Awesome Day In The Desert Sw

[Condor]

Me a couple Yuma boys, decided to conduct a genuine prospecting trip today.  I had researched an area and looked for it last year, but gave up after a long and arduous trip through the mountains, beat my poor old truck to death.  So this year I shared this info with someone who knows his way around a computer and the mapping software.  We got some decent coordinates and decided to give it a try.  

We left the freeway at sunup and it was 28 degrees.  I towed a friend's side by side ATV, not wanting to beat my truck up again. 

Our map was perfect, though the desert had other ideas about road conditions.  Washouts and river bottom silt dust were the norm.  We managed, though I had already inhaled my fair share to dust just getting to the spot. 

We were shooting dark, expecting to see some drywash tailings as a starting point.  No luck on the tailings, only hardrock mine workings.  We branched out in all directions.  45 minutes into the hunt I get a good signal in a small bedrock gully.  A baby nugget comes up and I'm thinking this is the ultimate spot, no dig holes and already found gold.  I push on for nearly an hr before I get another nugget, then find 3 in about 15 minutes.  I cannot let my friends down, so I hike across the flats back to our parking spot.  I find both of them close by and convince them to move down to the spot where there seems to be gold.   We again branch off and I find 2 more babies in the process.  

We had decided that based on the miles of bad road and our distance from home that 3pm would be the cutoff.  As 3pm approaches I'm heading for the vehicles just pushing my coil along "desert pavement" with all kinds of broken quartz underfoot.  I'm 50 ft from my ATV and I get the ultimate signal.  Quite possibly the best I have received with the ZED.  A low, broad tone, obviously deep, and in an area where there should be no deep trash.  I start digging and the tone keeps getting better and better.  I turn my Sensitivity down to 5 to try and narrow down my digging point.  Ed Sr is within earshot and I tell him I'm digging a big nugget, so he brings a better digging tool.  We dig awhile and expand the hole to try and pinpoint.  Ed Sr goes back to the Jeep and gets a military style shovel to dig.  By then Ed Jr arrives and pitches in to help dig the hole.  As we open up the hole, the "sweet spot" of the signal seems to have moved.  Never a good sign here in the desert.  That usually means deep nail or wire that has corroded and giving a halo type signal.  Nevertheless, we're in seemingly virgin ground, so I remain cautiously optimistic and dig on.  

I turn the detector Sensitivity down to 1 and its overloading in the hole, frustrating our efforts to pinpoint.  Ed Jr is down on his knees pulling all the overburden out from the hole and he gasps, "oh my god". 

The nugget came right out with the last move to widen the hole.  Spectacular, though covered in caliche. 

So, Ed Jr will have to post the photo of the hole and my smiling face with the nugget from his camera.  I'll post the cleaned nugget photos in a second post from my stupid phone.  The big one comes in at 10.8 grams. 

After Gerry's big find I almost feel unworthy, NOT!

For those winter shut-ins, by noon we were at 65 degrees and I was sweating in a short sleeved t-shirt. 

[Swifty]

You can show us the dirty nugget, we will not mind I swear

[Condor]

I'm not that media coordinated, I have to switch to my phone to post the photo.

[Azavsfan]

Here ya go with the dirty nasty nugget porno!

 

[Azavsfan]

Little bit blurry but u get the idea.

[Azavsfan]

Pre bath. By the way, Dad got skunked and I managed a small .21 gram nuglet. Any day out is good one though! Thanks again Condor for the use of your SDC. Mine should be be back next Wednesday.

[mn90403]

Nice find compared to anything.

 

Now you have a patch.  WTG

[Rob]

Condor,

 

Very nice yellow!! Congrats!

 

Was there much trash in the area?

[Lunk]

Now that's what I call real nugget hunting, from research and overcoming obstacles to coils on the ground and hard won gold in the hand...it doesn't get any better than that...way to go guys!

[Condor]

Oh no, Rob is coordinating the angle of the sun, the horizon and the background terrain to pinpoint the spot. Seriously though, the usual birdshot and some shallow iron trash. I dug one deep nail and one deep broken point off an old pick.