A really fun way to go mining. I want one. Curt's new 800 can take us anywhere. It was a surprisingly smooth ride that carried four passengers with ease.
A magnificent summer morning. The clouds lay in silver wisps across alpine meadows thickly blanketed by fragrant wildflowers. A great day to go prospecting. It is disappointing to realize that summer is almost over. The leaves are starting to turn in the high country and the nights are cooler. So many places to explore and so little time left of the season.
The guys have done a great job clearing the trail at Barber Gulch. Rather steep, but much easier to navigate now that the underbrush has been cleared. Wonderfully cool back in the big cedars. It was quite hot down in Superior but cooled by at least 15 degrees as we ventured up Cedar Creek.
There is so much history in this dark canyon. The terrain is much like it was during the gold rush. Unchanged except for a better access road and our footprints along the boggy trail. Giant tailing piles, old cabin foundations and mining artifacts are scattered across the canyon floor.
I have a bazoka sluice box. I love how it catches fine gold. it is lightweight and easy to pack through the woods. Seems like I pack a lot of gear down the trail, but always need it all.
Todd and Artie swapping mining stories. Part of the fun of prospecting is the easy camardarie between good friends. We are already planning next seasons exploration efforts. Test results from several spots have been most encouraging. Many of the gold flakes the guys have been finding are dull colored, coated in mercury. We are speculating that they may have been panning in the run-off of an old tailing dump.
The price of gold remains above $1850.00. Unbelievable. Please post your comments and speculations about where it will stand 6 months from now. Many experts predict it will hit $5,000 an ounce within 5 years. It is exciting to think what our future mining efforts will produce. It is great to know that we are in a proven gold bearing area. The miners of the Cedar Creek gold rush era gleaned an impressive amount of gold out of these hills, but they didn't get it all.
