Gold probably is one of the easiest things in the world to cheat an absentee owner out of. He would generally have no way of really knowing if a guy had found 3 nuggets or 30 nuggets on his claim.

Sure enough, after hiking a couple miles uphill and hacking through some brush, we found the place just as he had described it.

The sound got quiet when the fuse burned down into the clay. I waited, and waited…

…I was looking down on what was a frightening 500-foot sheer drop-off. We were precariously close to the edge as the shoulder was practically non-existent.

We started off excited and enthusiastic as we began hiking up the river, daydreaming about finding big gold.

Accelerated ATV Unloading Methods

If you have done any hiking in rough terrain you are well aware that going down a slope is much more difficult and dangerous than climbing it.