Just Back From Northern Nevada Desert

[GB_Amateur]

Got a tip from a friend on some BLM land that has produced gold in the past.  I spent 4 1/2 days (30 hours of detecting) while camping out there.  Weather was quite good -- only rained intermittantly for part of one day; typical temps were 70's F daytime and 40's F nighttime.  Got lucky to have had recent rains which brought out the flowers:

 

 

I always try and learn as much as I can while MD'ing, regardless of the site/location and intended finds.  I was hunting with the Minelab Equinox 800 with 6 inch coil in Gold 1 mode, White's Prostar headphones coupled to the WM08 wireless receiver.  It was nice to get away from the EMI I typically deal with at home (coin hunting).  However, the hot rocks more than made up for that!  At the start of each day I adjusted my settings, taking advantage of what I had used previously but also trying to keep an open mind as to what would run the quietest.  Over the 4+ days I tried gains (sensitivites) between 16 and 23, ran all metal or disked out just {-9,-8, -7}, notched in only {-2,-1,0,1,2}, tried all recovery speeds in {4,5,6,7}.  I Ground Grabbed most of the time but did try tracking, which didn't seem to make any improvement at this particular site.  The ground phase was locally pretty stable, only varying by about 1 or 2 typically.

Regardless of settings there was always at least of bit of noise from hot rocks to put up with.  Surprisingly sometimes the hot rocks ID'ed at 12.  As if the Equinox needed one more object to read that value....  The biggest false signal I had to deal with was wet ground.  This wasn't surface moisture but rather at about 2 inches and deeper.  The ID's read right in the small gold range {+1,+2} and sounded pretty clean, although they weren't quite a sharp as the real thing.  However, for me anyway, close enough to not ignore.

Pictured below is my 'haul'.  I actually found one more piece but lost it somehow in the process of putting it into the collection bottle.  One more lesson learned.  Bottom line is that I quadrupled my lifetime count but still haven't made it to my first gram.  All read +1 TID and all were within 2 inches of the surface.  One was in the grass, lying on the surface of the ground.  I'm certainly appreciative of the lead I got to this location.  Wish I didn't live 2400 miles away from it.

[afreakofnature]

Right on!  Excellent gold!  Getting more everytime!

[Chris Ben]

Keep at it!!

[Majuba Man]

Way to go GB glad you got to make the return trip, congrats!

[flakmagnet]

Nice hunting - especially with a Nox. That is no picnic up there and you have done well. I fully sympathize with the distances that have to be covered to get to good areas. 

[Flowdog]

GB_A. Very nice work indeed! Thanks for the write up and pictures. Interesting hot rock TID spread and your various approaches to the conditions you faced. Glad you had a safe and productive adventure. It is the perfect time of year for camping in northern NV.

[Steve Herschbach]

Sweet! Yeah, been a cool, wet spring and still at it, warmer weather seems late this year. I always enjoy hunting the tiny bits simply because even the most thrashed patches will put a few in the vial with diligent hunting.

There are hot rocks in Nevada and California that come in around 13, quite annoying. They drop out if you lower the gain enough or they can be notched out and gain left high. Either method has minor risks for lost gold. The right single frequency very often will knock them out also. There often are no clear answers, just judgement calls as what setting may be best. It is what makes nugget detecting such an interesting thing for me, and Equinox in particular such fun. I like having settings to play with, and that is the main reason I like the Equinox for hunting gold compared to the Gold Monster.

Anyway, your nugget collection is growing - congratulations!

[LuckyLundy]

WTG!  Yep, that Rye Patch dirt is a tuff gig when damp.  Glad you powered thru it and found a few nuggets.  October, is a good month historically for great soil conditions.  But, this year who knows, lol.

LuckyLundy

[Nevada Brian]

Congratulations on the gold, where there is some, there is more!  The desert is sure pretty in the spring.  Thanks for sharing.

Brian.

[IdahoPeg]

Wow you did great with the Nox considering the ground conditions...congrats!