Gold Trails Dates
May
10th – 12th
14th – 16th
17th – 19th
24th – 26th
31st – June 2nd
June 4th – 6th
Who can attend Gold Trails and How much:
GPAA Members and LDMA Members with GPAA Membership - $300.00
Non-Members and LDMA members without GPAA Membership - $400.00*
* The $400.00 price INCLUDES a GPAA basic 1-year membership!
DRY CAMPING IS FREE DURING THE EVENT:
Limited Water sites are available and charged at standard rates for LDMA & Non-LDMA members. $5.00 to $7.00 per day. Sites are limited, you can call the camp to make your reservations.
209-213-1485 or email the Caretakers – Italianbar@lostdutchmans.com
Italian Bar is a primitive camp with a men's and women's separated bathhouse and showers.
We do have an onsite dump station as well.
Generators are necessary if you need power and during the Gold Trails Events, there is no quiet time for gens, we just ask that you be respectful of your neighbors.
WHAT TO BRING:
Camping - Everything you need to camp out for a few days. Food, Water, cooking utensils, and remember your medications as well.
Prospecting - Basic prospecting tools, Pans, classifiers, buckets, snuffer bottles, and digging tools. Sluice box and or a Gold Rush Nugget Bucket. Make sure to bring water gear, we will be in the river running gold-bearing material, I’ll be using a Gold Rush Nugget Bucket for everything.
Metal Detecting - Gold Prospecting Metal Detector or a true cross-over detector. It is best to have a detector that can be ground balanced, and have adjustable sensitivity settings, and a threshold. (does not apply to the Gold Monster 1000). Bring your pick, plastic scoops, and all of your detecting tools.
Classroom - Bring pens, pencils, or crayons, and a spiral notebook, you will run out of room in your Handbook. The Handbook is yours to keep, I designed the Handbook for you to use for years to come as a reference book. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS! That is how we learn.
WHAT I SUPPLY:
Each Gold Trail’er will receive the GOLD TRAILS HANDBOOK. This is our textbook for the three days, and you will be hopefully taking a lot of notes, The Handbook is yours to keep, I designed the Handbook for you to use for years to come as a reference book.
I want to share 50+ years of experience and passion for prospecting and mining with each of you to make you a better prospector and miner.
My only expectation is that you want to learn and become a better prospector. This means that there are many topics that I will get into a lot of detail on, and it is not geology. Gold Trails is about the practical aspects and the real processes of prospecting, and yes, I will be debunking a lot of the so-called “Rules of Thumb” so be prepared to walk away looking at the world as if it were through my eyes.
Schedule:
DAY ONE: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm – Classroom is in the Clubhouse, Lunch is between noon & 1:00 pm.
After lunch, the rest of the day is in the field, Visual Prospecting, testing, trending, and running material. We will be doing a lot of testing to find “that right” spot to stay on the best gold.
Day ends 4:00ish
DAY TWO: 8:00 am to 12:00 pm – Classroom is in the Clubhouse, Lunch is between noon & 1:00 pm. After lunch, the rest of the day is in the field metal detecting. I will work with groups and individuals to help them set up their detectors to match the ground you are working on and take the classroom to the field.
Day ends 4:00ish
DAY THREE: 8:00 am to 10:00 – Recap of the last two days with a Q&A and open discussions about anything prospecting and detecting. At 10:00 am we head to the field, and you can work at your own pace either in the river, metal detecting, or both. It is your day, and I am here to help each of you.
Lunch is at noon and then back to the field. The day ends when it ends.
Weather Permitting there will be a campfire each night. The I-Bar campfire is an important part of Gold Trails. It was at this campfire that the Buzzard looked me dead in the eyes when he told all of us that we had three jobs, “Assure that our members always have a place to prospect, keep members informed the best we can, and most importantly, always be willing to help other members, members helping Members become better prospectors”.
WELCOME TO MY GOLD TRAILS
I am honored to support you and I thank you for the opportunity to fulfill my promise to all members.
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