Montezuma, eastward to guanella pass?, advice requested Options

[WaldenFound]

greetings and salutations, CP!

first off, let me introduce myself. I'm fairly new to serious prospecting, with my previous experiences just consisting of the familiar all too enthusiastic newbie panning. I had to leave my beloved stomping grounds of mt bierdstat and evans, to spend time with my folks in NYC for the summer. thankfully, i shall be returning this fall. since my departure of colorado, i have grown to miss it incredibly. however with patience as a virtue of mine, i have been consolidating information needed to return to the mountains with gusto. as an avid backpacker of the rockies, i have pieced together a modest kit of rockhounding and gold recovery gear that i should be able to backpack with for several days at a time. My gear consists of a series of small classifier sives, 1/4" to 70, magnet, 2 riffled pans, sniffer, tweezers, 54" folding backpack sluice, 2 5 gal buckets, etool, crowbar and 40X magnifier. assembled, they all fit nicely within the confines of my old issued rucksack Uncle Sam gave me back in my military days.

in either case, my questions are as follows... does anybody have experience panning/sluceing/backpacking/dispersed camping around Montezuma, eastward toward guanella pass? from my research, there are several moderate to difficult trails in the area, most following along streams and a number of small alpine lakes. I am fairly confident in my backpacking abilities above the treeline, but it never hurts to ask for advice on the matter. I am also interested in the geology of the area, so if anyone has some hints or tips for prospecting alpine country i'm all ears. from my research there are quite a number of old mines in the area, some claims of which may be still active. I am still trying to master BLMs LR2000 for claim status in the area, however that program in convoluted and quirky at best.

well, i hope all is well! I look forward to engaging in the CP community in the future,

WF

[WaldenFound]

after some careful research of usgs surveys and other (more active/productive) prospecting forums, I decided to focus much of my activities around the SW montezuma quadrangle, closer around swan river southeast of the dillon resevoir, snake river (east) and blue river (south). it's seems most of the iron oxide streaks in the north east quadrangle are only moderately productive with gold dust, and the lack of running water above the treeline come fall will make it difficult to run a sluice. a recirculating highbanker may be productive, but that leaves out backpacking the high country.

food for thought, for the folks who may be interested in that area.

WF