LowPoint Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 I had located this little spot last summer, and just knew based on the layout of the wash, etc. that there was gold there;...but, (1) because of the freek'n heat, and (2) because of the bank was like compacted-rock-strewn-concrete I couldn't get anywhere with a pick and shovel to loosen it enough to get down thru it. But now (today), due to the monsoon rains dampening and loosening the soil and rock-mixture I could finally make some headway. The three large boulders laying just to the right of my shovel handle (and pick) in the second photo where actually lodged up on the bank and where supported by small to medium sized rocks, dirt and sand until I undermined them and strugglingly-re-positioned them in the gut of the wash. Once I had moved these boulders (due to the moist soil underneath) it was fairly easy to pick and shovel down to bedrock and "finally" see what had been hidden by these capstones. The bedrock was only about a foot-or-so down, and once I was close enough and swung my coil over the location I started getting good signals right away. I like this wash as there is little-to-no trash in it, so any signal that I get is usually gold (other than the occasional Hot Rocks). I had been down at this same location on Monday and got 4 nuggets ( the top-4 above the dime); then today I managed to get 5 more ( the 5 below the dime). All 9 of these nuggets had come out of a small area (about a 3 ft section) deep down where the bedrock had dropped into a V-shape, which had been completely unnoticeable from the surface;...and all where hidden beneath 3-large boulders (and a lot of smaller ones too) that had sluffed-off of the hillside, but had not made it into the wash. I don't have any before and after photos,...just after ones. In the last two photos I laid 4 of these nuggets on bedrock just beneath a water-filled pond in the middle of the wash and imagined what it my have been like to of been an O'l prospector over a hundred years ago and be able to just walk along a wash and see nuggets with the naked eye, and then just reach down and pluck them up. I actually spent about 2 hours on Monday, and 2 hours today digging down to get to these and walked with 4.14 grams total. ....YAHOO !!! Gary 7 1 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Nice pieces ! and way to persevere .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micro Nugget Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Now THAT's a nice clutch of golden eggs! Just goes to show that a little digging (mining) complements swinging (prospecting) so very well at times. Thanks for sharing (and inspiring!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nugget Shooter Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 WTG Gary, nice gold... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Furness Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 You're an ole workhorse you are Gary! Nice job! And the payoff was well worth the effort! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Relichunter2016 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 sweet.....good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Ron Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Good job, Gary....Those all are very nice! Congrats, Cheers, Unc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyy Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Sweet, Gary. What sucks is when I go through all that work and there's nothing there. It's always a gamble. Glad it paid off for you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampstomper Al Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 Way cool Gary, ^5 ! Swamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 5 hours ago, Andyy said: What sucks is when I go through all that work and there's nothing there Ha ha ditto ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boulder dash Posted October 28, 2018 Share Posted October 28, 2018 That is definitely the correct way to find nuggets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowPoint Posted October 28, 2018 Author Share Posted October 28, 2018 23 hours ago, Andyy said: Sweet, Gary. What sucks is when I go through all that work and there's nothing there. It's always a gamble. Glad it paid off for you!! "Been-there, Done-that",.... way-too-many-times,............"And" sorry to say It does still happen to me as well;....But (theoretically) I guess, if ya do it enough, ....take-note of what you did AND "Why" you did it, as well as the results or outcome of that action (as well as the added experience attained) this will increase the odds of getting it right over time. ..."That's my excuse, and I'm sticking-to-it Gary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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