GhostMiner

Thanks for the response Mike. Where I live we have people come to fish from all over the world. Unfortunately, I am not a fisherman.

It cleared $3000 U.S this morning then pulled back a bit. Can't wait to start mining in the Sierra Nevada again at these gold values.

Been pretty busy Mike. How would you like to head out to the mine site this Summer? I am hoping to get things going again. There is an environmental engineer involved now. Cheers, GM.

Yes, nice to post them here.

Many thanks.

I will do a few short stories about the area I worked in & a YouTube channel for the journal coming soon.

My Last Day On The Whisky Jack Mine It was late September of 2020. A bright and clear Saturday morning. My crew had gone home for the season and I spent the day before packing up my part of camp and putting things into our storage units. My truck was packed and I slept Friday night in the back seat of my Dodge Ram truck. Before I called it a day I cracked open a few beers and recalled the season. I was remembering the highs and the lows. It was a lonely feeling with the crew gone and darkness setting in. I turned the radio on and listened to some Classic Country songs to keep me company. I was set to leave the mine but decided to take one last walk out on the faultline that morning. I always felt a connection to the old crews when I was up there. I almost expected them to come jumping out of the rocks and trees hollering at me to get off their claims. I made my start at the southernmost end which was only 60 feet in height and pretty easy to climb. My work boots with thick sole tread were packed away and all I had for the hike was a pair of well worn sneakers. Hardly up to the job of scaling the fault line with all the slippery gravel and cobbled rocks. But it was my last chance for what I figured would be just a long Winter before I was back. I travelled to the north along the spine with a drop off on the west side. I climbed higher and higher until the drop off was well over 100 feet in height. I knew where I was heading. To the old crews 1937 southern dig site or kettle. It’s an amazing place. It is actually a 50 deep by 100 foot long and 75 foot wide pot hole in the middle of the fault. This was not the place of the 1936 strike that started the journal. That was over 2000 feet north of this area. As I got close to the big kettle as they called it I noticed bear tracks and fresh scat. It was still warm. I peered down into the depth of the pothole and imagined them working the gravels with a long tom. Somehow those old boys had run water line clear out here several thousand feet from the nearest creek. This was the place they were working when gunshots were heard far below. It was Whisky Jack. He had been bitten in the face by a rattler and died of a heart attack en route to the hospital. I just stood there remembering all the old stories. Suddenly I was jolted back to reality. I heard some huffing and sure enough just up ahead on the faultline came a big black bear. He was meandering downhill towards me. Then I remembered in my haste I had forgotten my bear spray and my sidearm. I hooted and hollered and tossed some rocks in his direction. I figured he'd move away but to my surprise he did the opposite. He bluff charged me. He shot towards me and veered off towards the flat area to the east and made a wide arc. Then he did it again. I started to slowly back away making sure to keep an eye on him. My heart was pumping like crazy and my biggest fear was getting knocked head over heels off the side of the faultline. After the second pass he disappeared up the faultline to the north and I headed south. As I made my way back to the truck I kept turning around to make sure he wasn’t following. When I got back to the empty camp my big red Dodge truck never looked so good. I was heading home. Little did I know at the time that it would be the last time I saw the mine for four years. Cheers, GM

Yes, I think you are correct. Check my last post. It's a shame no one takes the time to read anymore. The attention span of most people is extremely short, myself included. I am working on some ideas to keep it going in a proper place. As an experiment I have been posting a few entries on Facebook just to see if non gold miners/prospectors have any interest & to my surprise many of them have wanted to read the entire journal. They don't understand mining but love the adventure aspect. I am going to try to come up with something - there are a lot of very smart people on Steve's forum who might think of something. Cheers.

I am currently looking for a place to post the journal or make a proper set of books in volumes. I want to set it up so the readers can get access for free. I am NOT looking to make any money on this. I have realized that this site is not the right one for the journal. It is a great site run wonderfully by Steve but more for metal detecting rather than a series pertaining to gold mining adventures. It is my hope that I can come up with something soon and continue. If anyone has any ideas please post them here & thank you.

Besides, the best of the journal ended the season Jacob passed away. That's where it should have stopped. Just look at it that way.

It's not like that. I'm just not up for writing it any longer. Sorry. If I ever finish it I'll mail it to some of you. Thanks again.

Just like the old timers I wrote about who worked my claims, all things must pass - even the journal. If you're out there on some of those old mines and listen real hard you just might hear the clanging of the pick axe or the shovel banging away at those rich gravels. There's gold yet to be had. Nothing lasts forever, not even the journal. So long everyone. See you around the big Sierra Nevada territory. All Things Must Pass.

Yes, I thought the journal was something special & it kept me going on some of the bad days during the pandemic. It was awful to hear how very few readers it actually had. I was a fool.

Yea, kind of a punch in the gut LOL. But, it's the truth. All the best to you.

I just got stats on active readers from Steve & was surprised how few there really are. Guess I should have known. Looks like maybe 100 of you who read it. A real punch in the gut as I thought there were thousands. What a fool I have been. I will not continue with any more posts. Thanks to all of you have have been with me & best of luck. Cheers, GM.