Several of us have been hitting Clear Creek in Jeff Co Open space hard this winter. I think I've been out for 8-9 days already this year! Kinda icy at times, but the creek is pretty low, so there is lots of area to work! A couple of us will be back out Friday if anyone wants to join us!
Awesome pics there Yukon Cornelius! "Peppermint! What I've been searching for all my life! I've struck it rich! I've got me a peppermint mine! Wahooooo!"
See ya's again on Friday!
Looking good guys! I'm going to try and get up there Sunday. What mile marker are y'all working near?
I'm not sure which MM but it's the last large pull-off on the left before the HWY splits to Central City. I'd say about 1/4 mile before that traffic light.
Had an "OK" day today! Swizz and I Will be back at it tomorrow if anyone wants to join us!
And back at it we were......
Another excellent day on CC with you guys!! Awesome weather, good Gold all around, and great peoples! Here are a few pics from yesterday's winter excursion.
Looking upstream
https://flic.kr/p/DWHGXbhttps://flic.kr/p/DWHGXb by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Looking downstream
https://flic.kr/p/DyExXxhttps://flic.kr/p/DyExXx by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Jason attempting some home-made waders.... Timber taking great interest
https://flic.kr/p/DaKQMrhttps://flic.kr/p/DaKQMr by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Been a great week, 4 of the last 5 days spent on the creek with friends and GOLD!
Very nice, looks like it was awesome weather and more on the way this coming week. Spectacular for February digging's!
We've been choosing our weather carefully.
I'm snowed-in again today, so... time for some bowling!
https://flic.kr/p/DFshC7https://flic.kr/p/DFshC7 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Sorry to hear that... but then you do live in WINTER Park lol
Gonna be in the 60s all week down here in the flat lands!
Look forward to seeing what you've gotten!
Clean-up is looking good. Only a few specks over #30 mesh but the fines are off the hook. I'm spinning the last of the -100 mesh now and I've never recovered this much micron from CC. Pretty sure everything I have must be flood Gold. I'll post up some pics soon. .
.... here's what I mean, this is just the minus #100 mesh in the Blue Bowl (kudos to Angus MacKirk sluices). That's a lot of micron for only about 1/2yd of material that I moved. I'll do a grand total pic soon with the #30 and #50 mesh combined. Need to final clean and dry it all in the ol frying pan next.
https://flic.kr/p/E6ryijhttps://flic.kr/p/E6ryij by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Happy. Gold fever is cured for the moment.
Your turn Crusty. Should be able to spell out the whole web address with all the dredging you did!
https://flic.kr/p/DbtkRXhttps://flic.kr/p/DbtkRX by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
My fever is getting worse! I packed the car Saturday night, but ended up getting a late start Sunday, then errands left me with little time to go up. Getting the high wind warnings for Golden and Central City yesterday, I'm guessing it was howling through the canyon.
I shifted things around though, and want to/plan to go up next Saturday. Weather looks like it'll be nice still.
Did a quick pan of Saturday's haul... Another good day! Tomorrow I'll blue bowl it.
Whoohoo! Yeller in the pan! Nice man.
I'm packing my gear up for a day of digging, pronto. This weather has been unbelieveable.
My wife said she'd be sluicemaster if I'm digmaster. It's on!!!
Looking great Mike, can't wait to see your totals!
Friday or Sat looking good for anyone? Ready for more diggin, still 3 months to kill before my claims are accessible. Gotta stay in shovel shape.
Alrighty then. Anyone else up for some fun in the sun on Friday?
I have to work during the week, so I'm planning on setting the alarm for Saturday morning to get a good day in. I plan to go near the boat launch with the CC sign that it sounds like you're working near.
We've been hitting the upper reaches of Jeffco, just before MM260. There's a major pull-off there with the big brown wooden Clear Creek Canyon open space sign and a HWY camera on a metal post. I'm not sure where the boat launch is. If it's that one up near the restaurant and I70... that's out of the Jeffco Open Space boundaries. Is there a boat launch lower in the canyon that you're referring to?
That parking area by MM260 is where I see a lot of the rafters and kayaks put in, so I call it the boat launch. When the weather warms up, there's usually at least 1 rafting tour bus sitting there by the sign on weekends. I haven't worked that far up, usually sticking to the area just west of Mayhem Gulch (paved parking area) where the creek oscillates from flowing southeast to northeast then back to due east (MM 261 or so I think...there's an island in the stream there). Last time I drove US6, they had heavy equipment and jersey barriers blocking where I previously parked, and they were putting a bridges in. I just looked on Google maps, and the barriers are still in the image.
All of the areas that have heavy equip, barricades, etc are closed to rec use until they are done with work unfortunately. Everyone is chomping at the bit for them to reopen because of all the dirt and boulders that they moved... and are still moving.
Have you sampled downstream of that construction at all? I'm wondering what has been put back into the stream and re-concentrated. May have to check Saturday.
I have not. I doubt very much material (if any) has moved downstream yet since the flows have been really low since they started. It'll take a good runoff or Georgetown Dam release to get things going.
They had a full size excavator in the water for a long time scooping riverbed onto the new path upstream from where we're working now. Made me drool every time I saw him scoop a big bucket from the middle of the creek and dump it on the path. Saw that every day when I was commuting the canyon this winter.
Spending my afternoon blue bowling. Here's a few pics
My wife is a saint, letting me blue bowl in the living room lol
My results from sluicing Mon-tue.
My 12&18 mesh from dredging FRI-Sat
A sneak peak of my 30 mesh spinning;/battery pack died, so I'm at a stoppage
Quit teasing us.
Got a little more done this morning... I've got some really cool little "raw" (?) gold; very rough, one even still has a little bit of quartz still attached. Will get some macro pics of them. At the museum all day today, so hopefully I'll get it finished up this evening.
Calling for 70mph gusts in the canyon tomorrow. Anyone headed there... hold onto your pans, buckets, and sluices! Friday and Sat still looking pretty good, I may do both days.
"High wind warning" forecast holds in the canyon until Friday at about noon. I think we're good to go for tomorrow. I can live with some wind as long as it fading by noon. I pinpointed our location here: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-105.4274964214084&lat=39.73953707810776#.VsXOTdBcCUk
The ride in this morning was sporty, so it should be fun out on the creek!
I'd love to go today and tomorrow, but have to wait until Saturday. 10-14mph winds with some 23mph gusts forecast for Saturday....not good for skydiving, but I see no concerns with digging.
Looks good! We're up to 6 folks; not bad for a mid-Feb prospecting trip!!
That is awesome! I might be joining you as well on Sat Eric.
Finished blue bowling my 2 days cons from last week. Not bad!!
50 mesh
Final total
I need to come out there and dig with you guys sometime. My wife says I should take a road trip out there and dig with you all for some golden chunky. Its been awhile since I've seen dirt and its GOT to be warmer than Gunnison, although it's like spring now suddenly.
Speaking of spring, we were in colo spgs yesterday to pick up some things and it seemed like every corner in town had a beggar with a sign on it. I couldn't believe how many bums around there now. There was always the random beggar with his dog but now it's big business I guess.
Wow, it's changed since I was there two years ago. I was shocked.
Are you guys digging sunday too?
I'll wait till you guys get together next time, next weekend or whenever.
My wife wants to come if she can get away but I didn't think of going until yesterday. We have friends in Highlands ranch to stay with and visit in the evenings so she really wants to go with.
We have animals and chickens to take care of here and our wood stove has to be fed so I'll see if I can get my daughter to come up from town and stay here for a few days.
We had a blast there today!
Headed there again tomorrow and I think EMac and Joshua too if anyone would like to join us, weather looks spectacular.
Everyone was showing great Gold again today!
Crusty, Dypheron, and Timber
https://flic.kr/p/Dm19Tihttps://flic.kr/p/Dm19Ti by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Joshua feeding his sluice
https://flic.kr/p/DRg4ufhttps://flic.kr/p/DRg4uf by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/DkEiyLhttps://flic.kr/p/DkEiyL by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
.....and, for the ladies
https://flic.kr/p/DkDQsGhttps://flic.kr/p/DkDQsG by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Hey, another fine day on CC! Was there today with EMac and his better half... along with the three kids. again, good Gold all around.
Another upper sluice pic of the Angus. Transient Gold, hangs there for a while and then travels to the drop riffles. Should be another good cleanup.
https://flic.kr/p/E9DBjUhttps://flic.kr/p/E9DBjU by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Had a great time as always, I'm fighting the temptation to crack open the boxes with all of my processing gear so I can see the final result. I still can't believe how well Clear Creek is producing at the moment, I'm pretty sure there was more in the 5 buckets I dug Friday than all other times I've been there combined. Great way to spend one of the last days I have in Colorado before heading to Texas.
lol, awesome!
I did finally get a scale and I've gotten 2.5 grams this year... haven't cleaned up from the last trip yet.
Just about to start Blue Bowling from the last trip.
This is what I recovered that is larger than #30 mesh.
https://flic.kr/p/Dr9yojhttps://flic.kr/p/Dr9yoj by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
#30 - #50 mesh in the Bowl, working my way down....
https://flic.kr/p/Drd4XUhttps://flic.kr/p/Drd4XU by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
#50 - #100 mesh
https://flic.kr/p/DrAytBhttps://flic.kr/p/DrAytB by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Jackpot on the minus #100 mesh. I'll put it all together and take a better pic after I dry it all. Happy!
https://flic.kr/p/Ep5LYThttps://flic.kr/p/Ep5LYT by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Looking good!!
Total of last trip from approx 13 buckets of rough material that I classed down to 1/2", and slowly hand-sluiced through Angus mini. Ready for more.
https://flic.kr/p/EnWqYAhttps://flic.kr/p/EnWqYA by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Are you all meeting up this weekend or next by any chance? I'm coordinated to go and id like to check that area out. It's not a place I could frequent but new is always good for me.
I have a slow week. Need to drive down to Parker for a day's worth of work... but that's pretty much it.
Anyone hittin the creek this week?
lol... we posted at exactly the same time. I'm in Johnny, pick yer day(s).
I can be there Sat and Sunday all day. We would probably leave here friday morning and head back sunday after a good day of digging. I could make it there by Friday afternoon but I'm not sure how much time I'd have before dark. Saturday all day for sure though and Sunday.
I need to drop some ore samples off I found to get them looked at.
I panned more gold and chunkies out of a gravel sized piece than I get all day sometimes shoveling buckets of flood material. I was amazed!
You all been meeting at mm260 or 261 on hwy 6?
How far away is Highlands ranch from there approximately?
Weird, double post.
Near MM260. Not sure how far that is from Highlands Ranch, I'm coming from the other direction.
I can probably do both Sat & Sun. Anyone else wanna join us?
Awesome! That sounds good.
I can find the parking area up there by mm260. Shouldn't be a prob.
Whooohoo yeah!
Nice finds gents!
I'm going to try and get up on Saturday again if Teresa will let me :)
I don't have a blue bowl, so I still have some cons to pan out at home from last weekend. I'll get to those eventually and post some pics.
I'm good for Saturday but not Sunday, hope to see you there Eric. I picked up one of those 42" DeWalt wrecking bars like you had last time.
Here's my take from last Friday. Another great day on the creek spent with club members!
12-18 mesh!
I'm bringing two more people with me if that's cool. One is another fellow prospector from the denver area named Travis, and the other one has never seen raw gold before so I hope for him to see some. He's Curtis.
Hes more of a disc golfer in his free time and he doesnt have the bug but he said be wants to try the gold pan and check it all out. Hes green but he'll have a great time. He's the buddy I stay with out there. Maybe those guys will help me sink a deep hole on Saturday so Sunday I can get deep gold all day hehe.
Should be a good time!!
That sounds great, looking forward to meeting you all!
Sounds like it'll be a good showing. As of last night, I'm in for Saturday. I'll bring my wolf sluice along as well in case someone wants to use it. Still haven't panned out my cons from last week though; seeing y'all's takes so quickly has me wanting for a faster way to clean up.
Swizz - I think we should check out where you were mentioning right before we left last week.
In case you might find the data helpful: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?06719505
You guys are killing me!
We're packed up and heading out early in the morning for denver.
What time you guys meeting up on Saturday?
I should be there by around 8 but I don't think the sun kisses that part of the canyon until about 9.
Have fun guys and find lots of gold!
I'm planning on getting there earlier than last time; it will probably be just me, so likely between 8 and 9.
We drove up to check out the area so I'd know where to go. Mile marker 260 is at tunnel six? There's a bunch of construction going on right there.
Do you guys park before the light or after the left turn?
I saw a few parking spots before the traffic light and there's one after tunnel six.
We can be there at 8-9, whenever is fine.
Supposed to be almost 70!! Whooohoo.
The large parking area is about 100ft downstream from the physical MM. It's paved and has a big wooden sign regarding the Open Space. See ya's in the morning!
Right on. We should be there at 8:15-8:30ish.
We'll be in the white subaru outback circling around looking for you hehe.....see ya there!
Another great day yesterday. Very nice to meet Johnny and friends.
EMac - bummer that your pump decided to dump, hope you can get that resolved soon. I have to work this afternoon but may have time to do a BB cleanup today. I think that Johnny & crew are back at it up there today.
Here's my take from yesterday, 7 buckets worth of diggin. All small stuff, nothing large.
https://flic.kr/p/DF9iJzhttps://flic.kr/p/DF9iJz by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Nice job!
Thanks Swizz and Emac on hooking me up with a place to dig for a couple of days. I'll go back there again sometime when I'm in the area.
I saw alot of places that looked real promising across the creek but most of it was covered under an ice sheet a foot thick and I didn't bring waders to cross, no biggy.
I was surprised how much I got anyway!
Curtis and Travis had fun on saturday and we found some gold so that's what's up! Whooohoo!
Here's a pic of what I could pan out easily. I have my cons from the bazooka which show real good fine gold so it will go into my CONtainer.
Thanks fellas! It was a great time and worth checking out! I'm looking forward to next time already!
Great meeting you guys and glad you found some of the good stuff, let's do it again!
I haven't gotten through my panning yet from the first day out there this year, so I don't have any pics yet. I won't have time to get to the creek this weekend, but I should be able to pan some in the backyard.
I'm bummed about the pump; it has a 3-year warranty, so I contacted Attwood. The confluence of my busted pump, my envy of the massive hole the guys with the dredge made next to Chris, and the seemingly ubiquitous love of Angus Mackirk sluices, I've been looking at the options there. Flirting with diverting this thread, does anyone have comparative experience with an AM dredge/high banker (Chameleon, Pack Rat, Klondike or Yukon)? These are 2.5" rigs which are attractive to me for their portability.
The Yukon DC and Klondike DC look awesome, and fairly priced. I'm toying with the idea of switching out my highbanker A-52 box with an Angus box. I'm definitely sold on drop-riffle systems.
The winds have shifted....I might be able to get up there this weekend. :)
When are ya's all going out again?
C&G
Sat and/or Sunday I think... looks like just Eric and me so far. You two gonna come and roll boulders with us?
Weather looks just great! Anyone else wanna join us? You don't have to be a club member or anything, just come on up and have some fun!
Possibly, ya'll got some spare waders we can borrow fer the day? If not, hellooooo classifier my old friend.
C&G
No spare waders but I got by for a day when I didn't have mine. Just dig closer to shore, the water is relatively low. I'm assuming you guys have a sluice and all you need for Gold gettin other than that, right?
You know what they say bout assuming? We're not gold miners but would come fer something to do... Let Glenda meet you n EMac and/er anyone else that comes. We'll just help yous. More dirt the better...no?
C&G
I don't have spare waders either, but have been considering picking up another set for the kiddos. I may end up following Chris' lead and go with the sluice. Attwood is honoring their warranty which is nice, but it won't be here tomorrow.
Dave an I might meet up with ya'll on Saturday. I need to get back into gold mode.
Have a great time out there today everyone, hope the weather holds out nicely and ya'll find some more awesome color!
Fantastic weather, awesome folks, and nice Gold again! Couldn't have asked for a better day.
I was planning on hitting it again today but Jeepy threw an emissions code on the way home so I'm going to fiddle with that instead. I'll post up a final cleanup from yesterday if I have time to Blue Bowl today.
Eric, I wanna know how ya did at that upper peninsula.
https://flic.kr/p/EnKG2Mhttps://flic.kr/p/EnKG2M by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Had a great day on the creek yesterday with swizz, Dave and Emac and company. Dusted off the gold gear and gave it a test run. I need to patch up a few spots on my waiters and need to get new gloves but other than that I feel set to go for this gold season. I ran about 4 buckets of material from a new hole that had a good showing of color. I had a few folks ask about the gold wheel I was spinning around. I gave them a flyer/card for the club and chatted with them about claims and prospecting. My camera does not take good pics of gold in the pan but here is the few pics I took yesterday.
Dave
Great pics Mike!
I'm about to start Blue Bowling. This is what I plucked out that is larger than #30 mesh. I only ran a total of 7 buckets of 1/2" class so this is looking real good. Nothing quite "picker" size, but almost. Will update with total when I'm done.
https://flic.kr/p/Ev4utjhttps://flic.kr/p/Ev4utj by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/EVhtVShttps://flic.kr/p/EVhtVS by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Good showing for sure! My finds from the last 3 outings are mostly still sitting in the cons....I need a damn blue bowl apparently. I think I'll combine the cons from the road side of the creek from 2 outings, and process the cons from upstream separately to get see if there's a delta. Hopefully I find more since that's the simpler test condition; if I find less value, it could be the dirt or the switch to using a sluice. I'm confident I'm catching floating gold with the cube, but not so much with my sluice.
I won't be able to get up there this weekend, so that gives time for my pump to show up. I still have my eye on the Angus Klondike dredge combo though...as well as a blue bowl. Has me thinking about Mike's LLC, and whether one could help defray the costs of my toys.
Wow, if you're sitting on three sets of cons from there and get a BB.... that thing is gonna light up like the 4th of July when you run it!
Make sure you watch that BB vid I linked in my http://www.coloradoprospector.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2869 (page 2, post #18). Invaluable information in that vid which helps the process tremendously.
Weather looks great again..... I'm going to try and get back there Fri, Sat, or Sun if anyone's interested in joining Timber and me for some quality time.
The Au gods may shine once more upon me. I'm supposed to help a buddy move on Saturday, but just heard he's expecting to be done by Friday night. If that's the case, I anticipate heading to the creek again myself. I'll have to find some time some evening this week to check the cons from upstream.
I'm going to get a BB for this weekend, and already pulled up your thread in a background tab to review.
They damn near WANT me to go...Attwood came through with my replacement pump just now; attach some leads and I'm in business.
Cool mang! I'm stuck working Friday but I'll plan Saturday for sure. I want to go to that upstream dig with you and check it out.
We are gunna try and make it Saturday. If not both of us maybe just me. Hope to see you guys!
James
Amazon says my Blue Bowl will be here tomorrow, so I should have a chance to check those cons from upstream. Tomorrow will tell whether or not I can go Saturday. We still have a tax appt in the morning Sat, so I expect to arrive around noon if I can go.
Sounds like another good showing for folks, so I'm hoping my buddy's move goes fast!
Kenny, I can't make Friday unfortunately but will be there Sat. Hope you find some good color!!!
Eric, I hope ya make it, supposed to be in the 60s. Also, for the BB.... did you get #30, #50, and #100 class screens? You'll need those for sure. I was looking at classifier screens on Amazon and ran across http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008B0SUVM/ref=s9_simh_gw_g79_i1_r?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0K51VX8EJAGRFBKB681M&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop which are about 1/2 the price of the Keene classifiers that I have. I was wondering about their quality, they look good in the pics. That's the #2 mesh but they have them in all classes. They don't look as deep as the Keene but way better value if they're well built.
I picked up a stack of http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008EWOL8I?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00 classifiers in 2014 and they've worked great (they were $10 cheaper then too). Mesh sizes: 1/100", 1/70", 1/50", 1/30", 1/20", 1/12", 1/8", 1/4", 1/2" Adds up to less than $10 per classier.
My problem now is getting the right mesh labels on them after using/mixing them up.
Very good to know! Wish I hadn't just replaced my 1/2" with another Keene.
Regarding the marking of each screen, I had that same problem. You can use a woodburner or soldering iron.... scroll down to the 4th image in the first post, http://www.coloradoprospector.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2869
Is clear creek usually pretty high at the beginning of May? I thought I heard the flow was controlled by a dam upstream. Id like to bring my tools and hit it again on saturday, the weekend of the 8th if I won't get washed away!
It seems like the melt off would be done by then?
I love the clear creek chunky gold!!
Glad y'all are out getting the gold. Didn't get much of anything in AZ. Would rather be standing nuts deep in freezing water with y'all!
For water level you can Google 'USGS clear creek golden' and you can check the USGS water gages
My buddy needs my help today, so I likely won't make it up. It will be late for sure if I do.
Sorry we missed ya yesterday Eric, it was great weather again. James and I worked upstream from your last dig and it was looking good over there! Pleasure to meet relicsncoins and his friend. I was going to go back today but didn't. I'll try to do a BB cleanup today and post my recovery from 7 buckets of 1/2" class that were fed through the Angus.
https://flic.kr/p/F6vQ6Fhttps://flic.kr/p/F6vQ6F by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/FcBaTWhttps://flic.kr/p/FcBaTW by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
About to run the Blue Bowl.... this is what I panned out that is larger than #30 mesh.
https://flic.kr/p/FfxqGHhttps://flic.kr/p/FfxqGH by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/F7MrWnhttps://flic.kr/p/F7MrWn by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Looking good! I want to get back up there bad. Looks like next Saturday will be a bit chilly, but I may find myself up there anyway. There's definitely a learning curve to this blue bowl. I need some time to actually work with it instead of a few minutes here and there.
It takes me the better part of of 3-4hrs to process, which includes setup and tear down. I watched golf yesterday while I was babysitting the Blue Bowl. I usually commit an afternoon to it. The minus #100 mesh takes the longest for sure. Run your largest class first and work your way down. Turkey baster and small neo magnet are necessities. Patience is rewarded.
Who is going to clear Creek this weekend
I'd like to Saturday, but can't guarantee it.
I usually go Sunday but let me know
Will do!
Thinking about hitting Clear Creek tomorrow, 3/16 if anyone is interested.
Man I can't
You can't make it this weekend?
Only sundayfor myself
Not sure what CC got, but we just received 23 inches of snow in 24hrs up here. Still snowing.
I'm looking forward to at least a day on the creek this weekend.
Some Clear creek observation from yesterday.
1. I sample panned at various depths, and there seems to be just as much if not more gold in the first 6 or 8 inches under the cobbles than at greater depths. I'm guessing this is gold that was deposited in the floods over the last couple of years.
2. There is a layer of dark material at about 8 inches down, pretty much where ever I dug. The layer is a couple of inches thick and has a rusty black look to the gravels and sands. Not sure if this is the flood layer, and everything above it is recent deposits.
3. There is what appears to be yellow striping paint for roads in most of the holes I dug, and it really makes you look twice when digging, A couple of times, I thought i had a nice picker. :(
4. In a couple of places, I hit a thin layer of clay about a foot down.
5. Some dredgers left a 6 food deep pit right at the water's edge. If a fisherman accidentally steps in one of those, and complains to the county, it could spell trouble for prospecting.
6. Based on my sample pans, I am going to run an experiment next time I go. I'm Not going to dig deep, I'm simply going to turn over bowling ball to beach ball sized cobbles, shovel out the easy gravels down to about 6 inches and move to the next cobble and see what kind of of a cleanup I have.
I think your observations are fairly accurate when compared to most that have prospected there.
The depth of the pay layers that you are encountering can vary. If you are on an inside bend of the river where a gravel/cobble bar has formed, such as you were working last week, it usually has that upper layer of fine pay a foot or less under. There are layers below that as well but sometimes a lot of junk in between. Generally speaking, it's a good plan to chase the layer horizontally. If you're feeling more ambitious then you can never go wrong going deep in that creek, the larger colors always sift their way down. A lot more work though and can be a crap shoot.
That large dredge hole is from the two guys (Steve and Tony) who work it every Saturday. Weekend before last they got a couple grams from it. They aren't affiliated with CP forums or club, just two guys from the front range. I've talked to them every weekend and they're super nice.... they know what they're doing for sure. They also know the Jeffco regs there and I'm not sure what their plan is for any reclamation, that's their business. If they do nothing I can guarantee you that the hole will refill with gravels within one day of runoff when they crank up the dam release.
.... and we all get fooled by the HWY paint!
Judging by the current weather forecast for that vicinity, I'm leaning toward Sunday now... which is predicted to be about 15 degrees warmer than Sat.
Here is the cleanup from yesterday at Clear Creek. Had one of those days where I didn't like the flow of the sluice a couple different times and ended up moving it twice. It was noon before I had my first bucket run. Stepped in a hole and filled up my boot with ice water. I did run 8 or 9 buckets and this is the result. Based on the color I saw in the top of the sluice, I thought I would have had about twice that. A lot of really fine gold, but not much size. Last weekend, I had some decent sized pieces, but not as much fine. Making notes of where and how deep I dug to better maximize my time on the creek.
The friggin highway paint!! Still gets me from time to time...
I agree with Swizz on your observations. I'm looking at the snow in the backyard and debating on tomorrow. Sunday doesn't work for me unfortunately. I'm still working through previous CC cons (2 previous trips, and the 30+ is from the last outing), but I think I've sorted out Blue Bowl operations.
Says 29 in Black Hawk and 38 in Golden....splitting the difference, it'll be cold. Lane and I are heading up tomorrow anyway.
Hey Swizz if you go tomorrow could I go with you?
Sure! I'm planning to be there by around 8.... look for white Jeep, and me with white wolfy dog. I'll be upstream from the parking lot. Do you have chest waders?
Yes and where do you guys meet at and thank you
The parking lot that is at MM260. We don't meet anywhere in particular, just look for me in the parking lot or upstream from the parking lot with the pooch. I'd like to go back to the other side of the river again tomorrow if the water level allows... that's why I was asking about your waders.
Cool thanks again
I have a silver Dodge
Great day of prospecting with you today CL6! Sorry Timber ate your shovel! I just ordered you the exact same Ames model from Amazon Prime. Next time we meet up I'll trade you for the munched one.
Super cold when we got there this morning but warmed up really nice by noon. We stayed on the near side of the river and tag-teamed a good hole. We were both showing nice colors for sure.
This is a pic of the upper section of my Angus after the first bucket, frickin Gold everywhere. That warmed me up!
https://flic.kr/p/Eznzynhttps://flic.kr/p/Eznzyn by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Nice Chris, wish I could've been there. How was the water level?
Swizz it's all good about the shovel I had so much fun and thank you for teaching me a few things yes it was cold and that color in my sluice warmed me right up had a blast can't wait to do that again
Sounds like another fun day! Great way to spend the first day of spring. I can't believe Timber ate his shovel!! Terra was trying to bury Colin while we were digging for Fulgurites yesterday, no shovel eating though.
It's all good about the shovel it still worked
Sorry I didn't get back to you on the water level Chris; you probably saw it was fine to get across. We were up there from about 9:30 until about 1PM, and it was -7.5C when we arrived; I've never seen ice crystals forming in moving water before, so that was pretty novel. Couldn't resist knocking them lose all day. Icicles on the gold cube:
Definitely do not turn your back on the Bowl! Also.... you have way too much material in there. I made that mistake early in the game and have a similar pic in my BB thread with an overfilled Bowl. Feed it 1 or 2 tablespoons at a time, much easier to process.... drizzle it in just upstream of the inlet to the Bowl
Use the turkey baster frequently.
When I'm not turning my back on it, I frequently baste the cone. I read earlier about doing a teaspoon at a time (I think between you and Brandon), but I'm doing a little self-experimenting. I started off with the a teaspoon, but I can almost pan that fast, so I'm looking for increased efficiency. My thought process, when I'm not trying to do too much at once, is to blue bowl the entire classification level. Then at some point when I have a good bucket of processed cons, I re-run all those through my gold cube and re-bowl them to try and catch whatever was previously missed.
My approach (aside from the incident where I thought the flow was steady), is to keep the water lower than the indicated levels as long as I see lighter material rising on the cone. If there's any sort of build up or an area acting as a ramp, then I use the baster. As the material thins out, I slowly bring the water level higher. Seems to work well with larger classifications
I want to reclassify the blue bowl tailings, and pan to see how much I missed using this method. That could very well sway my opinion back to where y'all are at.
I'm not saying this is the right way....sometimes I like to make all the mistakes myself. The joy of learning new things Part of me wants to run a http://www.isixsigma.com/tools-templates/design-of-experiments-doe/design-experiments-%E2%90%93-primer/ to better understand the inputs and overall contribution, but that would be a fair amount of work. If others have interest, perhaps we could put something together. We'll need a stats person...I'm decent, but prefer to let an expert review the test setup and eventual https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis_of_variance.
Swizz is right you have to babysit that bowl
Happy Easter everyone. Did anyone hit clear creek yesterday? Just wondering what the level was like.
Happy Easter Bunny! I haven't been back. Starting a new work project tomorrow that will likely take all week. Maybe by next weekend I'll be able to take a day?
This Saturday for me as well hopefully.
Saturday or Sunday I'm not sure yet
I hope that I can do one of those two days, amidst a good sized biz project right now.
Chris, I have your new Ames shovel... hopefully we can meet up and I'll trade ya for the chewy one. I already ordered a ReGrip for that one and will put it to use at the ol mine.
Sweet thanks I'll let you know what day
I'm going Sunday
Still planning on Saturday. I wonder how much snow is in the canyon after these last couple of storms. On another note I was researching claims in that area to see how far toward the 119 junction you could go and still be legal. From what I found, there is 40 acre claim owned by a guy in AZ and a guy in NC, that is just past tunnel 3 and extends from clear creek up into the hills to the North. I called one of the owners on the phone, to get a more detailed location, to make sure I am not on their claim. He confirmed that he did have a claim there, but the guy was almost 90 years old, and was difficult to understand on the phone.
Here is a link to approximate location of this claim.
http://thediggings.com/mines/cmc200145
"thediggings" is an excellent tool for minor/basic research but not 100% accurate (no fault of the site, just not possible), especially pertaining to 'active status' or potential recently filed claims... because these things are very fluid. Estimated boundaries (which diggings took the liberty of displaying) aren't even close, at least how they were rendered on that site and displayed for my claims, WAAAAY off. I'm sure they have a disclaimer to that effect by now, I would hope so.
Kinda reminds me of the old BLM "geocommunicator" which attempted the same thing in a less user-friendly interface than diggins. Diggings is prettier and easier to navigate than geocom was, it also has some very useful links. Great 'starting point' for research but that's it, other resources must be used.
Here is what we all do as legitimate prospectors, what the law expects us to do, and they way it's been done since the 1800s:
The (only) way to acquire exact boundary information is to.... go to the County Clerk/Recorder.... or...... Lakewood BLM Headquarters Public Records room. This is easy. Your taxes pay for this public room, it's services, and it's employees, you own it, use it! Think of it as your library, a very very valuable library.
For the claim you linked:
Present either office with the CMC number and they will pull his claim files for you to review and copy. Requires a visit. They will not do this over the phone nor internet (some County offices provide this via internet but charge a nominal fee, a list of Colorado Counties and fees is posted in the CP Protected Forum for CP Club Members' quick reference). The County and BLM Public Rooms have public tables and chairs there so you can sit and have some time with the files, and decide which pages you want copies of. These claim files must (by law) include a map (typically hand-drawn) accompanied with an accurate written description (again, by law) of where each claim boundary marker was originally placed. Regardless of whether or not the physical markers are still there or in tact.... the claim and original boundary marker locations remain 100% legal as stated and mapped in the permanent Public Records filing for as long as the claim is legally maintained. So... hand the file back to the BLM or County employee stating which pages you want copies of (map, etc), then pay a couple of bucks for them to run a few copies. Say toodaloo, git goin, and keep the copies in your home files for reference.
I never bother contacting claim owners, the information is ALL a matter of public record and sitting there for us to review and copy, really no need to bug the 90 yr old man. I have been contacted by John Q. Public before regarding MY claim boundaries and I always direct them to Public Records for an accurate map of my boundaries. What... do they expect ME to fax them a copy or something?
Anyway... you should go and pull his records, copy them (at whichever Public office you prefer to use). I personally love the BLM HQ Public Room in Lakewood. Viewing the files is free and only a small fee for them to copy whatever you want, and they are friendly there!! This would be an excellent exercise for you in terms of land status research!
Master the land status research and the whole state is your oyster. You will always feel confident and comfortable where you are prospecting. It's not difficult, somewhat empowering, and actually... dare I say it.... fun!
I would totally go with you if I were down there. I have a few that I need to pull files for.
I used more than just the diggings website, It's just what I linked to. I understand land status research, and understand the BLM office is the place to go for the most accurate information, but I've found this out when I was heavy into metal detecting, sometimes a simple phone call will save a lot of time. The claim owner did tell me where the claim was, I just couldn't hear/understand him all that well on the phone. At any rate, I am planning on going to the BLM office, but I'm waiting until I finish up with some research on other areas so I don't have to make multiple trips.
Good plan. I always make the trip worthwhile by having several at once.
Sweet do you want to meet at the same spot
Yeah, I like it up there. Maybe try something on the other side of the river this time. We played-out that last spot I think.
I'm still up in the air on schedule. If my work materials shipment arrives tomorrow, I may need to work through the weekend... if not I'm there! I'll know by tomorrow.
Oh? A fellow footballer as well? May have to bring a ball with on Saturday and see if I can juggle in waders :) It's been about a year since I played with a team...did a little coaching, and go kick and juggle at the park not too infrequently.
I'm planning on heading up tomorrow; likely the same area we've been meeting at.
Miss y'all! Taking my 15 yo nephew to a creek 90 miles from Seattle to do some digging this weekend.
Washington has some good Gold, I hope you guys score!
I'm working tomorrow but taking Sunday off. See you at the crick CL6. I'll probably get there at around 8am I think.
I drove the canyon today and it looked great. Water level still low. Same rusty discoloration in the water when I went by in the afternoon. It's coming from the Central City fork, so probably some mining op or road work happening up there.
Awesome Swizz I'll see you at 8
Fun day and great weather yesterday on the creek with CL6. We went a ways downstream (same parking lot), Gold was looking good.
https://flic.kr/p/FPQxNShttps://flic.kr/p/FPQxNS by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
This means I sluiced 6 buckets of 1/2" class.
https://flic.kr/p/FS9K86https://flic.kr/p/FS9K86 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Great day on Saturday. Met Emac and his boy, weather was fantastic. I also tried down stream, the gold looked good, but quickly petered out. Moved back above the fish structure and seem to have more consistent gold. I ran 8 classified buckets through two different mackirk sluices to compare recovery rates. I also used the new miller table, and I will give my thoughts on it in the equipment section.
Here is the -100 gold cleaned up with the miller table.
Thanks Swizz sorry I had to cut out early and helping me set up
My pleasure, catch ya next time!
It was great meeting RelicsNCoins on Saturday. Lane and I did a little digging, but like normal, no idea what all we found yet since it's all still in the cons. Did take a couple pics though on the creek.
Relicsncoins:
Good to see you got the Cube back up and running.
Yes sir! Attwood was great honoring the warranty, and I'm back in business. I still have my eye on an Angus highbanker/dredge combo though....
... I'll be bringing my measuring wheel in case anyone is curious to verify the 100ft rule for man-made fishing structures.
https://flic.kr/p/F7FmmEhttps://flic.kr/p/F7FmmE by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Considering Saturday right now.
Im new but is there anyway I could come help out? No idea what Im doing but Ive moved my fair share of rocks and dirt being a redneck and all.
Hi all! I'm back. Looks like you have been tearing it up on CC this winter. Let me know when you are heading up again and maybe I can come up and get in the way!
I'm hoping to spend much more time in the hills this season. Now, if I can just remember how this shovel works... and where did I put that damn classifier?
yak..... for sure! Join us anytime!
Mr Ruby! So glad to hear from you again! I was planning on hitting the creek on Sat or Sunday but there is tentative job interference looming for me now. I'll know by sometime tomorrow whether or not I can dip my shovel.
I won a terrific petrified wood pendant from the CP referral contest.... which you had done the setting. It is astonishing. It will be a present for my Mother's 93rd birthday, and she is gonna love it! Also, your maker's mark is very cool. You sir, are very talented.
Hope to see you again soon, and say hi to Char!.
Looks like I may be up there Saturday as well.
Yak - come on out...it's JeffCo open space and not a claim, so there aren't any prohibitions for anyone who wants to show up. If you've got waders and good gloves for cold water, they're definitely helpful. If you can bring a gold pan (check in Golden if you're not sure where), shovel and a couple buckets, you'll be in business. If I can get up there, I'll bring an extra sluice; usually someone has a spare. Same with a classification screen to remove the larger stones. I take 2, and only use them when sampling.
At home to clean up the gold, you'll need a snuffer bottle and vial of some sort to put your values in.
My recommendation is to show up, get a panning lesson or 2 (lots of techniques and variations therein....gotta find which work best for you), capture some concentrates and practice panning concentrates at home.
Hey Chris! Glad you like the pendant! I hope your mother likes it too. My work is guaranteed, so if there are any problems, let me know.
I am keeping an eye on the weather there in JeffCO - not too enthusiastic about working in the rain. Not sure which day I'll go, but if I see your jeep, I'll stop and throw a rock.
There is always next weekend. I would like to get a couple of days in before runoff though... we'll see. Hey Yak! Looking forward to meeting you on the river.
Dang it.... it'll have to be next weekend for me, friends. This work contract just got approved and I'm on it through this weekend.
I'm happy about the contract but was looking forward to this weekend.
Need to finish some work around the house, so I am out tomorrow also. My birthday is on Tuesday, have the day off and will be in the creek if anyone want's to do some weekday sluicing.
I'm spending the day with my beautiful bride someplace other than the creek.
Yak - might not be the best day to go and get a lesson
CC Canyon closed due to a rockslide today.... glad I'm not there for that!
Happy Birthday relics, I hope you aren't there today.
With the weather coming, this weekend doesn't look good, so they'll have time to get those loose rocks out of the way. Of course if the weather turns towards the better, I plan to be up there.
DOT says it was at MM 267.5, so just down the creek from where we usually go (found from google since I'm not on FB): https://www.facebook.com/coloradodot/posts/990016104386629
Howdy folks! I'm back in town... but as Emac said, forecast for this weekend sucks. I might be able to make it up Mon or Tue if anyone wants to hook up. Jonesing for some good Co GOLD!
Welcome back Crusty!
My work season is back in full swing right now... been working nights even. Not looking good for me to hit the creek for a bit unfortunately.
My daughter came with me yesterday and she ran about 5 buckets through a sluice I setup for her. I ran 7 buckets through my sluice and saw really good gold in the top of the sluice all day as well as the largest piece of gold I have yet to see in Clear Creek.
Nice! Where were you at there? Same MM as before?
Swizz, now that you worked the upper area and the old spot we were working a couple weeks apart, which are you thinking is a better spot? I know the upstream location will be a no go once the water gets higher, so I guess the lower will be where we end up anyway
I went downstream about 50ft further than we did last year on the other side (I think we were too close to fishing struc last year). The Gold was about the same from what I was seeing in my upper box section. I haven't done a cleanup yet but I'd say relatively similar results.
Hopefully my claims will be accessible by the time CC goes out of control, that would be good timing for me.
Had a great time yesterday, weather was great, had one brief 20 minute shower. It was nice enough all day, that my daughter wore shorts and a t-shirt. She decided to skip a college class and hang with her old man shoveling rocks in the creek.
I suspect he's referring to the water level and flow: http://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/usa/nwis/uv/?cb_00065=on&cb_00060=on&format=gif_default&site_no=06719505&period=&begin_date=2015-04-07&end_date=2016-04-14
The water will rise another foot or so, and the flow rate will spike around 2000ft^3/sec before coming back down over the next 5 months.
Could be the bike path though; they need to get their heavy equipment off the spot I was working last year is what I truly know.
I was referring to runoff. The bike path doesn't bother me... I'm only there in the winter.
Here is the +50 gold cleaned up from my birthday sluicing adventure on Tuesday. Pretty nice piece off to the right. The chunky piece in the middle is gold with some other host rock. I dug a pretty deep hole and it paid off with larger gold, probably won't be as much fine gold I'm guessing. Will clean the -50 and -100 gold tomorrow.
WOOHOO, nice birthday Gold!!
Happy belated birthday, nice looking gold. Looks like it was a priceless day out with your daughter!!
Good to have you back safe and sound Crusty!
Nice day's haul! Happy belated birthday!!
And thanks Mrs CP; good to be back! Now if only the weather wasn't crappy this weekend so I could get out. Maybe Mon or Tue will look better. I've got my Museum volunteer gig Wed and Thur-Sat Mrs Crusty and I are making our third trip as Guardians on an Honor Flight taking WWII/Korea vets to DC to see the memorials.
Well.... socked-in with snow and a day off. Might have time to process.
This is my concentrate from the last two trips (some Gold in foreground that didn't shake down with the pile).
https://flic.kr/p/FVRaQdhttps://flic.kr/p/FVRaQd by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
About to start bowling... this is what I picked out of the +30 mesh. Not bad. The concentrate is from 12 buckets of 1/2" sluiced. Will follow up with the rest.
https://flic.kr/p/FrdxhMhttps://flic.kr/p/FrdxhM by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Final tally from last 12 buckets of 1/2" class, hand sluiced. Nothing big, but good yield for only 12 buckets I think. (also...1943 silver wheat penny from my stash)
https://flic.kr/p/Gg8ydKhttps://flic.kr/p/Gg8ydK by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Great for 12 buckets! Looks like more than I get from a days dredging, which is way more than 12 buckets!
Nice haul there. Now it's time to go get some more concentrates.
Would like to get out earlier this week, but it looks like I won't be able to make it until Friday. Anyone else available? Will be bringing a friend/prospective club member.
Well shit... just checked the weather; high of 38 with rain/snow... guess I'll wait and see what develops over the week. Looks like rain/snow and low temps all week
I'm slammed with work for at least the next couple of weeks.
Went down there on Saturday, met Emac. Had a great time. The water is starting to come up.
Weather is looking a little rough at this point for the weekend. Looks like land research and/or blue bowling in my living room is my Saturday mining activity this week. Anyone going out this weekend?
On the website http://www.cotrip.org/ there are links to CDOT cameras. There is one in the pullout that looks east and you can see the creek. It's a good check to see current weather conditions and how
high the creek is flowing.
You gotta love it when panning down your bigger mesh size and the yellow starts to peek through. Just starting on the concentrates from last weekend.
looking good!
Running a teaspoon of +50 concentrate on the miller table. Lots of nice color in it.
Weather looks like crap through late next week... and I'm gonna be out of town Wed-Mon or Tue :(
https://weather.com/weather/tenday/l/Black+Hawk+CO+80422:4:US
I imagine this latest few days of snow will definitely bring the creek up.
Had a few hours yesterday before work and ran 6 half inch classified buckets. Panned about 1/3 of the +50 concentrates. Looks promising for 6 buckets.
My AM dredge has shipped from Canada, eh! The pump from HF and hoses/camlocks from Central state are sitting in my garage; I'm hoping to test it out on CC soon. I'd like to go do some digging this weekend, but it's not looking good. I'm glad J is able to work what we dug up....I've got unworked cons still from the last three outings. Those pics are very encouraging!
The search for a new vehicle is in full swing now. I checked out a badass Jeep Unlimited X model this week, but I want more storage room that's not on top. I've got my eyes set on a Tacoma or other suitable light pickup with good clearance. If you have any good leads, feel free to send them my way. I'm ditching the beemer, so this needs to be a daily driver.
I might try and get down there on Saturday and dodge the T storms.
Here is the gold from 6 buckets I ran about 10 days ago. Not too shabby for 6 buckets.
Very nice for 6 buckets....Not too shabby at all!
Really nice, I like the Mercury dime too!
Hit the creek on Saturday with Emac. He was testing out his new dredge. The crick has come up considerably, and I was no longer able to get to the other side. On my first bucket through my sluice, I saw the largest piece of gold yet, it was big enough I plucked it out with two fingers and stuck it in my Pan. I showed Eric, and he also said it was the biggest piece of gold he has seen come out of that creek. Sadly, about an hour after I showed it to him, a gust of wind sent my pan with gold tumbling down the rocks, and I never did find it. :(
I can confirm that was the biggest piece of gold I've seen there. It was hammered flat, and I mistook it for a leaf in the pan until I saw it wasn't moving. I feel so bad for you!
Water is definitely up; it's higher now than it was on Saturday. With the rain and warmth, I suspect it'll be even higher:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwisweb/graph?agency_cd=USGS&site_no=06719505&parm_cd=00065&period=7
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwisweb/graph?agency_cd=USGS&site_no=06719505&parm_cd=00060&period=7
I put this in the member's area already, but wanted to share with the open community too. I'm pretty pleased with the new dredge! The last two weekends, I've seen the 2 biggest pickers yet from Clear Creek. Relics' find appeared to be about twice as big as this one I found on Saturday:
Yahooo! That's a crunchy picker.
Sweet one! Bet you were doing one of the happy dances on the creek too! Nice little picker!
Crusty took one shortly after I found it and I have a shit eating grin on my face.
I'm hesitant to post it because I'm usually topless if the sun is out.
I'm going tomorrow at cc
Friday was freezing, so I didn't last long, but Saturday was a good day. Saw some decent color with CL6 and Josh out there, and need to make plans to go listen to our very own bassist perform live! Broke a weld which shortened the day, but went back Monday for the whole day.
I think I mentioned I wasn't real impressed with some of the workmanship on the hardware, and this is one of those items. There are a couple things that bother me such as the holes in hopper support bars, but nothing I haven't overlooked. The broken weld was seriously annoying because it was a crappy, cold weld.
I thought about a warranty claim, but that would be another month of sending this thing back and forth to Canada and I'm not convinced the new weld would be better. To save myself shipping frustration and loss of my dredge, I opted to throw $50 at a muffler shop to get it back in service right away. I was using it all day Monday with no issues after a re-weld.
I expect to be out there sucking again Saturday for sure, and possibly tomorrow afternoon.
Hey fellas. I'm glad to see your still slaying it out there. I've been working my summer away waiting on the snow to melt at Taylor park and it's coming fast now. Emac has a dredge now? Daaaaammmb.
Firewood is my priority right now so I went tree prospecting and found the mother lode in the forest behind me. A large grouping of standing dead, probably a few years worth, so it will be easier work this year. I cut a two track trail through to it last night so I can get the old truck through and maybe get to keep my mirrors. It will save me time processing from the same place with this pocket of trees. I can cut and block there so I wont have wood tailings all in my yard. I picked up a new stihl 362 pro last summer and there is no classification needed with this tool. It eats through it all with no problems and it processes the cons at the same time!
I really can't wait to get back out for some goooolld!! Whooohoo!
Met up with EMac yesterday. The water was running a bit too fast and high for me to really do anything. So we chatted. It was really fun seeing that machine work. It is definitely on my list of things to buy! I only grabbed one pic.
Maybe with a bribery of Coke and some muffins, he may let me try that bad boy out. :D
A side note, always remember your sunscreen, I am cooked to a crisp!
Lol well, I'm back from my 6 mos. siesta and the season is still very young! The river is still blown out. Get your riding in now buddy, it's going to be a GREAT summer!
That water was really high, and moving swiftly. Even along the bank, if I squatted in the water, I was getting buffeted pretty heavily. Setting up was a challenge, and I had to adjust it a few times throughout the day. I couldn't figure out how to get a bin under the hopper tailings without having it wash away. I was seeing really small flour gold in my checks, but I'm wondering what I missed off the backside.
Definitely looking at a wetsuit after sloshing around in waders all day. Partly due to small holes, but mostly because I stupidly launched myself at a bucket that was starting to wash away. Brain didn't insert itself fast enough to prevent the reaction, and I found myself with a bucket in hand in deep, swift water with my waders filling. Fortunately I was able to extricate myself from the bad situation.
A wetsuit will have to wait a little since my debit card was skimmed again; I gotta figure out where/how they're getting my card. Over $1500 in charges this time from Thornton to Syracuse; fortunately I have USAA, and it's just an inconvenience. I'd like to try a suit this weekend, so hopefully they get the card out quickly.
It was awesome seeing you out there again Jess! You're welcome to some nozzle time, and you can keep whatever you suck up. I have cons at home you're welcome to play with as well if you want. Looks like it'll be pretty hot this coming weekend, so unless something comes up, I'll be out there again. If the water is high again, I may consider an easier spot downstream.
Get up for some high water! Creek is at over 6.5' and looks to have more to go before topping out.
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwisweb/graph?agency_cd=USGS&site_no=06719505&parm_cd=00065&period=68#.V1h6PHd_XBU.link
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwisweb/graph?agency_cd=USGS&site_no=06719505&parm_cd=00060&period=68#.V1h6PJLMgxs.link
That's a brutal flow. Crusty and I will be up at the claims on Friday... come on up there with the Angus if you feel inclined!
That's damn tempting. Will you be there Saturday as well?
I won't but Crusty might be... you're always welcome to stay there either way.
Bring some prospecting stuff, we'll have time to do a little sampling. Maybe bring your chainsaw too, I'll have mine but always good to have a second in case we had any major blow-downs.
CC spiked over 7' and 1700 cubic ft per second this morning. JeffCo sheriff is restricting water activities, but didn't see anything about fishing or prospecting (which isn't swimming), so game on tomorrow. I'm not sure where I'll be exactly, but figure I'll start lower around ~270.25 after tunnel 1, and sample until I find suitable color to setup. I may very well find myself going back to near 260, but I suspect it'll be hard to get around with the water that high.
If I have time this afternoon, I'll probably head up and scout around.
I'm getting a late start (apparently we need sleep, and the body demanded it this morning), and will head up there shortly. Some sampling yesterday has me heading to MM 263 if anyone is thinking about it. Backup plan is to give it a go on Bill's claim just downstream from there (Bill in Golden detectors lets anyone go...he just wants you to sign the liability release).
It was a good day yesterday. I found a nice spot at MM263 where the water was quiet enough to work in comfortably. The area by the boulder in the parking area creates a chute and an eddy where excess water has to circle around to try the chute again. I sampled that eddy, and another area just after the chute where some larger rocks shoot water to the side creating another slower zone through chunky cobble. Both were showing decent color, so I opted for the area after the chute. Academically, I figure the first eddy would likely have better color overall, but setting up the motor would have been harder, and the area didn't smell good. It's definitely a nice area for kids to go party since you can hide in the boulders; I picked up a shopping bag's worth of trash from the area trying to keep it nice. I'm going to start taking bigger trash bags.
I suspect we could get a sluice setup in the area I was working with some moving of rocks around. The downside is the water is still moving swiftly, and has a pulse. Aside from the color, and short trip to the truck, I liked the safety of the area such that if I slipped and fell, I'd be caught in the baffles before hitting the rushing current. I tried a wetsuit out for the first time as well, and I like it better than waders. I will need to figure out something better for my feet when it's colder though.
I did some mild checking, and there's definitely gold; I'm not sure how much though. I'm debating keeping these cons separate from MM260, but I'll probably end up combining them. I ain't exactly mapping a pay streak here, and this is far from controlled sampling.
Not much dry real estate to work on at MM260:
WOw, water is definitely high! Glad you managed to get out!
Looked like fun and a great way to cool off! Love the lightning pics Eric!! Glad you had a good day out.
Next month I'm going to telluride Silverton area anybody worked that area before
I'll be down south of the Silverton area sometime this summer but not sure when yet, hot on the trail of the lost Baker brothers lode. Still waiting on water levels to drop which they finally are now, so the snow melt is getting close to gone.
I spent this last winter doing research on the lime creek drainages along 550 and also taylor park/Union park near tincup. I'm making my first trip up tomorrow to see what I can see and hopefully have will have a successful day sampling.
There was a gold bearing quartz vein somewhere on cross mountain found and lost again in 1890, that was reported as ten feet thick and the ore assayed at $440 per ton. If I get lucky this summer maybe I will retire!
The lost vein isn't my goal at this time but I will keep my eyes open.
The telluride area also has some gold but most areas are private or claimed.
If I had the time and money to spend I would work the West needles South of Silverton. Vast and very rough terrain made it almost impossible for the old timers to access it and it was mostly passed up. Very good potential if you can get in there.
Sounds like some promising leads! Happy hunting!
I have a lil time to dig tomorrow and don't want to drive very far. I'll be at 263 sluicing for the day if anyone is in the neighborhood. Been a long time since I've been able to have any fun due to heavy work volume so this is long overdue.
Can't wait to dig again! If anyone is up that way, hope to see you.
Have fun Chris, enjoy your time out digging and find lots of gold!
Thanks Denise, it was fun... until the biting flies woke up. Unfortunately there was a black fly hatch and they were getting the best of Timber so I cut the day a little short.
They were swarming and biting her ears to a point that she was whining and yelping... not like her, she's very tough.
Still a very fun morning and I was seeing color in the sluice, just nice to get out in a river again.
Poor girl, I would have left also! Really glad to hear you were able to get out and dig some though. I was hauling dirt here in the wheel barrel but temp got too high to be working like that in the sun.
Glad you got to escape from work and get out and get some diggin' therapy for a bit... until the flies ruined it
That's awesome you got out, but sorry about the flies. I swear they like deet. Picaridin was slightly effective, but I still got bit a lot.
Going to hit Clear Creek on Tuesday 8/9 if anyone wants to join me.
I'm in a similar boat. I have to work tomorrow, and am headed up to Shavano Wed evening to join Crusty, Mike and Dave.
Great day on the creek with my daughter. Water temp was really comfortable. Had my wading boots on with my dive booties inside and waded all day long in shorts. Dug about a 3 foot deep hole and
hit a layer of this thick gray clay. I tried running some of that clay, but it was really difficult to classify it. I only ran about 5 buckets, so I'm not expecting much.
Glad you got out!
Sounds like a great day on the creek!
Great day on the creek yesterday with Emac, CL6, and neighbor Alec. Weather was perfect and so was the stream flow!
https://flic.kr/p/KVNSn9https://flic.kr/p/KVNSn9 by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Ran the BB this morning and what a great result for only 6 buckets. Nothing large but dang good showing of fines.
https://flic.kr/p/KrQgfJhttps://flic.kr/p/KrQgfJ by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Hit Clear creek on Monday, just did a quick pan of the +50 gold. I ran 8 buckets of 1/2 inch classified material.
Looks like the weather was perfect for gold prospecting! Nice gold guys!!
I'm glad someone found something. It was a frustrating day for me. First I saw the pump was leaking from the discharge port around the cam lock threads. I look over and my motor is sitting in a black tub overflowing with water. I'm not sure how it was still running frankly.
CL6 and I wrestled with it for a bit, and that dude's strong, but unfortunately we couldn't get it to move far. Shortly after Jen showed up, and CL6 had to leave for a Bronco's game. Since I had to haul all that crap back up, I wasn't real excited about all the digging around there, and my favorite location had opened back up, I decided to move spots. Told Swizz and Alec we would try down the way a bit, hauled the dredge back up, then tried the new spot.
Getting enough water flow in the shallow area to run a sluice wasn't working, so I went to get my stand. Found out then that I was missing a stand piece, so couldn't setup the gold cube or sluice either. At that point, we decided to hang things up and head home.
All I got was a small clean out from like 30 minutes of running the dredge. I'll probably end up throwing that in with some other cons since it's not worth it to do alone from the check I did creekside.
Last night, my buddy and I worked on the pump some more and got the cam lock off after some serious wrenching. That thing is destroyed, and the pump threads need some TLC. I'm checking with a metal shop to see if they have any magic they can do, but might need to see where Crusty got his replacement parts.
I had so much fun with emac and Swizz it was a blast and when in question use thread tape
Shoot, that is a bummer about the pump. From the looks of your pic I see thread damage. This means that your coupler is either the wrong thread or was cross-threaded when last used. There are tools that will bring those threads back to life, like this: http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/product/threadmate-thread-repair-tool-69165.aspx?&tall=N&src=T13WFSHP1&admkt=&mkwid=sM8HcuvVY_dc&pcrid=119820135841&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=Cj0KEQjw0f-9BRCF9-D60_n4rKcBEiQAnXW4-x9Myz1s-1lpH6GQjXxjkC8bTf3N_zwavT3vyMN4lrAaAhM38P8HAQ
I also agree with CL6 that you'll want to use some teflon tape. Maybe (since those threads are damaged) you should attach a permanent coupler to that after the threads are cleaned, etc.... and fit your hose to a "new" permanent coupler on the pump. Just some food for thought.
Nice Gold you got there relics!
Thanks Swizz, you as well.
I believe I will be at CC tomorrow for the day with my neighbor Alec if anyone is going to be there. I'll be around 260 again unless anyone has a better idea.
Niiiice. There's still good gold in that creek, yep.
There certainly is.
Had an outstanding day yesterday with neighbor Alec and ran into CL6 while we were there. Not sure how he did, but Alec and I tag-teamed a new hole and did really well. Weather was perfect and the water was warm.
Timber supervising Alec
https://flic.kr/p/KYc7uqhttps://flic.kr/p/KYc7uq by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/KYc3Bfhttps://flic.kr/p/KYc3Bf by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
This means we moved 16 buckets of 1/2" class.
https://flic.kr/p/LSkAmbhttps://flic.kr/p/LSkAmb by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
... and it paid off, eight pieces over #30 and the rest Blue Bowl fodder.
https://flic.kr/p/LtMKxNhttps://flic.kr/p/LtMKxN by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
https://flic.kr/p/LSkFXbhttps://flic.kr/p/LSkFXb by https://www.flickr.com/photos/121086004@N07/, on Flickr
Super nice clean up for the day!! Nice work guys!
Nice haul my friend!
I'll be out of state for the rest of the month; save some gold for me in Oct! ;)
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