The man to my left is a close friend. We met getting water for our cisterns at the pump site. He had just retired from the Army after 33 years of service, two tours in Afghanistan, and one in Iraq. He like myself moved off the grid because a great deal of civilians are complete idiots and hard to be around, we both have our own form of PTSD but speaking the same language having both being Army we developed a bond. I taught him how to pan like I do with a lot of kids and it is a dying art. Now he is part owner of one of the richest claims on the river and with his Combat Engineer experience his help is greatly appreciated. 

I teach people to pan to show them the art, but I also want to teach people the legalities, coordinates, how to file a claim, and how to pass that information down to others. When you are on the river it is peaceful, calm, and pleasing. The paperwork with the BLM can take the fun out of prospecting but it is worth while. If you can change one persons life for the better it is worth while. 

Ask yourself if you have what it takes to file claims, do the paperwork, and teach others? We need more people becoming active and we need to ask our current US President to allow claims to be Patented once again. We need all of your help, please step up and give a hand up, not a hand out.