Rye Patch Gold Again

[mn90403]

It was time for another Rye Patch trip.  It was a group outing this time and I had invited Chet.  He was already there when I showed up out in the field about 3 on Wednesday afternoon.  It was an 8.5 hour drive and I had added a couple of hours onto it getting checked in to my cabin but I was there!  Chet had not found anything so he said I'll follow you.

We got set up and he said he would catch up on some things and it was near the end of the day so I headed up.  Before I got up too far my first target gave me that nice, warm sound.  Even with the little sleep I had I thought it was a good target.  I scraped and it didn't move and down a bit farther it didn't come out of the hole and then down about 7" I had it in the scoop.  I sometimes overestimate so I put on my 7000 navigation that it was 1 gram but later not to be.  It is just .72g.  It is the nugget on the top left on the scale.

I looked around the area and saw old dig holes so I knew I had to stay.  I circled and gridded in the late afternoon sun and I got another signal.  This one was a little deeper at 8".  The size slightly larger at .75g.  That was it for awhile until another repeatable signal.  I don't remember the exact depth but I think 5" and I didn't really know if it was gold.  It is and it is .11g!  I didn't have my phone with me but that was it.  I was beat and so was Chet so we took the 35 minute ride back to camp.

Overnight it was pretty cold at 17-19 so I left the lid on my coolers open in my car and outside.  When I got up the drinks had frozen in both of them but we were off for the same location. 

This time Chet hit the area where I found those three nuggets.  I walked up the hill as I had intended.  We didn't move the cars all day.  Chet was working the little bowl and I was up on the sides of the big gully and anything else that looked promising.  I heard a promising signal in a little dry, side run and it had shale type rock around but the signal would go away when I scraped and scratched.  I was into some harder rock and it stayed and stayed and then I blasted it with my pick and it was out.  It is the nugget in the middle.  A solid 1.5 g nugget!  I didn't have my phone with me as it was affecting my detector.

Down in the distance I could see Chet working his 17" X Coil very slowly over and over the area from the day before.  He had been digging some deep holes.  When I made it down to him he said he had found one down about 10" that I didn't get.  He also found another smaller one.  In addition he had dug some really deep holes where some type of metal pieces had sounded off for him.  It was a good day.  I had a nice nugget and he had a couple.

Friday we started at a different location but soon I wanted to get back to 'the area' but a bit higher.  We both walked a long ways checking piles, pushes and holes.  I was heading back up the hill and hear that nice sound again.  This was only 4 inches or so and out came a nice flatter nugget (.84g).  When I looked around I saw someone's recent filled in dig hole but they didn't get this nugget.  The trash was hiding it!

 

Things die out in the desert but not like they do in Australia!  Australia is one big kangaroo graveyard!

Here is the total for this trip.  (I didn't find anything with a half day Saturday.)

 

If I add in the two nuggets from my last trip then I have about 1/4 oz of Rye Patch gold.

 

Thanks Chet for the companionship and the stories.  You have some really great ones about gold, jobs, life and I wish others could hear them.

Mitchel

[mn90403]

6 minutes ago, phrunt said:

As I understand it that's a fantastic haul from Rye Patch.  Well done! Decent size nuggets too, and to think you traveled all the way to Australia in search of a nugget and you have them a few hours drive away from home 🙂

 

Simon,

I heard there is some gold in Australia but I didn't manage to find much to bring home.  The metal detector at the airport was as unimpressed as I was with my 'haul!'

Mitchel

 

[cobill]

7 hours ago, mn90403 said:

Down in the distance I could see Chet working his 17" X Coil very slowly over and over the area from the day before.  He had been digging some deep holes.  When I made it down to him he said he had found one down about 10" that I didn't get.  He also found another smaller one.  In addition he had dug some really deep holes where some type of metal pieces had sounded off for him.  It was a good day.  I had a nice nugget and he had a couple.

Mitchel, 

Great trip report and good gold for RP. What were your thoughts on Chet's 17" XCoil compared to the GPZ 14"?

Bill

[beatup]

Nice finds congrats

[afreakofnature]

What cabins did you stay in?  I stayed in Lovelock last time, not sure if I want to do that again. 😆

[mn90403]

1 hour ago, cobill said:

Mitchel, 

Great trip report and good gold for RP. What were your thoughts on Chet's 17" XCoil compared to the GPZ 14"?

Bill

Chet said he will never take the Xs off and put the 14 or the 19 on again.  He used the 19 quite a lot when it first came out.

I forgot to add as part of our 'test' of that 150x150 ft area when Chet was 'done' with the area using the 17 I put the 19" Minelab coil for 30-40 minutes at the end of the day.  All of the trash was gone except for a couple of spots where some had been buried from camp pits.  That coil even with the Hipstick is a beast.  I was not able to find any targets to dig.

Your question now bring up the fact that I never listened or swung the Xcoil!  When I first saw Chet in Gold Basin he had the 10" coil on and I lifted it but I was surprised at how 'head heavy' it seemed.  Beyond that I have not handled one.  I was told that the bigger coils were about the same weight.

The next time I see Chet I'll want to tease the ground and some sample targets with it so I know more. 

[mn90403]

1 hour ago, afreakofnature said:

What cabins did you stay in?  I stayed in Lovelock last time, not sure if I want to do that again. 😆

The cabins are part of the Humboldt Home Owners Association.  A couple of WSPA members have lots there and make them 'available' for this outing.  They are not commercially available.

[IdahoPeg]

Mitchel, you guys did great! Congrats! And yes, we’ve all heard Chet’s stories! (Inside joke for those of us who go on lots of outings with him....just teasing, Chet!)

[Gerry in Idaho]

Mitchel,  Those are some fine Rye Patch pieces and glad to see you add a few more to your total.  I'll be training customers down there in a couple weeks and hope to scrap up a few myself.

If the weather holds out and there is no rain, we should be able to break a few golden grins.

Are you 100% convinced on the X coils yet, as I have been thinking of pulling the trigger, but would like to know someone who has personally done a side by side test on a few targets.  Yes I realize a small 10" Ellip coil will find smaller gold better than a 14", but what about a 1 to 3 gram size?

Thanks for sharing your info and photos.

[mn90403]

On 10/16/2019 at 6:17 PM, Gerry in Idaho said:

Mitchel,  Those are some fine Rye Patch pieces and glad to see you add a few more to your total.  I'll be training customers down there in a couple weeks and hope to scrap up a few myself.

If the weather holds out and there is no rain, we should be able to break a few golden grins.

Are you 100% convinced on the X coils yet, as I have been thinking of pulling the trigger, but would like to know someone who has personally done a side by side test on a few targets.  Yes I realize a small 10" Ellip coil will find smaller gold better than a 14", but what about a 1 to 3 gram size?

Thanks for sharing your info and photos.

Chat with Chet.  He has a chart.   You may get one because you will be going much more often than I will over the next few months and you already know where the deeper gold is.  My trips will be limited on length of time and frequency so I am holding off for now.

I kinda hoped you would say you don't need one because Minelab will have one soon but maybe it won't beat the Xs anyway.  I'm a user and customer and not a very good technical tester.