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Mac

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location:
    Alaska (Mat-Su Valley)
  • Interests:
    Hunting gold. 4WD getaways. Alpine hikes. Fly fishing. Hunting. Nature Photography.
  • Gear In Use:
    Gold Bug 2, Garrett ATX, Garrett Pro-Pointer AT, White's Bullseye TRX, Keene Sluice, Keene Dredge

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  1. Well, more an expert than myself! I value your assessments and much appreciate the above knowledge/ ideas. Very cool those may be geodes. I will certainly do as suggested. Great idea to use my tile cutter for rocks! As for chert spears, I have photos of that very thing as well, along the Denali Hwy in the eskers is evidence of a boulder of chert showing where spears were calved off, yes pretty cool. Brooks Range, now that is where some serious gold lies ... oh how I'd love to know someone who lives in Nolan! That rock shop on Arctic, ya I forgot about them ... that is where I need to go when in town next. Thanks again Sasquatch. P.S. I was hopeful it was a thunderegg lol, those are more elusive than gold nuggets. I have read geodes are crystal filled and thundereggs are solid inside; star shaped patterns with jasper at the edges and agate in the middle. But I really don't know
  2. Well said. I prefer to do the same, for that reason (emails) but they don't provide replies with answers. They rarely even acknowledge an email. So, have made the drive to Anchorage at least six times in 3 years and met with them. And more times than not I leave with more unanswered questions and a headache. A good friend in Texas is a former Alaskan, he's smart about matters like this and said the same thing applies in Texas. And that it's likely this way intentionally because in so doing they "leave it up to a judge to decide" ... which is precisely my fear. I appreciate your response ... I second guessed having made the above post due to coming across negative. What you point out as regards the Denali Hwy is exactly what runs through my mind when there. Yes! ATHNA claims that land all along that stretch yet those are state easements. I don't know how yet but I intend to call attention to this because this same issue occurs in Minto. Right below the signage by the DNR that indicates the area being state land for public access, a Native Corp sign states "Property of (x tribe), No Trespassing." And on that sign in the white space below those words is a drawing in black paint of an assault rifle. The implied meaning could not be any more clear, and having had a couple of confrontations with Natives on the trails leading to Gulkana River north of Glennallen, and in Eureka in GMU 13, those are serious warnings not so much just a threat.
  3. I'm on this system a lot. What I don't like about it is the missing layers that show where the patented lands are, rather than only those "tentatively assigned" and so the toggling over to other databases to know land status is a major PIA. It's always fascinated me how so many areas are top claimed and a nightmare that must be for those folks who have to deal with that. In this day with technology very advanced/ GPS, the state mapping mining claims system ought not to even allow any top filing yet it still happens. There are also errors on that map -- there are areas indicated as being unclaimed and no prospecting sites filed, but markers in the field, yet nothing shown on that map. So, that system is great but leaves much to be desired. Also, more and more lands are being contested by AK Native corporations/ Natives. And lands shifting to native ownership, and none of those shown on mapper. The Mallott-Walker duo are shifting state lands and state selected lands to native corp ownership and its been done in several mining districts, which has been discovered not just by me but other hunters of game/ waterfowl (we discover this by showing up at x place where hunted every year in the past, and find new signage claiming the land is now owned by x Native corp and prohibiting access. Some of the lands in question are in gold fields. Just the other day on that first sunny day in 3 weeks I went to a favorite area where I have hunted for moose and goats in years past, went to do some scouting for moose in prep for the season, and the lands are all claimed as Native corp owned! The tie to gold is that last Sept on a solo hunt I found gold in my pan (always have a gold pan in my backpack no matter what adventure I am doing), and coarse gold at that, and on the map system shows no claims/ no mineral entry anywhere near there, all state lands. Yet now is Native claimed! DNR office via phone gives an answer with the word "should" in it ... its ridiculous, I don't want to hear the word "should" that tells me they're not really sure either ... anyway, rant over.
  4. I like the way you phrase things. Have never detected with Steve. But fact that he has been everywhere there is to go here in AK where the public can go for free or via fee, and on others' claims too, is a factor in my own detecting strategies/ plans and one of many reasons why I opted to buy a claim and plan to buy more claims by next summer ... that offers the best odds for being on gold fields where detectors have never been. I'm motivated by challenge but wish Steve had gotten into a different line of work back in the 70's!
  5. Chris, this is awesome! You have done well... this news is good to read. May it work out for you as has been laid out to you by this rep, no further hassles/ headache. It's always interesting to me how it often takes just ONE person in a company to care, to get a good outcome.
  6. One hell of a gold find! Excellent read. As for insurance denial of hip surgery at last minute, OMG is that pathetic yet having 32 years in the American healthcare industry, nothing surprises me HC related ... drop me a message if you so desire, maybe I can help (pro bono) with a terminology advisory on how to structure your written complaints and related matters. Among my lines of work is private investigations specific to the medical field and have had countless battles with parties over fiscal issues. Being scheduled for such a critical need surgery then refused the procedure due to a last day denial doesn't pass the smell test; a "legit" denial backed by evidence would never have reached a point where it was even scheduled.
  7. yes, the top two most often heard lines are something like "how easy it must be to find gold with a detector" and the insinuations of how "rich I am going to be from 'all the gold' I find" ... ya, I say, that's why I drive a 2001 truck, all the wealth from gold haha
  8. My perspective on just about all tech purchases is centered on output/ outcomes and peformance capacities, first and foremost, next the ease of use/ competency level required to operate it effectively, and lastly the cost. I bought the ATX due to its waterproof feature and no need to worry about being caught in rain, and this summer it's rained almost daily, plus all of what I'd read about its closed DD coil which I knew would be ideal for conditions encountered, which drive me crazy with GB2. I'm in a category not mentioned and some consider me foolish along these lines, but is just how I tend to be. For me, return on investment for gear that allows me to live my dreams/ do what I'm fiercely passionate about at a high level, is measured in the experience and joy, not in dollars. I love hunting for gold just as much as finding it. Of course I am striving to find gold but it doesn't really matter. It's like fishing, I love holding a fly rod and the opportunity to be in wilderness and the challenge in mastering the rod/ presentation of the fly, reading of the water, and just the whole experience of it. A fish on the line is great and the objective but it's not a make or break factor. Detector in hand is strikingly similar to this. I have yet to find any gold with the ATX -- have found it with GB2 and a White's I use to own that was stolen, however not yet the ATX, yet despite the few thousand I paid for it I consider the ROI equal to the cost due to how much joy I get. One last comment ... made me laugh to read the statement about "detecting to get rich on gold finds" -- that seems to be a common perception/ assumption for many people who have no prospecting/ mining experience! They have it backwards! It takes wealth to be in the position to buy everything that this passion requires! And they're clueless how difficult it is to find gold, even with a detector. Oh how we all wish!
  9. Steve, the million dollar question I struggle with at times is how to know what the mineralization may be in an area, such as grounds never having been detected before, by myself or others -- for example, a person with a claim that they inherited and know there's never been any metal detector used onsite -- thus, how to discern low from moderate, high, or extreme mineralization conductivity? Are there indicators applicable, or is it a judgment call with some luck thrown in? Thank you for this guidance! Literally everything in the forums that is specific to my detectors and hunting conditions are in the process of being studied rather than just read. I am determined to master the ATX to the same extent as the GB2. You are absolutely exceptional as a teacher of technical content; high-level expertise and technical knowledge mastery is just incredible, and is not taken for granted.
  10. Introducing my first-ever encounter with "fool's gold" -- not pyrite, that's at least pretty easily ruled out -- instead, mica schist with quartz, that is "pretending to be gold on quartz" ha. Yes, some rocks are a really big tease to the novice mind; in this case, it was me who was the fool that got fooled by the non-fools gold. I think this find was in the mid to late 70's ... by far, this piece looks more like gold than any pyrite I've ever found. Did you keep or do you have a photo of, or a story to tell as regards, what rock first fooled you? Or were you savvy about gold/ non-gold from the start?
  11. I second this ... is how I have found gold there also (and running a sluice) .. but to be fair, when I found gold via GB2 several years ago I was on another's lode claim (with permission of course), and no way could I have done so (found the gold-quartz pieces) had that not been the case, due to that area so heavily claimed, and mineral entry areas plus the SRS and historical areas, which prohibit detecting/ collecting altogether, but oh how I wish the state offered us miners the same emergency order system that applies for anglers, lol, like granting us a 1 day EO allowing detectors due to so much gold to be thinned out lol ... so much gold there remaining yet can't be had due to the "historical significance" yet based on that logic isn't all gold still in the ground part of the AK history also? ... Not to give suggestions/ ideas to the state on how to further limit the noncommercial AK mining enthusiast Boogness, you're not alone ... frustration has been my experience too in that Lil Su zone for years, and have only been there once with my PI but didn't give it a strong effort
  12. Aging sucks, that's damn right ... the "can't do what is most desired and needed to do, to feel fulfilled and happiest" season is getting a lot harder to content with each passing year ... hard to accept its late summer already ... last August we had snow in the mountains already. I understand why you'd leave. Thanks for replying.
  13. I figured that, but only after I commented ... then couldn't figure out how to delete my comment.
  14. LOL ... that is a question posed for Jim_Alaska, not Steve. Jim_Alaska use to live here (Alaska) and am curious "what drove him from Alaska" to his present location in Northern California.
  15. Humboldt county? May I ask what drove you from Alaska? Alaska makes more sense alright, why didn't I think of that?! I suspect the tailings piles on Kenai Pen, same ones I have hit the last 2 weeks and got skunked cuz he found them already lol.
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