I love the Fortymile and I always will.  We are soon approaching the week of my late husbands death.  We were on our way to cabin back in the deep heart of mining country where there is no one and believe you me, I truly understand the depth of that.  Gold mining has taken several things I loved from me.   And if you let it, it will take things from you too and it wont ask permission.  Death comes in many different way and Jim and I had talked about dying back here in this mining country but we never really believed it would happen to me  or us.  

On the morning of March 8th 2007 my now late husband and I left Tok, Alaska at a -50 degrees outside.  We never came back the same. He died in my arms on the top of Mt Witherspoon, Alaska on March 10th, 2007.  If our mining partner hadnt been with us at the time I would have sit there and died with him.  

Yellow Stuff  by sharon eddy bissell

Be careful of yellow stuff

Death is not a bluff

Like life is full of stuff

Stuff you like

Stuff you hate

It'll make you wait

There is no mistake

Death is more than stuff

Stuff you like

Stuff you hate

Yes it will make you late

Dont hesitate

You'll find your fate

Or they'll find you

Frozen cold 

From following the gold

Make your plans 

Yes you can

God alone knows your hand

      ----Sauna Creek Widow

             Sharon Bissell 

             2014

Where to look to find gold

You will find gold in different spot in streams. Water is the primary agent in the creation of most placer deposits. Moving water can contain huge amounts of sentiment materials, by way of fine silt to large river rocks, especially in the course of run-off time periods. When freed from the particular mountain by means of weathering, gold is usually added to stream waters along with rock debris, and it is moved down by way of the stream. Where streams meander you can find gold, if it goes over falls you can find gold, or are deflected around rocks is good place to find gold, if a drop in water velocity takes place you can often times find gold, and the gold drops out there. Extended agitation by way of water causes gold to settle all the way down through the gravel right up until reaching bedrock or an impenetrable clay layer that is where you find gold nuggets. These concentrations are known as pay streaks that would be nice to find gold pay streaks.

Best chances to find gold

The best locations to uncover gold exist wherever turbulence change to slower-moving waters flow. Check out slower moving water down below rapids and waterfalls, deepened pools, and the downstream section involving big chunks of rock. On the inside turns of meanders, upstream ends with fine sand as well as 'point" bars are good locations for you to pan fine gold, which can be replaced each year during runoff. Bedrock crevices or pockets acting as natural riffles can accumulate gold. Scoop out there and pan material from these places. Spring, very early summer months, and just before freeze within the fall are wonderful points during the year to go panning. Water is low and gold-bearing rock is exposed which makes it easier to find gold. To lessen resource damage, restrict excavating to active, unvegetated stream gravels.

Tools you will need to find gold

The basic equipment is quite simple and requires only a minimum investment. A gold pan is most important. Metal pans were used by early prospectors; modem versions are plastic with built-in riffles. In a pinch, frying pans and even hub caps will work. New metal pans generally come with a coating of grease and should be cleaned thoroughly by heating over an open fire. The pan will rust, but some rust is beneficial for collecting fine gold and help find gold.

Suggested equipment to find gold.

• gold pan (plastic with riffles or metal); 14" size is best.
• shovel to loosen gravel from creek bottom.
• grizzly pan with 1/2-inch holes in bottom; this pan helps separate coarse gravel, speeding up the panning process.
• magnifying lens (at least 10X power) to identify minerals.
• sluice box, approximately 3 feet long; (construct or obtain commercially; aluminum version is available.)
• tweezers for picking up gold; a dry finger will also work.
• small magnet for separating out magnetic black sands.
• small glass vials to hold gold.
• rubber gloves to protect hands from cold water.
• rubber boots to keep feet dry while wading in creeks.

Good luck on you next trip to find gold it will pay off some day.

More at http://prospectminingforgold.com

For though’s of you gold prospectors things to look for when locating or discovering an ancient riverbed gravels to harvest for the weekend gold prospectors. Might be common sense to some, but to others.. it might be helpful!

Gold prospectors moraine tips

For the weekend Gold prospectors this glacial rock, mud and gold materiel may have been pulled off a valley floor as the glacier advanced foreword or it may have came off the valley rock walls as a result of freezing and thawing wedging or landslides. Moraines may be made of deb-re in size from silt-sized genealogical flour to huge boulders. The debris is mostly sub-angular to rounded in shape as it is ground up by the weight of ice. Moraines may be on the glacier’s surface or left as piles or sheets of debris where glaciers has melted.

Glacial drifts in the Midwestern and North Eastern United States. These areas were previously not widely known for gold occurrences, but after increased attention they have surprised a lot of people with the amounts of gold now been recovered.

To give a little background, understand that during the ice ages, (both Wisconsin and Illinois stages), the glaciers acted like giant bulldozers pushing enormous amounts of rocks and (gold bearing) gravel down from the sources in Canada many states were completely covered by the glaciers and (left with) moraine (gravel) deposits in bands (see moraine deposits, maps of Michigan, etc.). we also show the Moraine terminus (Southern extent) in all of the Midwestern and northeastern states certain states have incomplete (NY, PA, NJ, MN), or no specific (NH, VT, MA, CT, RI, ME) Moraine information by researching state or regional glaciation books (. Available at college geology apartments or in state geological surveys), you can then determine more specific Moraine deposit locations. Another way of determining moraine locations locally is by simply locating area gravel pits.

read the rest here and video at  http://prospectminingforgold.com/glacial-drift-gold-prospectors-tips/