I've been lurking around the forums for a few months now, figured it was time to become a member and introduce myself. I'm Brandon, been in Colorado for about 7 months now and finally got around to picking up some gear to get me going. Other than bringing home a few buckets of dirt from Phantom Canyon (Which I did knowing there's really nothing there and is overworked by people that don't know that) the last time I was panning was over a decade ago in Arizona. Found a decent amount of flake and flour gold near an old mine shaft on the old Senator Highway.

I have learned a few things from my misadventure with Phantom Canyon,so it wasn't all for naught. I learned that buckets of dirt weigh about 70 pounds, bucket handles will sometimes break when carrying said 70 pounds, and the truck is always further away than it looks. :). Seriously though, it did give me a chance to practice classifying, panning, and setting up a sluice. Found some nice rose quartz as well, more chunks than crystals though.

I look forward to getting to know everyone around here, seems like a tight knit group and that's hard to find these days. Also, once the weather gets better I'm planning on going to clear creek, anyone willing to show a newbie the right way to do things?

welcome! looks like your at the right location to find some gold and friends!

Welcome!

Hi Brandon and welcome to the CP club and forums! Make yourself at home around the site. Lots of great information to dig through. Temps have been in the 20's during the days here, so prospecting in the water will definately have to wait. I'm sure when the weather gets a bit nicer, people will chime in wanting to go out and dig.

Come on spring time............The goodies in the ground await!!

Thanks for the welcome guys! I agree Mrs. CP, as much as I enjoy being outside in the cold I'm not crazy enough to play in cold mountain water! I'm going to use the next few months to do research, set up an area in my garage for a panning station, and refine my panning skills. I've gotten pretty good with lead shot in a pan, this weekend I'm going to try running it through my sluice to make sure I'm setting it up right.

Swizz, gotta admit that the landscape and views at your claim have me seriously thinking of a lifetime membership for the scenery alone!

Do it! We do lots of this stuff:
Would be glad to have you on board up at the claims. Always an excellent place to meet other CP Lifers, share techniques, processes, and of course.... gettin' some Gold while you're at it! Very relaxing and scenic chunk of land in addition to everything else.

I could probably swing the $200+/- a month it'd take to get it paid off before the weather gets good...Guess I better fire off an email to upgrade!

Not all prospectors are sitting inside for the winter. Randy, a friend in Buena Vista is still working on one of our claims January 13th.

http://golddredger.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1643

He's a real hard core guy though.

Leonard

AND he lives close enough to get home quick when he gets cold!!!

I'd say. I like playing in the cold and all, but when you add water to the mix that's where I start to draw the line. Matter of fact 2 weeks ago we went camping up at Wye Campground when it was about -15 overnight, would have went again last weekend but blew the output shaft seal on my truck near St. Peter's Dome on the way up. That was a nice hour long crawl back down to limp her home...

Awesome Dypheron, I think you'll really enjoy the club membership upgrade and the long term benefits will be great over the years!
Let us know if you have any questions anytime and welcome to the club once again.

Thanks CP, got busy for a few days, just shot you an email asking to upgrade!

Dypheron, you've definitely found a good group of folks here. I've managed to learn a great deal here from the wonderful folks that participate in the forums. The only thing keeping me from a lifetime membership here is proximity. While I do love Colorado, my home is inOklahoma so my time in the high country is very limited.

Maybe I should try to lobby for a part-time lifetime deal, lol.

hey guys a nother newbe from Oklahoma hear i started paning a year ago in Colorado and have found some nice fines on the Ark and a couple other places.

i realy injoy the sight and am looking forward to meeting some of you this year thanks.

PS im looking to move up to a small dredge this year any addvice would be great.

Great news on the membership upgrade Dypheron! Sounds like that was definately an adventure Dypheron! Very cold temps for camping out. That's not hard core Leonard, that's just enjoying the day out prospecting in my book. Even when we went dredging in the winter, I didn't consider it hard core.....just crazy. One has to be very careful when out in those temps getting wet!!

That's one of the best things about the club membership Oklapony, is it benefits not only those in Colorado, but anyone who is looking for the right information for researching places to prospect.....even in their state. Granted the researched areas we provide for club members are in Colorado, but one can take the information learned and apply it to their areas of interest in any state. Make sense?

Welcome to the forum and club Hotrod! It's sure to be a fun summer out prospecting with other members!
I am a big fan of combo units myself. I like that it can used to highbank or dredge depending on the situation. More possibilities of working more ground with a combo unit I think. Just my opinion though. Make yourself at home on the site and let us know if you have any questions.