T
ttmike42
Hi everyone!
I'm new to metal detecting, I got a MD'er for christmas and have used it a couple of times with varying luck. (mostly old mine junk like bolts and pipes and such).
I live in the sierra nevada foothills of california, in a little town called nevada city. Its in the heart of the gold country / motherlode.
I'm hoping someone on this board is from near me and maybe would come loose of some good sites? I'm 25 years old and having grown up in this area I know of lots of old mining sites, that arent state parks, so I may have sites in trade for you!
I'm also hoping someone can steer me in the right direction in terms of what I need to do to research potential sites. I'm normally very proficient at that kind of thing but am drawing a blank.. the problem I run into around here is that most good older town sites or mining sites are privately owned and fenced, or state or local park. I do know of one good site that is adjacent to the empire mine state park. It is not on park property and I do have permission to be on this property. It is probably a good 80 acres of old tailing piles, old equipment foundations and exploration holes. So now do I just randomly pick a spot on this huge tract of land and start combing it? It could keep me busy for years but as a child I also remember just randomly digging (only kids have energy to blindly dig like that) and remember finding a couple old dump sites that folks probably pre 1950 used as a land fill. The other problem about being on the west coast is the history here in terms of the white man really only extends back to 1850, so I assume I wont be finding anything THAT old.
So thats my story and situation. I also have been wondering about a small water irrigation ditch near my home. The reason I suspect good stuff is in there is because right next to the ditch (and about 4 or 5 feet of drop off before you can actually step in the water, which leads me to believe if someone dropped something they arent going in after it.) there is a trail, that is VERY frequently used, mostly by the affluent older folks that live here. So does it make sense to MD in a shallow man made ditch?? Considering folks are walking by so often I also worry about someone getting mad, although its public property, and I worry about folks copying me and finding all the good stuff before I can comb this ditch. The ditch is used solely for irrigation and the nevada irrigation district has told everyone on this source of water they must have bottled water as well, so its not like I'm jumping into a municipal water supply. I also must note there are MILES and MILES of these irrigation ditches in my county, some of them very old. Any suggestions? help? want to join me sometime?? thanks for any help in advance to everyone!! this seems like an excellent resource.
I'm new to metal detecting, I got a MD'er for christmas and have used it a couple of times with varying luck. (mostly old mine junk like bolts and pipes and such).
I live in the sierra nevada foothills of california, in a little town called nevada city. Its in the heart of the gold country / motherlode.
I'm hoping someone on this board is from near me and maybe would come loose of some good sites? I'm 25 years old and having grown up in this area I know of lots of old mining sites, that arent state parks, so I may have sites in trade for you!
I'm also hoping someone can steer me in the right direction in terms of what I need to do to research potential sites. I'm normally very proficient at that kind of thing but am drawing a blank.. the problem I run into around here is that most good older town sites or mining sites are privately owned and fenced, or state or local park. I do know of one good site that is adjacent to the empire mine state park. It is not on park property and I do have permission to be on this property. It is probably a good 80 acres of old tailing piles, old equipment foundations and exploration holes. So now do I just randomly pick a spot on this huge tract of land and start combing it? It could keep me busy for years but as a child I also remember just randomly digging (only kids have energy to blindly dig like that) and remember finding a couple old dump sites that folks probably pre 1950 used as a land fill. The other problem about being on the west coast is the history here in terms of the white man really only extends back to 1850, so I assume I wont be finding anything THAT old.
So thats my story and situation. I also have been wondering about a small water irrigation ditch near my home. The reason I suspect good stuff is in there is because right next to the ditch (and about 4 or 5 feet of drop off before you can actually step in the water, which leads me to believe if someone dropped something they arent going in after it.) there is a trail, that is VERY frequently used, mostly by the affluent older folks that live here. So does it make sense to MD in a shallow man made ditch?? Considering folks are walking by so often I also worry about someone getting mad, although its public property, and I worry about folks copying me and finding all the good stuff before I can comb this ditch. The ditch is used solely for irrigation and the nevada irrigation district has told everyone on this source of water they must have bottled water as well, so its not like I'm jumping into a municipal water supply. I also must note there are MILES and MILES of these irrigation ditches in my county, some of them very old. Any suggestions? help? want to join me sometime?? thanks for any help in advance to everyone!! this seems like an excellent resource.
