Hi Michael,

My name is Matt.  I am in Leadville, CO, so we are fairly close to each other.  If you know of good ground to work over there that is legal, I'd be happy to meet up with you sometime.  I mostly prospect at Cache Creek and the Arkansas River near Buena Vista.  I have my own equipment and plenty of experience.  If you are ever in my neck of the woods, I would be glad to show you around.  We are buried in snow right now, so I probably won't prospect around here till late spring, except maybe a few days on the Ark if the ground is not super frozen.

Take care,

Matt

Hey matt i have been on the ark last week. Found color but no one wants to go now its to cold. Wimps lol. Can we run a dredge in the ark?
And where have you been working cache creek cause what i see going on is people missing the deposit and digging a quarter mile away from it

Mike,

You can't run a dredge on the Ark on the GPAA claims here. You need a private claim and a permit to do that. If the water is too low on the Ark you can't sluice, and if the ground is frozen you can't dig. Glad you found some color though. What elevation were you at when you worked the Ark last week? It's about 8,000 feet above sea level on the GPAA claims, and there's not always a good place to set up a sluice since the water levels are all over the place and the banks are incredibly steep. It's like a huge ravine. Just panning is pointless, unless you are happy finding just a few colors. The gold is not that plentiful.

Have you ever been to Cache Creek? What people are digging a quarter a mile away from the deposits you know about, and if you know this, did you find the deposits you are speaking of? If you know this to be true, than you must be spending a good deal of your time there. If everyone is missing the deposits and you are allegedly finding, than isn't that a good thing? I've found pretty good gold there, and I don't tell everyone and there families where I find it, especially since I had to do the prospecting to find it. I could tell you more about Cache Creek and my experience but not on a public forum. If you want to go to Cache Creek next year, let me know.

Matt

Oh ok now i need a place to dredge trying to get familiar with it, i just got it. And no I was with a friend on his gpoc claim south of salida. But yes next year i will be going. We should get together some time in spring. Im going to the ark today on the gpaa claim check some spots.outside bv. Live long and prospect.

I am new to Colorado and moved down from Alaska to Buckley Air Force Base this past October. Gold was good in Alaska (of course) I'm  looking to expand my skill and knowledge on prospecting year round, as much as the weather will allow...



How far are you both from Denver area?



Jim

(303) 241-9199

Hi James,

I live in Leadville, CO which is about a 2 hour drive depending on the weather and traffic.  I bet you can prospect a lot more of the year down there than up here.  If you would like to get together next spring and do some digging, keep in touch.  

Matt

Regarding fairplay beach this year the town has decided to raise the price to go it is now 10 dollars a day or 100 dollars for season pass. It was 35 dollars for season pass. Wow bad move for fairplay. Well to all who go please let me know if it worth it or not. Thanks. Live long and prospect

Hey matt have you been on the ark yet?

Is this the same Fairplay Mine area that was on Gold Rush this year (Hoffman crew)?

Hey Michael, 

That sucks about Fairplay raising the price to dig.  I don't dig the new price.  Yeah, I was out on the Ark once in March.  The weather was perfect and the water was probably running around 600-650 cfs.  It really fluctuates.  It's pretty low now, which is even better!  I would like to try again a few times this month.  Come May, the water will probably be way to high and fast to prospect safely.  The river will be raging all summer to accommodate the white water rafters and kayakers.  I never work the claims during the summer.  Fall thru early winter is a good time to be out on the river.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mcb01CwJV-4   Here is the link to the video my friend Randy Witham made that day.  Keep in touch.  Send me an email if you want.  We should get together sooner than later if you want to hit the Ark.  Like I said, during the summer it's not worth it.

 

Matt

Hey Matt and Michael,





I'm down in Golden and spend a lot of time in the Leadville area when I can.  Cache Creek is one of my favorites for all around camping and prospecting.  Have you heard that the BLM is trying to change the rules at Cache Creek?  Do you know of any updates on that Matt?





Dan

Panned and sluiced the beach once a couple years ago when it was still $5.  Wasn't worth it at $5 so definitely not worth it now.  I guess there is an RV park close to there that allows you to pan old dredge tailings if you ask them.  Never tried it but heard wasn't too bad.  Dan

You might want to go on this site as Randy and others will help you.
http://c17a.forumotion.co...ld-adventures-forums

Hey Matt i think i saw you Wednesday or Thursday on the gpoc claim outside of salida in a white truck. Was that you cause i was towing my dredge in my tan land cruiser. Had to leave my help never showed up. Dredge to big for just me.lol

Yes but no decisions yet. You will have to talk to the canyon city blm main office