Digging For Gold With No Pick. We've All Done It, Right?

[Norvic]

Coz I`ve done it often, not a habit that comes with age, have done it since year one. Ya just gotta be slightly scrambled to participate in this hobby, maybe a defrag of RAM would help but I think we are hopelessly but wllingly addicted to this crazy hobby. 

[geof_junk]

Two things that I have found lost while detecting in remote areas was a GPS and a Sat phone in another location. I hope the Sat Phone was not needed and it was wrecked by the environment when I saw it. The GPS was lost by a mate, he left it were he had found a stray nugget. He tried to find it but got lost himself, he called me up on his Walkie talkie. I was able to get him to walk to a track (a good handrail) with the aid of the sun at 2 o'clock till he hit the track. I found the GPS but there was no other nuggets to be found. ?

[Goldseeker5000]

I have to chuckle at this topic as I am very guilty of this unpleasant situation as each year goes by since about 2009. I typically loose my scoop. One time I was out hunting with Oneguy and I found a scoop, and I thought cool, I got a spare. Well within 30 minutes I had lost my favorite scoop, the one that comes with the Gold Monster. I tried to back track my route, but I was unsuccessful at finding it, so I used the one I found, which I didn't like too much as it had riffles in it. Well the next trip out hunting with Oneguy and he said he found a scoop and asked me didn't you loose a scoop last weekend. Yep! Sure enough he had found it and gave it back to me. Well Lunk and Steve showed up and one of them was talking about loosing a scoop there and I pulled it out and sure enough it was one of theirs. I seem to be getting worse with this as I now am aquiring a habit of leaving my phone in shopping carts and driving off. I did this two weeks in a row. Yep, I gotta laugh at this. This getting older thing and forgetting scoops, picks and my phone makes me annoid at myself. I have to be very aware that I don't forget my test nuggets on the ground when out detecting. That would really piss me off.

[DDancer]

22 hours ago, Gerry in Idaho said:

DDancer - You bring up a good point about the GPS on the 7000 and plotting your digs.  When I was in MX earlier this yr I had one of my staff show me to use the GPS on the 7 and it was much easier than I had expected.  It also made things much easier and safer when returning back to the rig after a days hike.  I highly recommend those who have GPZ to learn the GPS for such occasions.  Glad you were also able to find then night-light a month later.  Did it still work?  Thanks for adding input.

Yep the light still worked ?  In the time I walked away from my pick 2006 I had a simple garmin gps, not real accurate and had an lcd display, and I was swinging my old GP3000.  I use the gps function of the 7000 quite a bit and its handy for walking back into area's of interest as well as examining the lay of my finds.  Down side is that once I fill it up I gotta dump it ?  I'm just not tech savy enough to know how to keep the info~ that's what pen and paper are for ?

[mn90403]

2 hours ago, DDancer said:

I use the gps function of the 7000 quite a bit

Good story Gerry.

I've read (skimmed) all the answers and this is the first one I read that said anything about the 7000 GPS.  I use it to find my car sometimes!  I used it in Australia.  All those trees look alike!

How?  When you turn it on it shows where you started on your tracks.  You keep it on you can 'back track' with ease (find the pick) and even take some shortcuts if you know the direction that pesky car is parked behind a hill.  I sometimes rely on it too much to never be lost but there is a problem.

When you turn off the 7000 for a break or reset you now lose your tracks for that session.  Unless you set a way point for your car you have now lost your starting point and I must use my old, confused logic to get me back.

Mitchel

[Joe D.]

   Best be carrying some survival gear in your backpack! Trust me, no one likes body recovery! It gives the finder PTSD! ??

[DDancer]

16 hours ago, mn90403 said:

I've read (skimmed) all the answers and this is the first one I read that said anything about the 7000 GPS.  I use it to find my car sometimes!  I used it in Australia.  All those trees look alike!

Hahh, out bush it all looks the same and it's useful finding the wayward car ?  Before gps got real accurate I even snuck up on my own ute a couple of times.  I still dont understand how I walked around a hill only to sneak up on my ute from the wrong *I thought* direction.?

[DigsAlot]

I dont lose picks. But I don't need to buy scoops my gold partner loses lots for me to find.???

[Gerry in Idaho]

Norvic -  You are correct my friend and  we have all done it.   Sometimes it's much worse of an afterwards hike to find it and other times, it's just a matter of turning around and walking 20 feet back to the truck to get it.    The gold fever is for real and all of us on here are guilty.  I'll be the 1st to admit it, but in reality, it is not just gold for me, I get that natural high from an old coin or relic just the same.  Thanks for adding context.

Geof_Junk - It's just amazing the items people lose and we find.  I was called to find a radio for the Idaho Fish & Game that an office lost one time.  Then on another call, an elk hunter lost his rifle after shooting an elk?  Heck I was in Oregon a few years back and found a film canister with 20+ little picker nuggets in it.  Found out it belonged to one of my own customers.  Glad you were able to help your friend and sorry there was no more gold there for the taking.  Thanks for sharing.

GoldSeeker5000 - Yes it's even worse when you hunt with others.  Glad they were able to return to you and then you do the same favor for them.  Heck as young as Lunk is, I'd think he'd not be doing that, but maybe it just happens to Prospectors and guys pushing shopping carts LOL.  Yes, leaving a test nugget on the ground and walking away, I did the same thing more than once.  Thanks for the smiles and good laughs.

This one is on me - Earlier this year I was detecting with a couple friends and he had some golden success.  Usually when I'm with the same minded friends, there is celebratory drinks of quality rum with each good find.  Anyways, I had dug a doozie 1+ oz'er with my NOX and called my friends over for a viewing and another drink. My one buddy is in the brush back tracking left, right, left and on and on.  I call out loud and he is pissed because he can't find his "lucky scoops". 

We'll eventually he temporarily gives up and comes to see my prized nugget.  We chat it up, bust a few more blood cells with alcohol give hi-5's and off we go.  He is about 50 yrs in front of walking away and I look to see his scoop in the side pocket.  No worries as I think, he must have found it.  Anyway, 15 minutes later I see him still wandering and not really detecting.  I ask what's up now and thought maybe he has drank a little much?  "Naw, he replies, still looking for my scoop."  So now I am confused and ask my other buddy how to handle it? 

Well that is what good detecting buddies are for.  We walked over with another drink and pointed his scoop to him, the "lucky scoop" in his side pocket of his pants.  Great laughs and memories is just a part of another hunt.