MOTHER LODE TRIP (continued )
For two weeks in Oregon my thoughts continued to return to the one
day I had spent in what I considered "A gold prospectors
paradise!" How much gold could I have found if I could have
spent more time on the gravel bar?
Events and commitments worked out such that I soon found myself
with all my camp gear packed up and traveling south toward
California on Interstate 5. I had three more days of vacation
left before I had to begin my return trip to Colorado. As I turned
off from the interstate and headed toward Grass Valley I begin to
wonder. Would there be a camping spot any where near the river?
This was Memorial Day weekend and in Colorado camping spots would
be at a real premium. Campground spots would be completely gone.
As I approached the campground I couldn't help the worried feeling
that had been creeping in on me. Entering the campground my earlier
suspicions were confirmed. There were campers everywhere. After
passing a campsite with a dredge sitting on a trailer in front of
it I stopped and introduced myself. These were dredgers. Everybody
knows all dredgers are nice people. After a few minutes of friendly
discussion an offer allowing me to pitch my tent in their site was
given. Now at least I had a spot to stay. Thanking them for their
kind offer I mentioned that I may have friends further down the
road and that if that wasn't the case I would be back. Traveling
to the end of the road I saw a familiar truck and camper. My friend
from Colorado had returned also. After a friendly reunion, I
pitched camp and we sat around the fire discussing the events
of the last two weeks.
Early the next morning after a hearty breakfast and coffee I
headed across the gravel bar with my equipment in hand. The
gravel bar looked completely different from two weeks ago.
There didn't appear to be any square foot of area left unturned.
After searching up and down the bar I decided on a place that was
actually in the water edge. At least it hadn't been worked before.
After spending most of the day searching the new area and finding
very little gold, I decided to take a break from the hard work.
My earlier suspicion that "just any old place is as good as another"
had proven to be incorrect. Getting discouraged, I decided to try
the other side of the river as I remembered the old saying "The
gold is always more plentiful on the other side of the river".
The problem with that was there was no good access to the
other side. The water was still almost waist deep in the
shallowest areas and it was too swift to stand up in. As I stood
at the edge of the water wondering if I wanted to take a chance a
young boy came running up to the edge of the water, jumped in,
and swam to the other side. Not wishing to appear chicken, I
waded out as far as I could, threw my shovel to the other side
and jumped in and swam across also. The current was swift enough
to carry me downstream about 100 feet before I touched bottom on
the other side. Now, at least, I had a new untouched area to
prospect. After spending an hour or so on that side of the river
and not finding much in the pan I swam back across and took the
rest of the day off.
The next morning after another big breakfast I carried all of
my equipment back onto the gravel bar. After carefully examining
the dug up area I decided that if I were to move a large pile of
rocks I could find some virgin gravel. As anyone that has gone
dredging with me would tell you, moving rocks is something that
I really don't mind doing. At least if they are rocks that I
haven't already moved once.
After about an hour of throwing, dragging, and rolling rocks,
I had a clear area ready to begin digging. Upon filling two buckets
half full of gravel I carried them to the sluice and began to run
them through a can at a time. After a couple of cans, gold began
to appear. Each can brought several more flakes. As more and more
flakes appeared, my excitement grew. One can had a piece about
half the size of a small pea. It settled right in front of the
first riffle and stayed as if it was glued there. I continued
adding more gravel.
Mother Lode Trip part 3
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