Steve Herschbach Posted February 3, 2015 Report Share Posted February 3, 2015 This is the final chapter in a long running tale with photos posted elsewhere - Steve's 2013 Alaska Gold Adventure but I wanted to make sure you guys saw this. From July 22 to July 28 six days of metal detecting had netted me only three gold nuggets. That is a lot of detecting and digging for just three happy moments! I was getting burned out plus missing my wife and new home. My wife had also let me know one of my dogs was not doing well. It all just added up to time to go home. Besides, I had about 5.5 ounces of gold, not bad at all and better than I had hoped for. Good weather, good gold, good times with friends, it really had been a near perfect trip. Therefore on the morning of the 29th of July I wandered up to Chris and Bernie's camp and told them I was done. I was paid up at Chicken Gold Camp through the 31st so my plan was to be packed up and hit the road for Nevada early on August 1st. I had just a few days left so had to decide what to do. There is an area on upper Jack Wade known to have produced big gold in the past. Like nuggets weighing pounds, and a 10 ounce nugget had been found there by a dredger the previous season. It was on the ground owned by the miner I had a deal with. I had of course hunted it previously but only found a few small nuggets and lots of little ferrous trash. It was a gorgeous sunny day and the area was relatively open and level so easy hunting. I fired up the Minelab GPX 5000 with Nugget Finder 14" x 9" mono and crossed over the creek to give it a go. I was really relaxed because mentally I was done working and just happy to be out beeping a couple more days. It was really a nice feeling knowing I would soon be heading home. I barely had got started when I crested the top of a small ridge of tailings and got a massive boomer signal. Just a huge descending low tone, the type you might get if you buried a huge bolt or some other large ferrous target not too far down. There was a recent dig hole on the target, and I thought "well, let's see what he left in the hole" and gave just a couple big scoops. It was sandy easy digging stuff, and as it slid down the hill I glimpsed gold. I thought "no way!" and as I grabbed it could feel the weight. I stood there looking at 6.5 ounces of solid gold in my hand! There is no doubt in my mind about the addictive nature of nugget detecting. It is not easy to do and the gold is not easy to find. There can be lots of false starts and disappointments along the way. It is all that however that makes it so sweet when gold is finally found, when all the hard work and effort is rewarded. I get a thrill out of every nugget I find, no matter how small, because I work hard for every one of them. The really big finds are much rarer yet, so much so that few people ever get to say they found a nugget weighing one ounce or more. The feeling of accomplishment is indescribable because it verges on feeling like a miracle has occurred. Once you get a taste of that feeling you want to feel it again, and it is that quest that powers me and others through days, months, and years of effort. The thrill of finding gold! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim straight Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 Steve... I'm totally happy to see your big smile with you holding a 6.5 nugget. If this ever happened to me, I fear that Iwould die with a sudden massive heart attack. jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortuga Posted February 4, 2015 Report Share Posted February 4, 2015 I'd love to take a week or two off work and go to Alaska and prospect. I've got the time to use at work now I just need to save up the money to pay for the trip which shouldn't take long. The big thing for me is getting the research done on where to go. I don't know the first thing about detecting in Alaska. That alone could take weeks/months of reading and research. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yukonlewis Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Well I'll be darned - hard work and persistence does pay off!! Who knew!!Well done Steve - wonderful nugget!Cheers yukonlewis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlakMagnet Posted February 6, 2015 Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 Hi Steve…Lots of us have followed your explorations and your no-holds-barred discussions for years.It is no surprise to see the great gold that you find - you work for it.The selfie says it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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