Last Post 12 Jun 2016 09:31 PM by  Justin Hassler
Slo-Able 1
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MICHAEL BUCKMAN
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28 Feb 2016 03:10 PM

    I just recently went to scout the one and only claim in San Luis Obisbo county. Its calle "Slo-Able 1."

    I wanted to see how camping would be and if there was running water on the claim this time of year and to take a couple of test pans to see if there might be some decent gold to be found.

    I made it to the Navajo Flat campground as it speaks about in the book, but then things got strange. The directions in the book said that the claim was 1/2 mile farther, but it wasn't clear if it was talking about farther down the road, or up a motorcycle/ 4 wheeler path. I drove farther looking for a claim marker and found one that must have been for a different claim because it wasn't oriented correctly according to my google earth research prior to leaving on the trip. I was about to give up when a farmer came down the road in an ATV with his dogs. I asked him if he knew where the GPAA claim was and he told me that it was up the 4 wheeler path a little ways and that it wasn't clearly marked. I went up there and looked around for a bit and started feeling really sick so I ended up leaving and not test panning or anything. It was a total bust for me, but for those of you who are considering a trip there, here is some good info for you.

    The claim is 1/4 to a half mile up the 4 wheeler trail. If you dont have a 4 wheeler to haul your gear up there with, you will be hoofing it with your gear. You could probably make a few trips as it isn't like you are walking for miles. The fence at the path entrance can be opened with the fence wires. They are just hooked together, presumably so the rangers can open the fence and drive up there. The path is wide enough for a 4 wheel drive to drive up to the claim, but I dont know if it is allowed or not. I would think that since motorized vehicles are allowed on the path, and this is a GPAA claim, that in theory, a member could drive up there, but you cannot park off of the road, you have to park on the side of the road. There are signs everywhere telling you not to drive on the greenery.

     When I camp I like to be undisturbed. I dont much care to be around a bunch of people. This claim seems to have the potential for being somewhat crowded with offroaders and hikers etc... There are farms and houses in the area as well. It is not exactly deep wilderness, but the claim, besides being on the offroad vehicle trail, seemed to be insulated from much of what was going on around it in other areas. The claim was green and lush this time of year. In fact it was gorgeous. There was exposed bedrock on the old river bottom and lots of benches to dig from. Much of the benches had already been mined. There were many tailings piles around, but there were still plenty of untouched areas to dig. There was no water. The McGuinnes and Navajo Creeks weren't even trickles this time of year, probably still reeling from the drought. The problem was that the ground was really really moist from recent rains. I couldnt have drywashed if I wanted to. High banking would have probably rocked though. This is all alluvial material. It's river placer mining without the river. I like this because I understand where the gold hides in rivers. In the desert I get confused sometimes on where I should actually be digging.

    I wish I had some test pan results to share with you, but as I said, I started feeling really sick and ended up going home.

     I hope this info helps anyone planning a trip there!!!

    -Mike

    JERE CLEMENTS
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    15 Mar 2016 09:22 AM
    Mike, sounds like you were in the right area, SLO-Able is up the ATV trail a little bit. The trail with the wire fence is an area that is under a little bit of dispute currently, the claim owner (not SLO Able) says it is his claim on FS land, the adjacent private property owner says it is his land and the FS is ignoring the issue and refuses to make any determination. My advise would be, respect private property, no use tickin off the neighbors, and besides it is not SLO Able anyway.

    The area you are referring to when you say "Much of the benches had already been mined" I suspect are other claims as there are quite a few here. SLO Able is a little farther down the trail. This area is definitely a "think outside the creek" area, the best gold is not in the creek bed, the key is to find a bench that the old timers missed. What I love about the area is even if you can not resist digging in the creek bed you never get skunked. Apparently the old timers equipment blew a lot of the fine gold right out the end. Recirc is the only way to go right now because the creeks are not flowing and it is too wet to drywash.

    March 19th/20th, yes next weekend is a combined outing right there at Navajo Flat sponsored by both the CCGP club and AMRA and the best news,,,,, it is open to all and free to all! So if anyone wants to know more about the area or prospecting, all of the local experts will be there and you will have the opportunity to prospect on a couple of other nearby claims that have the owners have graciously opened for the weekend. CCGP and AMRA will be holding raffles and have some great prizes to give away so come support prospecting.

    If you copy and paste these coordinance 35.379574, -120.283593 into Google Maps directions, it will direct you right to the outing location. Hope to meet a bunch of you all out there! If you have any more questions, post here or email jere@americanminingrights.com
    Justin Hassler
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    12 Jun 2016 09:31 PM
    Hello,
    I am looking to make a trip to this claim. Anybody want to join? July-ish
    Justin
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