2012 I made a trip up north to visit an old friend of mine who had moved to a small town called Grass Valley right in the middle of the mother lode country where the 1849 California gold rush took place. We had a fun week hanging out exploring the area, but on one of the days my buddy took me down to the Yuba river with a sluice box. I was more interested in swimming and fishing, but we did a bit of prospecting and got some small flakes. Seemed like a fun little hobby, but yet still no gold fever.
![576318_392845040746640_1935144232_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYUJvSgRuhsVrTPGNNsVhvRamtbhzTWeeWe6BdjyrmgqQ/576318_392845040746640_1935144232_n.jpg)
Yuba river near Grass Valley, CA
Then near the end of the same year another good friend of mine invited me on a backpacking trip up the East fork San Gabriel river passed the Bridge to Nowhere to the split with the Iron fork so we could campout at the old Iron fork camp, which is where the old timer George Trogden lived until his death in 1929. To this day there are still some of the ruins from his cabin and his gardens there.
![31419632870_7c3b39b278_c.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmSR19nc4rA5oxbn9cVaQ41dpru7NusCZab1YiSKKLjdg3/31419632870_7c3b39b278_c.jpg)
(Photo source) George Trogden's old cabin circa early 1930's
We had a great hike and along the way as usual we saw lots of prospectors including meeting one of the most knowledgeable long time East fork prospectors. Who I still see up there often. But on our trip it was actually a group of young adults (a few guys and a few gals, late teens - early twenties) that we passed. I watched them dig for a few minutes from the trail and I could just tell they were having so much fun. I was suddenly enchanted with the idea. I thought to myself... "hey I did that before with my buddy in Grass Valley. It was easy"... and it was a hobby that would let me spend time in the mountains! And who knows I might even find some gold!! And after camping at the Iron fork camp I fell in love with the spot, so in my mind it was decided. After the trip I immediately started my research into gold prospecting with the plan to return to the Iron fork camp and start my prospecting career.
![10480005_806983279332812_7486418771539465526_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmcVE65ox5wHtUBWKWEvkE7rLVzP7a8wtKZLNxsNz7SzFH/10480005_806983279332812_7486418771539465526_n.jpg)
The Bridge to Nowhere
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Iron Fork camp
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Overlooking the East fork
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Bighorn sheep
My first trip or 2 I only had a pan and shovel... maybe a few other small tools, and I honestly spent more time hiking around exploring the canyon than I did digging. So I didn't really find much gold at all. But shortly I got myself a Keene A51 sluice box and more equipment and before long I had found my first real flakes of gold!
![530720_524485717582571_2075112081_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYtCP8zP9MvhCeKSxYq2FCpZKLFMs5XSJsRBv7GDAKPip/530720_524485717582571_2075112081_n.jpg)
Devils Gulch falls
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Wildflowers
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Hiking through the Narrows
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Falls Gulch falls
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Sluicing on the Iron fork
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Going through a couple pans of concentrates at Iron Fork camp
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Getting down deep in one of my first holes
My first year I only made few trips and found a few specks. The second year I started going more and I finally got a few friends to join me on a trip and we found the first 2 pickers! I kept researching prospecting and each trip I met prospectors and talked with them and learned from what they said. One prospector who I had become good friends with, when I was telling him how I was getting a bit discouraged, suggested a spot for me to dig. So I tried it out. On that trip I had a group of other young prospectors show up at the camp and I let them camp there with me. We all made friends and I told them where I was digging so they setup just down the river from me and we had a real good time digging together, helping each other move big rocks etc... and on that trip I found my first gold nugget!!
So the next trip (now late 2014) I moved my camp from the Iron fork to near my new found digging location. I built a real nice camp (which I still use today) and commenced digging my bend on the river.
![11800338_1001794756518329_8572665943465954820_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmdSZNvdbXz2NxigTaXwyXiQEhFvT54oC8dWrvQeJsZere/11800338_1001794756518329_8572665943465954820_n.jpg)
The new location
![995611_806982309332909_367590739298552014_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmTSxxEnGRS6zERzJ4hDZUpGF1RE9ckPwAyBQRn4P13pPB/995611_806982309332909_367590739298552014_n.jpg)
My first gold nugget
![13015589_1142205109143959_5704487167886807064_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmfYm8p2Jy6Tx3ptxbmpMLtW7mwkQmKiswzWTpUNNjdJfL/13015589_1142205109143959_5704487167886807064_n.jpg)
Digging the inside bend
![12219589_1049218231775981_8609039722681841400_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRzzcXyn1P25wXNWLLVBeQS1QWtfUBHbpF8C7qDTkyoeg/12219589_1049218231775981_8609039722681841400_n.jpg)
The new camp
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East fork scenery
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Wildflowers at camp
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Sluicing the new location
I kept going up there digging that bend and kept finding a decent amount of gold each time, but I still felt I could do better. Each trip I kept talking with other prospectors and I learned more and more. On one of these trips I learned about a sluice box called the Cal-Sluice that uses a double layer sluice with a classification screen built on the top. Which would eliminate the need for pre-classifying all my buckets of dirt, saving lots of time and work, allowing me to process a much larger amount of material. When I got home from that trip I immediately bought myself one. It is an expensive and a heavy sluice, but it's so worth it. And from then on... IT WAS ON! I became a digging machine and the larger amounts of gold I was finding was really exciting. Then in summer 2015, I got a good buddy to join me for a week up there and we hit it real hard... and we found the second (and still my largest to date) gold nugget!!
![15390923_1352090134822121_1431332305185866447_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmRo7PgVfqkMV7isrRYyk4N8iChCfLWdF4vWWKYMR4fBxy/15390923_1352090134822121_1431332305185866447_n.jpg)
Me at the Iron fork junction
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Hiking in with the kids
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Digging
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Sunset glow above camp
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Gold Nugget!
![12003966_1019691821395289_7943968545938084819_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmTn29PJWpbTSFsU96X7uixQwKnzbgVENXne3bqErGqf5a/12003966_1019691821395289_7943968545938084819_n.jpg)
So since then I have been going back to this same spot multiple times a year usually for a week or 2 at a time, camping at my now "home away from home" camp and digging that bend just below my camp, the one at my camp, and even just above my camp. All have produced good gold including lots of pickers and even 2 more nuggets! I've continued to learn and improve my skills and upgrade my equipment. Like getting a blue bowl to get the flour gold from my concentrated black sands. And recently my fever has even expanded beyond just the East fork. Last year I acquired a Keene 151 drywasher and I joined the GPAA and started dry washing some GPAA claims and some unclaimed areas in places like Holcomb Valley and the Cajon Pass. Also my buddy @csusbgeochem1 and I built a badass chain mill rock crusher so we could start crushing and sampling hard rock. Although so far the few samples we've tried have produced no gold... but we have other spots we want to test, we just gotta get out there and collect the ore.
![19059413_1544449365586196_3603354112478465718_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdKddyKfvpHBHHehH53m8nFFPGetfGz6WzHz7t96FYsqm/19059413_1544449365586196_3603354112478465718_n.jpg)
"Home away from home" Camp
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More wildflowers by camp
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Utilizing big boulders to clean out underneath a bigger boulder
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Getting a couple pickers
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East fork gold
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Digging with my buddy @artopium
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East fork gold
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Night Digging
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Working in the river, cleaning off some bedrock
![13435483_1177584772272659_7346072808985318333_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmQAQJEg7ir2aKqZ4BNJp3CYQP2jVv5QaBgRy6GF7H1vF5/13435483_1177584772272659_7346072808985318333_n.jpg)
Bighorn Sheep checking me out
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Standing in the hole with my GPAA hat on
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East fork gold
![18301363_1511567172207749_7945527297902755774_n.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmQL5AdBADedmCz8pWzafp1FCLTZTe8hpEg64eSwppDRg6/18301363_1511567172207749_7945527297902755774_n.jpg)
More East fork gold
![bb.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmNxRs8GgxsBj8yTHzysKo5K5peDwsQBri2zLC5u28SaMy/bb.jpg)
At home gold recovery. Panning tub, classifiers, gold pans, and my Blue bowl
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Dry washing in Holcomb valley
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Camping in Holcomb valley
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More dry washing in Holcomb valley
![](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmdatEvjuXiednAsvw1XkXtSwGedrN2rvJdBPJ8rPKBSRp/Rock%20crusher.jpg)
The rock crusher
![millinterior.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQme7iBLt5VLpFrQQSCUaEG5v2HaimBXyFPw5VY9T3vYV8B/millinterior.jpg)
The inside of the crusher
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Gold, gold nuggets, and some garnets, all from the East fork
So I think that pretty much brings you up to date on the story of my gold fever. There will be many more posts to come about my prospecting adventures and even just prospecting in general so I hope you have all enjoyed this post. And with that I will leave you with two youtube videos that I've made. First one is from my very first two or three trips prospecting in the East fork, the next video is from prospecting the East fork about two years ago and you can clearly see my improvement (both in prospecting and video making, lol). So until next time...
Thanks for reading!!![images.duckduckgo.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmaDPUk4JPx3EUBbLF5HkBYQsHsHsfvztfwNSM2xfUTskr/images.duckduckgo.png)
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Youtube videos -
Thanks for watching! ![images.duckduckgo.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmaaCCLCn1eJarSdN8ixemZUowJcyXAXfcArKzrRPjCM3F/images.duckduckgo.jpg)
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Loved your story. I see you found the picture of you me and Daren going backpacking. I have a bunch of old backpack pictures you might like to copy some day.
Thanks mom! Ya, I got that picture from you a few years back. I'd love to get some of the old backpacking photos!!
Heya, just swinging by to let you know you're being featured in our Daily Travel Digest!
Whoew, what an amazing trip through your personal history! I loved it! Also next time I'm ever around that area, you're taking me up there, whether you like it or not, haha!
Thank you @steemitworldmap! I look forward to taking you here. Your bud @anomadsoul told me he might be coming here soon to join me for some adventures as well!
Oh, he definitely should, not that far out for him in the end!
Wow man, awesome post! I've hardly been gold digging, but I often think about doing so.
Loved to read about your trips here. Looking forward to more so you got a new follower.
Thanks! You gotta try prospecting... the more you do it the more you'll love it! Thanks for the follow. Stay tuned for many more adventures!
You should add gold prospecting trips to your website offerings - the lure of striking it rich will draw many customers, I bet!
I'm actually working on a total re-do on the website. I want to make it way more expansive. And I plan to offer a few different prospecting trips.
Cool stuff. Will have to remember you as an option as I live not too far away in AZ.
Nice. Most my family actually lives in the Prescott area there in AZ. There's good gold out there too!
Damn... those nuggets next to the penny look awesome... and the penny gives excellent reference to their size... I tried panning ... zero success
Ya, it's definitely not as easy as it looks. Especially when using just a pan. Having a sluice box makes a big difference, but it's still a lot of work.
Another awesome post. Those nuggets are very nice! People have no idea the feeling of having a piece of gold like that in their hand. The weight of it is amazing when it hit's your hand. Sitting here in Tokyo you have me longing to get back into the mountains.
I've sluiced the East Fork many times and always found some gold, but never back in the narrows where the good gold is. Having said that I also sluiced Bear River up in gold country with my old club, RT66, and the gold up there was amazing! Ever scoop produced flakes, big ones too. The So. Cal clubs have better claims than the GPAA and they often do outings to their claims. Well worth the membership in them.
I have to get you out digging for some gems too! California is blessed with treasures, both tangible and intangible.
Thanks man. The nuggets are so cool. Whenever I'm showing someone my gold nuggets they always trip on the weight when I drop them into their hand. I just got back 3 days ago from a 2 week trip up there and I'm already longing to go back. And I'm definitely looking forward to doing some gem hunting with you sometime!
Gosh! What a great post! Even if it wasn't for the gold, its a beautiful place to camp out for a few days.
Thanks @livinguktaiwan! I really do love it up there. The gold is just a bonus.
I love your photos. I love your spirit. Most of all, I love that you do these things so I don't have to. Enjoying them through your post is lovely ... and quite strenuous enough, TYVM. So, here's how we can show our appreciation:
This excellent post was included in our new curation effort The Magnificent Seven -- a collaborative work by @enchantedspirit and @catweasel. You have received a 100% upvote from each of us to show our appreciation for your post. To see your creation showcased here ... and the fine company you keep ... please visit this link.
We appreciate your support both for our work on this project and for the other creators of exceptional content who make it all possible. (Follow @catweasel to catch our future Magnificent Seven posts. He's really not as annoying as you might think. <--- He always makes me say that.)
Thank you so much for your kind words @enchantedspirit! I'm so happy that you can get to enjoy the adventures vicariously through my posts! And I am honored that you and @catweasel featured me in the Magnificent 7 again! That is so cool. I upvoted and resteemed the post, and I have followed you both. Thank you so much for all the support!
Hey! There's actually water in the narrows! ;) Pictures look absolutely fantastic as usual. Makes me miss San Gabriel... a little bit. :)
There's always water in the Narrows what are you talking about. You see I put a picture of you in there?
Ha!! I thought that was you! lol!
Nah, thats you. Standing over the sluice wishing there was more gold in it. lol..
lol! so true
Holcomb Valley looks rad! And a rock crusher? You've gone all out!
Loved this article. Upvoted and resteemed for sure! :D
Thanks dude. I haven't found a great spot up in Holcomb yet, but the area is really nice. I like going up there during summer because its over 7,000' elevation and full of big pine trees so it stays nice and cool up there.
Awesome post, I would love to do some prospecting myself some day. I really enjoy watching YouTube videos about it.
Thanks. Do you live near an area with gold?
I live in South Africa, there is gold but not close to where I live. Another problem is that the gold is state owned so you are not allowed to prospect.
Oh man, thats a bummer. The state claims ownership of gold that hasn't even been dug up yet? That's crazy.
Gold, diamonds and anything else that comes out of the ground. Even if it is on property that you own. As far as I know you have to get a mining permit, you can get into big trouble if you are caught with uncut diamonds or gold nuggets.
Wow... That sucks big time. Kinda scary really. I hope that never happens here in California. I'm sure our government would love that, but it's such a big part of California's history that a lot of people here wouldn't stand for it.