Chasing Stupidly Small Gold Continued And A Dramatic Rescue

[flakmagnet]

After sheltering in place for over a week, my son and I escaped to the desert to refine our social distancing. Instead of playing with settings on the 7000, I decided to work on my personal hunting technique concentrating on swing speed, 'range of motion' as JP calls it, coil control and listening for faint, vague changes in a steady threshold. My son took off to hike while I clambered down a boulder strewn and treacherous hillside with all my gear. I tuned up at the bottom and began to slowly cover ground I had already gone over in a previous post. Almost immediately I got what sounded like a small EMI tone-change in the threshold. But as I made my first boot scrape I saw my son waving from the top of the hillside and motioning for me to come up. I took off my headphones and heard him calling to me to come and help him. Now I am advancing in years and that hill is not for sissy's but he was insistent. A few minutes later I stood beside him out of breath and slightly put out,  but when he pointed at a near-by prospect hole and said "can you help me get him out?"  I was honored that he had asked me to come and help.

Somehow a desert tortoise had fallen into the excavation. My son clambered down, lifted him out and handed him to me. We put him in the shade for awhile to let him calm down after being lifted and carried around. 

After awhile, refreshed and emboldened, he took off, snacking on Spring flowers and grass shoots as he went.

 

 

My son continued his hike as I made my way back down through the rocks and resumed my hunting.

 

 

 

 

My first faint change in the threshold produced a flake so small that, if it didn't go off on the detector, I would not have believed it was gold, it looked more like a slice of silica, but it was gold. (0.01g). 

The next flake was beside a basalt rock and I made out the signal in the midst of the sound the basalt was making. That's where swing speed (slow), and coil control makes the difference between finding a bit of gold or passing it up and moving on.

Anyway, all in all, 5 stupidly small flakes - but all of them were found because I had decided to focus on what I was doing rather than what the detector was doing. Best to everyone in this strangest of times. 

[dogodog]

Seems to to me that you have raised a very respectable young man, You should be quite proud. I think the find of the day might be that tortoise and how great your son is.

[fredmason]

Good on you and your son!  tortoises fall in excavations and cannot climb out if the edges are too steep....that one was lucky.

Nice work on the gold...patience and paying attention are the prospectors friend.

fred

[Norvic]

On ya Flak,  anotherie to us old timers.

[Gerry in Idaho]

Flak,  Not only are you dialing in your detecting skills and technique (with golden results), you are able to spend quality time with your son.  That tortoise story and photos will be remembered, shared and talked about over many Thanksgiving dinners.  The true gold in this post, is the time with your son.  Now the gold bits....is very impressive.  I always tell folks, I judge ones ability with a gold detector on how small of gold they can find.  Heck, hearing it is half the battle.  Then you have to try and pinpoint it with the 14" coil and try to get it in the scoop.  Job well done to the both of you.

[Lunk]

Just goes to show what a detector can find when wielded with proper technique. And as already noted, the desert tortoise anecdote is priceless. A wise man once said, "Compassion towards all creatures is the greatest virtue." Well done, Flak and son!

[2Valen]

12 hours ago, flakmagnet said:

We put him in the shade for awhile to let him calm down after being lifted and carried around. 

Please tell me that you did not infect the poor turtle!

Great job on taking the time to better your skills and finding that small gold.

 

[flakmagnet]

3 minutes ago, 2Valen said:

Please tell me that you did not infect the poor turtle!

Bad joke, but as it happened we were both wearing gloves.

[mn90403]

Flak

No telling how long that tortoise had been in the hole.  The immediate eating indicates thirst.

Good save no matter what because it was a goner in the pit.

Mitchel

[flakmagnet]

Mistaken post :)