Chasing Float Gold—The Starry Night Wash

June 2018 by Rod Fitzhugh

The sun was beginning to set, which put the light at just the right angle against the hillsides to where I believed that I spotted a very small dig and tailings pile up the hill near the top of the second wash.

A Few Pointers About Cracks and Crevices

October 2013
Because these crevices catch and hold gold so well, it's worthwhile to learn how they form, which ones are good for catching gold and which ones are not.

The Story Behind the Story

March 2013
Anyone who has found a patch knows the difficulties involved. Those who haven’t can guess, and with any effort will soon realize it.

Picking Our Way Through Bedrock

December 2015
Once again the coil was put over the spot but the target was in the pile now. I pinpointed, grabbed a handful of dirt and began sprinkling it over the coil until I heard that mild thud.

Pros and Cons of Big Detector Coils

December 2016
Years later I returned with a new detector with a smaller coil and detector technology more sensitive to smaller nuggets. I found my first nugget within five minutes. I had a second five minutes after that.

Putting Together A Small Free Gold Mill—Part II

June 2018

There are many smaller old hard rock mines out there—more than you might think. There are some small hard rock properties that are even open to be claimed if one does the right amount of research to find them.

Route Planning Using GPS

January 2019

My intention was to end this discussion with waypoints and routes, then I found USGS maps of the Plainfield Quadrangle.

A Good Start

July 2011
We split up in order to cover a larger area and found good color almost everywhere. The bedrock was shallow on both sides of the river, but the inside bend was where we concentrated our prospecting.

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