Friday 6-12
We saw a wolverine in our camp. It was trying to eat the fox cubs and
probably did. Sam and I went out dredging today to see what doesn’t work on
the dredges. One of my pumps would not run and I had to work on it. I didn’t
have air to my regulator and had to beat on that awhile until it gave up and
started working. While I was dredging I got cold and found that one of the
heater lines had blown off. Other than those minor problems, everything
worked well. I dredged 4 hours and found poor gold. The water temp is 38
degrees. One of the pontoons on the dredge Sam uses is leaking air so he had
to quit after 1 hour and came in to repair the leak. I am cramping now in my
hands and arms and it is hard to write. It takes a couple of weeks for my
body to get used to the strains of dredging.
Wednesday 6-17
Sam and I dredged 4 hours each yesterday and I dredged 3 ½ today. The
dredges are working well. Water temp is 37 degrees today with poor vis. Sam
is catching a cold. I hope I don’t catch it but I brought plenty of
medicine. I’m still taking steroids that got rid of the last cold I had. It
took me 5 or 6 months to get over the breathing problems that came after my
last cold. We have a 4 burner gas stove with a big oven now that the GPAA
gave me. They got new ones & gave me one of the old ones. I left a bunch of
the gold jewelry that I’ve made with a lady at GPAA. She is going to try and
sell it for me. I hope she can sell good so I don’t have to go down there
and sell the stuff myself. Too many people will have colds there when the
big crowds of people arrive in a week of so. My fingers are numb from moving
all the rocks that I have to move while dredging. Sam & I just went and
helped Ryan drag out his dredge. One of the wheels broke off when he was
trying to pull it out.
Saturday 6-20
Yesterday Sam & I went to town to wash clothes & buy food & gas. Gas is $5 a
gallon here. That is about double what it is at home. Today we dredged only
2 hours before the waves came up. We try to quit when the waves start to
whitecap. It can get rough fast and we can have lots of trouble getting the
hose and anchor up when the dredge is rolling. Also, it’s tough getting the
dredge out on shore when wind and waves are up. Sam is over his cold now and
lucky for me I didn’t catch it. I don’t want a cold. Sam and I installed a
gutter on one side of the cabin so we can catch rainwater to use in out
shower.
Monday 6-22
Yesterday I dredged 4 hours. Water temp 40 degrees-calm seas with rain and
strong current. Sam and Ryan had trouble all day with the current and things
breaking so neither one of them were able to get any production. I didn’t
find much gold, only about 1 ounce. Brandon Johnson came by to visit for
several hours last night. Brandon is Tom Massie’s stepson and he is the boss
of all operations of the Gold Prospectors Association and LDMA properties.
We were talking about his plans for growing the GPAA and the Alaska trip.
I’ve known Brandon since he was about 13 when Tom brought him up to me and
my boys dredging on Arctic Creek. Tom asked me to teach Brandon how to
dredge which I did. Brandon actually found his first nugget that day. Now
Brandon is 26 and in charge of the whole show. I am very much impressed with
him and his approach to running the business. He is very smart and I think
he will be good for the GPAA and do well. Today Sam and I dredged 4 hours
each. I found fair gold, more than 1oz. but less than 2. Water is warmer
now, 50 degrees. It warmed up 10 degrees since yesterday. During my break
between dredge runs I was sitting on the dredge with my feet in the sluice
box and a baby seal came right up to me. It was only about 2 feet away and
gave me a good looking over. It was light grey with spots.
Tuesday 6-23
I went to the GPAA camp today and found out that my friend Howard Casner had
an accident. He was on my dredge crew when I ran the 8 inch dredge for the
GPAA. Howard is in his early 70’s. He was going up the river to his hooch on
Arctic Creek. The snow banks are still high up there and you can’t see the
trail. He was alone and up on the snow. His ATV turned over and pinned him
underneath. They tumbled a bit mashing his leg and groin. The ATV landed on
top. Howard is a big man and he tried to get the ATV off but could not.
Other riders passed within 50 feet of him but did not see or hear him. He
tried his best but couldn’t get the ATV off. Finally he was able to dig
under his body through the snow and work his way out with no help. He had
been laying there all beat up under the ATV for 7 hours. Once he was able to
stand he used his ratchet straps to help lift the ATV and was able to flip
it over. He got it cranked and made it back to camp at 3:00 AM. They carried
him to the hospital in Nome for x rays and found no broken bones. I guess
the snow cushioned the fall. He is hobbling around the camp now and will
probably need several weeks to quit hurting and recover. He is a tough old
dude.
Saturday 6-27
Sam is sick again and coughing. I’ve dredged a total of 30 hours now but I’m
too lazy to go out this morning. Ryan has about twice as many hours in as I
do and more than twice as much gold, but he is young and strong and goes
home this week. I’ve lost about 8 lbs. so far & weigh 192. The water temp
was 50 degrees last time I was in. Jack Swit from GPAA came out yesterday
and built me a rack on my cabin to hold a 40 gallon drum that will catch
rainwater for my shower. Sam & I cut up driftwood on the beach for firewood.
Tuesday 6-30
I dredged 3 hrs yesterday & Sam dredged 4. The air temp is about 50 to 60
but the water temp is brutal. It was 34 degrees in the water because we have
had overcast days with no direct sunlight. My gloves had a small hole in
each one that didn’t bother me when the temp was 50 degrees. The cold got to
me and my hand went numb. When I came up on my break & the feeling started
to come back they hurt bad. On my second dive I changed gloves & turned on
all the heat I could and I wasn’t too cold. Then the vis went at slack tide
so I couldn’t see the rocks and I cut the dive short and came in. This
morning Sam & I went to the Gold Prospectors camp. They want me to come out
each Tuesday and talk to the trip participants about finding gold. Brandon
wants me to show them that gold is available to be found up here. On the way
out there we saw a bear at the Perry River. It was about ½ mile from where
the GPAA guys beach mine. Sam & I each dredged 4 hours this afternoon and
found poor gold. I haven’t found much this year so far.
Friday
7-17
Lonnie has gone home for a week. The waves have continued, so no dredging.
Only Curtis and I are in camp now. Curtis is a retired marine and like most
marines, he will and can do most anything. He is a great help here in camp.
I hope Curtis comes up each year. I like people who pitch in and operate as
a team player. I’m way off my expected gold for this year. Maybe this next
three weeks the sea will be better and I can get some. Tom Massie came by
one day and filmed Lonnie and me for an Outdoor Channel show.
Tuesday 7-21
Today I went to the GPAA camp and gave my weekly talk about gold to some of
the newcomers. I volunteered to go out each week and show what can be found
up here. Curtis and I went dredging and I got in 3 hours before the waves
came up. I found good gold, about 2 ounces. Water temp is 54 degrees. I
cooked a steak, spinach, beans, and cornbread. I baked a chocolate cake last
night. I’m very sore and tired from dredging. I was dredging at waypoint
#174.
Thursday
7-23
Yesterday Anna and I went to Salmon Lake and then on out to Pilgrim Hot
Springs. We went 140 miles on one tank of gas in my Ranger 6X6. We saw two
big owls at the Hot Springs. Anna had never eaten King crab so I bought some
in town and we ate them last night. I enjoyed my time spent with Anna. I had
never spent time with her before. She is a very sweet girl and loves the
outdoors. Maybe she will come again to visit her old uncle. Anna left today.
I washed clothes in town. The waves were down this afternoon so I went out
at 6:00 P.M. and stayed until 10:00 P.M. Water temp 57 degrees, fair gold, &
poor vis.
Wednesday 7-29
The waves have been up, so little dredging. This morning the waves were down
with a north wind so we were able to get out. I dredged 4 ½ hrs before it
got rough waves & wind coming from east. Water temp is 53 degrees & vis was
ok. I found about 2 ½ or 3 oz. of gold. I wish the wind & waves would quit
for a while so I could get in more dredging. The wind is blowing strong now
with gusts over 40 mph. We won’t be able to dredge tomorrow so we are going
inland to my claim near Salmon Lake & then go on to American Creek if we can
cross the Pilgrim River. There were a couple of fingers of Glenlivet single
malt scotch in my bottle that needed drinking so I did. I don’t drink much
but it was there so what else could I do. It makes me a little dizzy headed
and will help me sleep. I laid down on my cot in my sleeping bag liner. It’s
too warm to get into the sleeping bag so the liner is enough. In the early
hours of morning I’ll pull an old half of an army blanket over my chest and
it will feel so good. I’ve opened the window near my head and the cool, not
cold, but cool wet air blows in. I can feel the air and smell a faint smell
of smoke from my wood stove. It’s great for me. If you don’t understand or
get what I’m talking about that’s too bad. If you don’t get it then you
don’t get it. You probably never will. It’s not for or about the groups or
masses, it’s about me, the individual, I’m not part of a group. For group
things include me out.
9/16/09 Wed
I’ve been home a couple weeks now and I have an addendum to add to this
year’s journal. Andrew Lee just sent me some pictures of our camp. The bear
returned and tore into all three cabins doing major damage. We will try to
get Andrew Lee and Rob to patch the holes and we will do repairs next year.
A couple of weeks later…………..
The bears are dead. Two of them that were breaking into all the cabins kept
causing trouble & got closer to Nome. They kept breaking into houses near
Snake River & the people that lived there killed them….as they should have.
The bears were trouble this year because it was an off year for salmon &
there wasn’t much to eat. 2008 was a banner year for salmon & they had
plenty to eat. The salmon runs alternate good & bad & in the bad years, the
bears develop bad habits. It cost them their lives this year.
Next year I am installing a solar-powered hot wire fence charge on my
cabin to try & ward off the bears.
6-2-2009 Tuesday
