South Mountain ...

[oredigger62 16]

As many of you know i am more into finding gems , minerals , and chasing treasure tales than i am about finding gold. I started out searching for a hidden treasure here in the South Mountains called the " mormon treasure ". I finally located the cave but have yet to check it out as i have been too busy with other adventures. Anyway , I can't seem to ever find anything that i go looking for. I go to find Geodes i get rocks. I go to find Jasper i get fossils. I check out some tailings and hardrock piles i get gold and silver. Anyway , i was poking around one of the old hardrock locations over at South mountain looking for some nice pieces of chalcopyrite ... and the hour i spent there only gave me a few small pieces but nothing special. All i found was some stinkin gold. Mike B.. it's where you left your sunglasses at ! Guess i will sell them on ebay... if i can figure out the best way. Thanks for letting me ramble on a bit , i get so aggravated over this. Some of the smaller crap i will just vial up for later .

[Au Seeker 2,360]

I really like that gold but if it's really annoying you PM me and I will give you my address so you can get rid of it, I'll give it a good home!!!!

[Rimshot 178]

hmmmm?????? were they just laying on the ground??????????

Rim

[oredigger62 16]

No rim ,

i decided i would clean out the pit of all the tailings and debris... more as a spot in the shade for lunch. After tossing out everything , getting down to the dirt , silt , and such i ran my detector over the area just out of curiosity. Was hoping i might score a piece of native silver. Or maybe an old coin. I was planning to detect the top of the peak where it appears they had camp. I smashed one with a rock just to make sure it flattened out... probably not the best idea. now for the kicker. I was chatting with a guy over at the RRPC office a couple of wednesdays ago who says his friend goes to a pit on the other end of the mountains that keeps pulling 2-3 grammers and larger out of. He gave me a location but since he didn't know of any other minerals there i doubt that i will check it out. Last week i was over on the national trail and saw too many buzztails... sorta freaked out a little bit. Been seeing too many over there lately. When mike B and i went over there we caught the end of a fight between a giant centipede and a green scorpion. The scorpion lost ... down to 1 claw now. And saw a crab spider... i hate spiders.

thinking of a trip over to the morristown geode beds... maybe i can find a cool artifact or something... bet i dont find any geodes.

[oredigger62 16]

I'll keep you in mind Skip. Polly wanted me to tell you all that i am just plain crazy... I prefer my 38 pound yellow jasper to the stupid gold i have laying around here. But it was still a good thing because now she wants me to teach her how to use a detector... that might be an awesome thing.... if i could just get her interested in rocks.

[Uncle Ron 1,268]

OD, how many rocks do you have to find to have a near $300 day? ... Nice gold! ... Cheers, Unc

[oredigger62 16]

Ron ,

you are so right... I just wish i could just once find what i am looking for. Now this yellow metal sure does cause problems at home too. Polly wants me to quit working and be a full time prospector so she can be rich.. She won't listen to reasoning , she see's you guys with all your big gold and this small crap i find so she thinks it's easy.

[Nugget Shooter 3,991]

I have never seen placer gold from South Mountain and even if that was in the dump pile it did not come from hard rock digging as that gold has been out of the host rock for a mighty long time and has been shaped by erosion.... I would be getting back out there if it were me and do some more detecting for more placer gold. Have the old timers placered the washes in the area you were hunting? Interesting finds and congrats! Be sure that is it legal to be where you are though because isn't that a state park?

By the way that is not small crap and those are called bread-n-butter nuggets because there are many more of them than 2 gram and up nuggets. Like Unc. said....

[oredigger62 16]

The wash that drains this peak is loaded up with black sand. I took some video with my phone but it wont email it to myself or anyone. I ned to find a way to get it to my computer. This wash is fed by two peaks that have a total of 5 mined areas , and several more on the opposite side of the peak. The wash and the tailings piles really need a good working over . Just wish i had that motivation. We all know about all that was found at the golden standard and max delta mines..

Can't tell if the washes were ever worked or how hard... Now you have me wondering. Did the original miner that had these nuggies have a small hole in his poke ? if so , how many did i miss ? Maybe part of a stash ? Gold makes you crazy !!!

[Uncle Ron 1,268]

OD, those seem to be indicator nuggets ... I think you're on to a good patch ... As Bill said, those nuggets were shaped by exposure to the elements and that suggests an ancient creek or river ... Those puppies have had a good time in the past 40 million years or so since they first formed ... Earlier this year I hit three patches within 1,000 feet of each other, and the finding started just like your finds ... I thought I had them all worked out, but went back today with a different coil and hit a nice little chunky half grammer ... My total take for the three related patches was just shy of an ounce, so it certainly is worth going back and checking those gullies, gulches and washes ... Good luck with it and let us know how it turns out ... Cheers, Unc

[oredigger62 16]

Hey Guys , lets see if i uploaded this video correctly. Got some reason it plays sideways ... i apologize. This is the wash .

[oredigger62 16]

Very nice Ron ,

and i will let you know if i go back out there. But first i need a few buckets of Geodes. Lou

[GlennM 93]

I'm motivated ;)

[oredigger62 16]

Cool Glenn ,

supposed to be a very nice sunday... go get 'em all......

[GlennM 93]

Don't remind me how nice it is this weekend... I'm stuck inside with a certification class this weekend. 9-5 yesterday and today. :(

[Hoser John 1,212]

Righteous nuggies and ifn' ya don't like them just send to me and I will coveth for ya-John

[mrbinion 2]

Awesome Lou, not bad for an hours work. I've been too distracted by work and family to get out and do any hounding. Good luck finding more.

[Ant Man 15]

Great video, Lou! If I ever get back that direction I will give you a call and lend a hand.

Paul

[Joe Z 25]

Hey Guys , lets see if i uploaded this video correctly. Got some reason it plays sideways ... i apologize. This is the wash .

Nice find...... If i hold my phone sideways/Longways it does the same as yours..... only when i hold it upright does it work properly for me on my HTC Evo. wishin ya the best. I've been out to two different claims recently and no luck but it just felt so good to be out there it didn't matter.

Joe

[oredigger62 16]

I agree Joe ,

i went out to bumblebee last weekend and just enjoyed myself... we had a picnic and just enjoyed the weather.

My android shows the video on my phone right , but when it downloads it goes sideways. Maybe i should record the next one sideways and see what happens.

[Joe Z 25]

I agree Joe ,

i went out to bumblebee last weekend and just enjoyed myself... we had a picnic and just enjoyed the weather.

My android shows the video on my phone right , but when it downloads it goes sideways. Maybe i should record the next one sideways and see what happens.

When i hold my android horizontally it shows correctly on that phone screen but sideways on the computer screen..... when i hold it vertically it works perfect on both.....

Technology

Bumble Bee looks like an area I want to try

Joe

[oredigger62 16]

Joe ,

if you go out there and are allergic to bees make sure you take your epi-pen. There is a federal apiary about halfway down the trail on the left and plenty of bees in the creek area too. never saw any at the apiary site itself . I like bees so they were not a problem , but then again i'm not allergic. Road in is in good shape til you get to the apairy then it requires high clearance after that poing. Good luck man hope you find a whole pound of yellow metal. Lou

[oredigger62 16]

Hey Mike B ,

Did your wife make it in from Cali yet ? I am hoping to take a ride out to Maricopa in the next couple weeks. Call me .

[Joe Z 25]

Joe ,

if you go out there and are allergic to bees make sure you take your epi-pen. There is a federal apiary about halfway down the trail on the left and plenty of bees in the creek area too. never saw any at the apiary site itself . I like bees so they were not a problem , but then again i'm not allergic. Road in is in good shape til you get to the apairy then it requires high clearance after that poing. Good luck man hope you find a whole pound of yellow metal. Lou

Thanks for the info Lou.....three bee stings will get me really dizzy and an epipen n benadryl are always with me........ I'd settle for a flake of the yellow stuff LOL. Are you talking about the Beau Star Claim?_____

Joe

[adam 2,447]

There are no claims within the park boundaries...Be careful