GhostMiner

June 21 2002 Part Three As they approached the trail they suddenly veered off and stayed in the cover of the woods. They were just off the trail and following it toward our camp. I got on the radio and warned the crew. I slowly followed the flashlight beams from a safe distance to the rear. I got back on the radio and told Vern to take a covered position just above camp and have Jim and Jacob watch for them as they got near. I was thinking we might be able to set up a trap with no escape. At about the halfway point they suddenly stopped and cut out the lights. I got back on the radio and informed everyone. They no doubt were trying to take the camp by surprise attack. I still couldn’t tell if they were armed but I was thinking they most likely were. All I knew is they sure didn’t want us mining out here. They had no idea I was following them. I could hear them talking in a low tone but couldn’t make it out. I had to be careful not to be spotted or let them hear me talking with the crew. I was in the woods on the other side of the trail. After a short time I no longer heard any voices or movement from them. They had either stopped or moved away from me undetected. Maybe they had split up, I just didn’t know. I began to worry that they would approach camp from multiple directions. There was no way to tell now. TO BE CONTINUED ................

Just so everyone knows & I have also mentioned this before, there continues to be gunfire from time to time on or in the area of those claims. A few yrs ago my partner was run off the claim by gunfire. This occurred when he was prospecting the area of the original Stevens gold strike of 1936 which was real. He did not know if they were warning shots or possibly just someone shooting randomly & didn't stick around to find out. I had one scary experience out there in 2019. I had set up camp just south of the original gold strike of 1936. I was up there by myself a few days before the rest of the crew arrived. At around 2:00 AM I awoke to gunfire. It was coming from the north way up on the mountain about a quarter mile or so above the old dig site. The crazy thing was that it went on for 15 or 20 minutes. There were different kinds of guns being fired because the sound of the shots were not all the same. It sounded like a war. Eventually things quieted down and I tried to get back to sleep. I will no longer stay on those claims by myself.

June 21 2002 Part Two I was hoping for a quiet night. We hadn’t had any further issues with hooligans as Jacob refers to them. The night air had dropped to around 60 degrees as 11:00 PM approached. It was quiet and I sat in a good hideout watching the pump. I was getting bored when suddenly I saw flashlights in the woods above the trail. I counted three of them. I had my 9 mm with its 15 round magazine. The holster I used also held an additional and fully loaded 15 round magazine. I pulled the semi auto out and was ready for anything. I also had a walkie talkie. Sure enough, three men seemed to be sneaking down the mountain towards the pump. My mind began to race. Would I actually shoot someone if I had to. I figured these guys were also armed because they knew we were. Slowly but surely they moved closer to the trail. They were trying to be quiet but every now and then someone would kick a rock and it would roll down the hill or they’d step on a stick and make a little noise. I extended my arms out and braced them on the flat section of rock I was hiding behind. I had it trained on the lead person. By then they were just twenty feet from the trail and another twenty from our pump. All I could think was not tonight you creeps - not on my watch. I was done tolerating this stuff from them. TO BE CONTINUED .................

June 21 2002 Part One Hot and dry weather again. Over 100 degrees and the ground is parched. Jacob says this will likely be the case until sometime in September. Jim is healing up nicely and able to pull guard duty while Vern and I shovel gravels into the tom. Jacob never seems to mind the heat much and keeps a bandana tied around his head along with a brimmed hat to block out the sun. He cleaned up the gold by early afternoon and showed us the jar containing 4.1 ounces. This seems to be extremely rich ground we have stumbled upon. It’s almost as if Jacob can somehow smell the gold in the gravels. Jacob came over to the tom after the weigh and helped us shovel until dusk. We processed 38 yards by dark. At supper we all had hash and beans and washed it down with cold beer. It never tasted better after such a long, hot, and dusty day. After the sun set the temperature was quickly down into the 60’s and we got relief. After several rounds of beer the crew retired for the night and I took the first watch. TO BE CONTINUED .................

Yes. My fault by posting about my new bike. I promise to get the journal going again tomorrow. Sorry about that.

Easy to get parts. They are the new 350 CC. The older 500 Bullets like mine were dropped in 2020 because they couldn't pass emissions. Google for your closest dealer. I have one about 70 miles from where I live. I don't know much about the new 350's except for what i've seen on Youtube. That's a good place to start. I know the 350's were totally new designs in 2022 with way less vibration than the older singles. Mine is like riding a bike from the 1950's but with electronic ignition, fuel injection, & good wiring and NO OIL LEAKS LOL. They are not fast bikes but they are lots of fun with great torque. The 350's require valve adjustments periodicly but the 500's from 2009 & up have hydraulics lifters.

More fun than mining I think. And definitely more fun than metal detecting which I compare to watching paint dry in slow motion LOL.

Here's the Royal Enfield Trials bike I have. Very hard to find & my first Enfield. A combination of street & trail. I guess we'd call them a scrambler here in the states. I love mine.

Those bikes will only go about 75 MPH. They aren't made for highway cruising but are great for back road & trails. I keep it under 50.

I hear you loud & clear. First bike in 20 yrs but have had many previously including 5 Harley's as well as BSA's, Triumphs, Norton's, etc. Love the old school single cylinder thumper & my very first Royal Enfield.

Mine's the red frame model. Already collectors bikes.

Many, many thanks. Going to do some riding this Summer. Bought a Royal Enfield 500 Trials Works bike. One of 50 imported to the USA before dropping the 500 single Bullet line forever. Kind of like me - a relic.

I also am looking for a picture of Jacob with his Thompson. It was taken on the mine in Summer 2002. Looking high & low for it. He let me shoot it a few times.

As a matter of fact, I remember his favorite card game was called Spades.

I don't describe any of the people in the journal as far as looks. At least not usually. I'd rather let the reader use his imagination as to what the characters look like. To me it's like when you have listened to a DJ on the radio for yrs not knowing what he or she look like. Your brain makes up a vision or interpretation from the voice you have listened to for so long. Then usually, when you actually see this person, you are like "NO - THAT"S NOT WHAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE." So I don't know what the readers thought about Jacob but there he is in all his glory. So what was he like? He was a pretty tough cookie. He didn't put up with BS & if you were going to be his friend you had better be ready to buck up when the time came for action. He loved playing cards and his occasional cup of whisky. If he was your friend you knew you had someone you could count on in any circumstance. He liked to swear & didn't care who heard it. Down to earth & hard working. He told me some of his lady friends thought he resembled the actor Clark Gable. RIP Jacob. We miss you. I know you'd be getting a big kick out of the journal.

Some of you have wanted to see a picture of Jacob. Yes, he was real. This was taken in 1999 & he was 81. This was taken in his cabin & he was with a friend playing cards. Sorry I can't get the picture to post correctly.

All is fine. Just taking a break.

Or maybe just 10 people LOL. Just taking a break.

All I did was make a statement about a TV show. I never mentioned names.

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Yes, I need to stick to what I do here & stay away from the other stuff. The only reason I chimed in was because I had been contacted by that shows producers multiple times & passed. But we already put all that out in the air & I've moved on. As far as the journal goes i'm not sure yet. Might just put it out on Youtube or something like that. Or maybe continue here again when ready. Need a break. Thanks for reading & supporting.

Be careful with that kind of talk here Reg.

Thank you Steve for allowing me to post my drivel LOL. Writing has to come from somewhere deep inside oneself just like music of which I also do. Today, whatever drove me to write & post the journal vanished. Perhaps it was the argument with Steve & knowing what he really thought of me & my writings. Or perhaps it was something else. All I know is it may take some time for me to get back into it & finish the season of 2002. The journal is very personal to me. Some is fiction & some is true. All of it is based on true events. Some of the characters are real with names changed. Others are fictional as you readers know. I hope I can get back to posting here in time. Until then, God bless and so many thanks to everyone who followed my writings. Cheers, GM.

More to come I think but we will see. Thank you to all the readers just in case.

Technicly. Warner Bros owns Discovery although Disney has 9 big production studios at Warner Bros. Any way you look at it the so called "reality shows" are fake.