# Prospecting trip to Colfax, Ca.



## philddreamer (Sep 18, 2011)

Our trip to the Bear River has come to an end. No kids were allowed to get close to the gold pans. :mrgreen: 
At first glance we recovered about 3 dwt. Will find out for sure the total once we get home. 

8)


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## Anonymous (Sep 18, 2011)

Very nice brother Phil. Can't wait to see them.


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## philddreamer (Sep 18, 2011)

Having breakfast @ Mickey D's, back to camp, hitch & on the road again! 8)


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## butcher (Sep 18, 2011)

Should have let the Kids pan, they may have got the big ones.


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## philddreamer (Sep 19, 2011)

The last time, the kids dumped my gold back in the river. They just wanted the pans to catch little fish. I didn't even knew the kids... :roll: Oh well...  

Anyway, we're back home safe. 8)


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## acpeacemaker (Sep 19, 2011)

Sounds like fun! I'm getting ready for a prospecting trip as well. (New Mexico) I just checked last years temp highs at night it was a whole 12 degrees around this time. So I'm going to pull the old mummy bags out and be gone for the month.


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## philddreamer (Sep 29, 2011)

I've been pretty busy since I got back from CA. I've recovered 1.7 dwt from the top of the sluice, but still have a 5 gallon bucket full to the top of black sand concentrates that I need to pan. I have e-scrap starting to pile up, plus 1.5 oz still to be recovered after inquarting & processing from scrap jewelry. Hunting season is here again... oh well! :mrgreen:

You have fun down there & take care AC!


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## acpeacemaker (Sep 29, 2011)

Thank you Phil, I'm sure it will be a blast! Only a few more days, I'm excited.


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## pinman (Sep 29, 2011)

I was actually in colfax last weekend at mineral bar on the american river. Unfortunately back problems prevented me from doing little more than sniping. One small picker and nothing more.


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## Reno Chris (Oct 13, 2011)

I'll be on the bear River this Friday.

Chris


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## Geo (Oct 13, 2011)

you guys are the worst sort. :mrgreen: just kidding!! say, can someone swing by my town and pick me up? i promise to use deodorant and not scratch in public. ive got a Garrett the scorpion"gold stinger" with a crossfire pickup coil thats never touched dirt. i bought right before my dad passed away and have never used it. i really would like to though.


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## philddreamer (Oct 13, 2011)

Pinman, there's a lot of exposed bedrock in that area, excellent for crevicing for gold. 

Chris, in what area will you be digging?

Geo, you could try lake shores & places where people gather. I want to get me a detector to add to the fun of the "hunt".


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## pinman (Oct 13, 2011)

I really would love to do some underwater detecting at mineral bar. Ive never seen anyone doing it there. Those things aint cheap though.


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## philddreamer (Oct 13, 2011)

This time of the year the water level is low, though, this summer the water level has been higher then normal, the same as in the Bear River
Many folks work the area 1/4 mile upstream & downstream from the bridge sniping.
I saw a guy pull some silver coins while dredging. My best was while dredging
in the late '80s 1.5 oz most of it flakes & a few pickers. I still have most of the pickers.

And no, those detecors are not cheap... :roll: (sigh)


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## pinman (Oct 13, 2011)

About 2+ miles up river from the bridge there is a nice bend with good turbulence. I see prospecters there almost every time I go. Just never in the water aside from ankle deep at the sluice.


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## philddreamer (Oct 13, 2011)

Yes, the further upstream one goes, the better the chances of finding places that haven't been overworked by others.


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## Reno Chris (Oct 13, 2011)

> Chris, in what area will you be digging?



The county campground / park along the river below Colfax. I'll be meeting up with a prospecting club - The Mother Lode Goldhounds.
See: http://www.goldhounds.com/

Going to take my sluice box and buckets. Will meet up with a number of friends.


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## manorman (Oct 13, 2011)

I like those smashed flat pickers, most people like the chunker stuff,
but either kind look good in your pan.
MIke


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## philddreamer (Oct 13, 2011)

March of last year, we met some folks from the EAST BAY PROSPECTORS CLUB, from Concord, CA. & they had a nice excibit of nuggets. The let my grandaughter hold a couple of the big ones. They set up their boths @ the parking lot.


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## Reno Chris (Oct 14, 2011)

You've a fine granddaughter and she is holding some very fine gold!


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## philddreamer (Oct 16, 2011)

Thank you Chris!


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## Reno Chris (Oct 17, 2011)

Don't have any grand kids yet myself, but its not too many years off (both my kids are married but young and childless).

I'd bet you are pretty proud of your own grandchildren (and rightly so!)


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## philddreamer (Mar 19, 2012)

Hey... is that time of the year, again! :mrgreen: 
We're getting ready to head back down to the Bear River in CA. We had planned on living today, but I've been checking the weather forecast for the last 2 weeks & I'm glad we didn't leave. There seems to be a window of opportunity early next week, so I hope to meet some of you guys this time. 

Happy Birthday Pinman!

Thanks Chris! Soon she will be our daughter, we started the adoption proceedures a couple of months ago.

I'll keep you all posted!

Phil


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## Barren Realms 007 (Mar 19, 2012)

philddreamer said:


> Hey... is that time of the year, again! :mrgreen:
> We're getting ready to head back down to the Bear River in CA. We had planned on living today, but I've been checking the weather forecast for the last 2 weeks & I'm glad we didn't leave. There seems to be a window of opportunity early next week, so I hope to meet some of you guys this time.
> 
> Happy Birthday Pinman!
> ...



Try to be a little more careful in letting the kids play with the gold on this trip. 8)


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## philddreamer (Mar 25, 2012)

I will be much more careful! :mrgreen: 

Heading out today at 11 am.


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## pinman (Mar 25, 2012)

Thanks for the well wishes Phil. This early in the year my Sierra trips will be solely for the morel hunt until early summer. Gl. If you end up at mineral bar take a walk up river where you have to cross at the bend. In the willows on the right is the campsite my buddies and I frequent. We dragged that giant cast iron door from upriver so we could have a cook top.


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## philddreamer (Mar 26, 2012)

I might check the spot. I understand the water level is high.

Today my wife & I had the honor of meeting Butcher & his lovely wife Sherry. We had a wonderful time! Planning in the near future to visit them & do some camping & prospecting.

Thank you Richard & Sherry!

Phil & Angie

P.S.
We still have a 2 and half hour drive.


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## butcher (Mar 28, 2012)

Phil, I too enjoyed your visit, and meeting you and your lovely wife Angie, (and devoted mother of your children and grand children), It is nice to see the face of the friend's I have on the forum, and shake their hand's, I Hope the high water in the the river washes some nice big gold nuggets down off the mountain and into your pan. sorry we keep you so long, I expect you got to the campsite late.

Heck, Angie was right you are addicted to the forum, even posting while out on your way out to mining.


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## philddreamer (Mar 28, 2012)

Thanks for the best wishes!

We actualy got to the campsite a week too early! :shock: They don't open until the 1st of april.
It rained & snowed with gusting winds until this morning. Finaly some sunshine after noon.

I got some color in my pan! :mrgreen: 
I'll post when & charge the laptop's battery.

Phil


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## philddreamer (Apr 8, 2012)

Well, we're starting to rap things here. We survived the nasty weather & cold temp's. This is some of the gold dust recovered. I'll be cleaning the concentrates at home.

Phil


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## butcher (Apr 12, 2012)

It is good to see that in your pan. And is not just slowly flowing down river. I do not now how much sand and gravel you had to wash to get that much, or how many days you worked it but that does seem to be a good area to mine, any day with gold in a pan is a good day.


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## philddreamer (Apr 12, 2012)

We're back home home safe & sound!

The weather was the most unstable I've expirienced in quite a while, but we still managed to run a few buckets of dirt per day. The average was 2.5 to 3 full buckets in a 5 hour period. I pre-washed while screening down to 1/8th & then ran the material thru the sluice. 
The previous pic is from the material that collected at the top, in the black strips. I have a half galon bucket of black sands concentrate that I'll work thru in the next few days.
This is flood gold, recovered from the big gravel bar. There's a better concentration of gold in the river itself, but the water level is high, the current is too strong... I'll get in the water later in the season. 

All in all, we had a nice & safe vacation. 8) 

Phil


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