Albert Fausel is a third-generation owner of the Placerville Hardware store, which opened 170 years ago in 1852.
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Unprecedented, my ass. It happens every year there's a good rain. It's called erosion. That's how gold gets into the streams and rivers. It washes down from the hillsides to the lowest point, the rivers and streams.
Some years are just better than ever. If I was in California right now, this would be the 4th 'biggest gold rush of my lifetime'.
I remember one year there was such a heavy rainfall that there was flooding in the streets of Sonora and traffic was backed up for miles because people were in the streets panning the potholes in the roads. The CHP were going nuts trying to run people off.
Believe it or not, people still pan for gold in California.
ReplyDeleteThere's a bunch of people who are more serious about it than panners, mining for gold with dredges and sluices. It helped pay my bills and support my gun habit for about 10 years.
DeleteDredging is illegal, and you need a spendy permit to high bank, sluicing and panning are the legal means. Fucking liberals. Power sniping is the best way to get good gold for me personally. We need this flooding bad to bring in more gold and wash away all the little brush thats on the shore and wipe out all the willows popping up. Its gonna be a good year on the Yuba!!!!
DeleteNot legal since Jan. 1, 2016.
Deletehttps://wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Suction-Dredge-Permits
If caught, Fish and Game could technically cite you for making a streambed alteration without a permit. That's not a cheap fine.
Too cool Ken! There’s got to be some great gold hunting stories in that span of time.
DeleteMadMarlin
Wirecutter,
DeleteI hope you'll repost that piece about your gold prospecting adventures. You've lived quite a life!
Elmo and Anon@6:51 - goes to show how long it's been since I got away from it.
DeleteBeen retired for a year now. I go out weekly ,after the rainy season is done. That water is still damn cold since we still have about 10' of global warming upstream from my favorite spot. Have a pretty good jar of gold now.
DeleteFor Anon 6:51- The Yuba below Englebright is flowing 30,000 cfs, and the South Fork by itself is at almost 10,000 cfs of pure snow melt. Be careful out there.
DeleteSo the guy selling supplies to gold seekers predicts a gold rush, color me shocked!
ReplyDeleteAnybody and everybody that knows even a little bit about prospecting knows that there's going to be a lot of gold coming out of those streams and rivers after a good rainy season.
DeleteThe thing about the "unprecedented!" headlines is they're often written by 20 somethings who think history started when they discovered their naughty bits.
ReplyDeleteAren't most gold seekers crazy optimistic by definition ?
ReplyDeleteAmateur prospectors are optimistic for sure. Those of us that had been doing it for a while are just hopeful.
DeleteBack when I was into it, I wouldn't even work a spot unless I figured I could make at least 10 bucks an hour, so I had no pretentions of getting rich.
Why 10 bucks an hour? Because that's what I was making at my regular job when I started placer mining, so I figured my time was worth at least that much.
I always tease my brother about the minature dime.
DeleteEvery now and then he sends photos of the flecks and pickers from his workings. He always includes a dime coin for scale.
For myself, I have to weigh that optimism against the ravagings of my back. It don't add up in my case.