Reg Mods Update

[CaliGold]

@Jim in Idaho @PI-Man @Melano87 Alright gentlemen...

 

Went up to San Gabriel River East Fork this week. Took the TDI SL for testing and to see the condition of the riverbed after all the rain this past year. Haven't been there in a while as its usually packed with tourists in the summer and the water level has been high since we got lot snow/rain in the winter/spring too. 

 

The TDI was great. Found bird shot in bedrock crevices like nobodies business... The side of coil sensitivity is very good. Chiseled  chunk off where BB was down an inch or so in behind the slab (sorry no photos), so this was a good "gold scenario" test for areas where the bedrock type and river flood stage are more conducive for nugget hunting. Anyone who has been to this area knows metal detecting is usually fruitless near the river downstream from the Bridge To Nowhere (5 mile hike from parking lot) or unless you're up on a bench. There was heavy helicopter activity that day so the bench I had planned on scouring was, lets say, "occupied" with powerline maintenance and Helis... Is what it is. There is simply too much trash in the stretch of river adjacent my originally planned bench to detect unless you are game to dig lets say 5,000 targets in a day... (nope)... This is a known sluicing dominated river and crevicing/detecting WAY upstream somewhat...  At any rate, after finding tons of trash and several birdshots, and a 1975 nickel at the old Eldoradoville town site, I took to the stream bed to sample some virgin 2023 flood gravel. I classified some nice average fist size Jenga gravel (literally off the top of the ground) to  about 3-4 gallons of 1/4" to 1/2" material and panned it out slowly. Got some fine gold, amalgum, to at least say I didn't get skunked... I also got to test out my satellite messenger (Zoleo) which worked great even in the canyon, or when driving and device on dashboard. I HIGHLY recommend anyone prospecting out of cell range to get one of the many options for these types of devices. After I'd say 2-3 hours of on/off detecting before starting my pan sampling, the detector still sits at 70% battery. I'm happy with the mods and excited to hunt down some nuggets upstream or in a better river up North, and more importantly glad I got out for some river time, fresh air, and a good 8 hours of moutain ops helicopter viewing. Only my second trip out all year... My profile pic and banner was last trip to Tuolomne county couple months ago for some panning. Much larger gold there to be had. Pickers a plenty in the motherlode...  (You can see in red circle the patch of gravel I sampled. I'll definitely sluice this spot if the gravel is still there next time up). A lot of guys go upstream, so with the rain this year, I think downstream is a little nicer than usual. )

 

-pat

[PI-Man]

Congrats on the gold!