Clear Creek Options

[Crusty]

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!

Damn, if I'd have known you were gonna come out of hiding, I'd have scratched going riding and come to CC!

[fenixsmom]

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!

[EMac]

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.

[EMac]

Get up for some high water! Creek is at over 6.5' and looks to have more to go before topping out.

USGS Water Height

USGS Flow Rate

[swizz]

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!

[EMac]

That's damn tempting. Will you be there Saturday as well?

[swizz]

I won't but Crusty might be... you're always welcome to stay there either way.

[Crusty]

I won't but Crusty might be... you're always welcome to stay there either way.

I'm just riding up to help Swizz get the claim opened up for the year and get the new stove set up, so I'll be headed home Friday too.

[swizz]

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.

[EMac]

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.

[Crusty]

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.

Looking at it driving home from Swizz's, it definitely looked WAY up; looked really rough!

[EMac]

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).

[EMac]

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:


Bushes and trees are under water:



Eddy before the chute at MM263:



After the chute where I worked:



BBQ afterwards at a buddy's, and there was a cool lightning storm across the way:

[Crusty]

WOw, water is definitely high! Glad you managed to get out!

[Denise]

Looked like fun and a great way to cool off! Love the lightning pics Eric!! Glad you had a good day out.