K-26 Three Creeks Gold Claim is located 20.4 miles downriver from Happy Camp, or about a quarter-mile upriver from the USFS Dillon Creek Campground. The property takes in just under a half-mile of the Klamath River. The upriver boundary can be found at Highway 96 mile marker 20.06. The nearest mile marker to the downriver boundary is 19.64.
There are two roadside pull-offs located on this claim. At the larger pull-off, on the upstream side of the bend in the middle of the claim, there is about 50-yards-long path that has a gentle slope all the way to the river. There is a gravel bar directly across the river at the upper end of the property.
Please do not set up camp on the side of the road in front of the path. There is quite a large road-side pull-off just a short distance upriver where there is plenty of room for camping.
Here follow some video segments to give you a better idea of what the property looks like. Please note that the video was captured in the rain during mid-winter when water levels are much higher than during summer flows:
The Dillon creek campground just downstream (closed during the winter months) is a fee campground with toilets and water.
Here it is on Google Earth
PROSPECTS: Here is another very proven section of the Klamath River. The first high-grade pay-streak that me and my partners found on the Klamath River was located about a mile downstream. One of my original dredging students claimed this same portion of river during our first year on the Klamath in 1984. He was recovering half ounce of gold per day using a 4-inch dredge on the roadside of the river not far downstream from the rapids (easy to see where the water slows down in the video). Something happened in the person’s personal life that forced him to return home, and he never returned. To my knowledge, nobody has dredged in this section of river since that time. Don’t be surprised to see my personal dredge parked on this claim during the upcoming season!
There is extensive bedrock showing on both sides of the river for the entire length of this claim. Images here display gold which was recovered by our advanced sampling team along the roadside of the river up near the pathway. We have John Rose to thank for the following sampling report:
The forecast was for a break in the weather Wednesday so six of us went down to the new claim just above Dillon creek to do some sampling and enjoy a day on the river. The six of us were Mark Wayerski, Dyton Gilliland, Sandy Jones, Dickey Melton, Gary Wright and myself. It was a nice warm day even though it was overcast and we really lucked out because it has rained steady for 4 days since then and the river has risen about 12 feet above were we did our sampling.
We found varying areas to sample so we split up and covered the entire claim from top to bottom. Everyone found gold in their pans, even in the sand. Gary and Dyton sampled in the bedrock at the top of the claim and found really good gold. Dyton is from Alaska and commented that they never showed this much gold in their pans when out sampling in Alaska. That’s pretty cool! Sandy, Mark and Dickey sampled the gravel and sand along the middle part of the claim and were happy with what they recovered. They were only digging down less than a foot where they were finding hard-packed streambed and larger boulders.
The trail down to the river was very open and easy going. When we reached the river there was a good trail though the willows and then it opened up to some good mining areas. The willows are covered by the river since we were down there, so hopefully the flood will clear some of them out.
Altogether we sampled maybe 3-4 buckets of material. We were just digging single pans at a time then taking them to the river and panning them out. The river was higher than normal so we ran into groundwater close to the surface. But that should not be a problem during summer flows because the river was flowing about 3-4 feet above normal.
Along Highway 96 by the trail into the claim, there is a good-sized pull-out that would easily handle 6-7 rigs. Just up from the claim is a large pull-out off the highway.
I predict this is going to be a very popular place with our members amongst our already extensive inventory of mining properties!
Drawing Results from The New 49’ers Legal Fund-Raiser
On Friday evening, 27 February, we completed our most recent New 49’ers Legal Fund Drawing for 20 tenth-ounce American Gold Eagles and a brand new 4-inch Proline dredge. Tickets were mixed up really well, and mixed again between each draw. The draws were done by Meranda Rasmussen from the Marble Mountain Gift store. She had no personal interest in the outcome. All of our staff were present to observe the drawing, along with around 8 members and others from Happy Camp. Here follows some video which captured the event:
Here are the winners:
American Gold Eagles: Justin Nash of Kansas City, KS; Robin Peacock of Colorado City, TX; Ken Wilson of Queensland Australia; Michael Di Chiera of Good year, AZ; Gerald Fawcett of Anchorage, AK; Leroy Niemeyer of Columbia, MO; Les Martin of Klamath Falls, OR; Donald Pucllowski of La Grange, CA; Jimmy Urrutia of Clovis, CA; Kurt Bangart of Bremerton, WA; Dennis Taylor of Sherwood, OR; Kevin Perry of Silver Spring, NV; Randy Peacock of Colorado City, TX; Joe Ford of W. Yarmouth, MA; G E M S/(Steve Rive) of La Quenta, CA; Doug Albercht of Tucson, AZ; Don & Judy Brady of Happy Camp, CA; Jack Braucht of Meridian, ID; George Haymans of Natchez, MS & Chris Saunders of Moore, OK
Four-inch Proline dredge: Rod Schultz of Wichita, KS
Montine in our office (530 493-2062) will be attempting to make contact with all the winners.
First, I want to thank Jeff Kuykendall at Proline Mining Equipment for his generous support of our efforts to preserve the industry.
Secondly, I have to shout out my greatest appreciation to all of you who participated in this fund-raiser. While it seems wise to not disclose important details to our adversaries, let me just say that the results shattered all of the previous fund-raising records we have ever done — perhaps any previous legal fund-raising record in the history of our industry!
We are really on a roll. This is all because of you guys!
Any legal contributions which arrive in our office after this drawing will automatically generate tickets for the next New 49’ers Legal Fund drawing.
I am very pleased to announce that Garrett Metal Detectors is generously supporting this next fund-raiser with their brand new top-of-the-line ATX pulse induction gold detector. That is a $2,500 machine!
Garrett is also donating a refurbished AT Gold metal detector as a second prize (“refurbished” means the unit was used as a demo at a trade show, but never used in the field, and then put back through quality control and repackaged in new condition). This is an $800 machine!
These are both fantastic gold machines which can actually be taken underwater to shallow depths!
The drawing will also include 20 tenth-ounce American Gold Eagles.
The drawing will take place at our Saturday evening potluck on June 27. You do not need to be a member of our organization to participate. You are welcome to be at the drawing, but you do not need to be present to win.
Our office will automatically generate a ticket in your name for every $10 legal contribution we receive ($100 would generate 10 tickets). There is no limit to the size or frequency of your contributions, or to the number of prizes you can win. Look for our new Paypal contribution link here.
Remember, all contributions to The New 49’ers Legal Fund are tax deductible.
When you are considering what kind of equipment to buy for your prospecting activities, I sincerely request that you take a strong look at the products being offered by the industry manufacturers who are supporting all of our combined efforts.
Once again; thank you guys very much for standing behind us!
We are Stepping in on Another Legal Challenge
The District Court For The Eastern District of California has consented to allow The New 49’ers Legal Fund to file an Amicus Brief in the appeal of a recent case where the U.S. Forest Service criminally prosecuted a small-scale miner, John Godfrey, for hand mining with the use of a sluice box.
We believe the government and magistrate made a serious error by not allowing proper consideration to the Section 228 regulations which expressly state that hand mining and sluicing is completely exempt from the requirement to provide any Notice or Plan to the USFS.
As long as politics don’t get involved, this one should be a slam dunk for our side. Here is the brief for your reading pleasure.
We are Still Waiting for the Judge’s Order!
Most of you will recall that Superior Court Judge Ochoa awarded California suction dredgers a huge win on January 12th by declaring the State of California’s “scheme” of first passing a law that requires us to obtain a permit, and then passing another law making permits unavailable, as an unlawful, un-enforceable interference with the intention of congress. This is a HUGE win for all gold miners!
If you have not read it yet, I strongly encourage you to read the decision.
Here is a shorter summary from our attorney.
We do not expect it to alter his initial Decision, but we are waiting for a final signed Order from the judge so we can figure out how the Judgment will affect our fast-approaching 2015 suction dredging season in California!
Join us for our Weekend Group Mining Projects Next Season!
There is a learning curve to successful gold prospecting. One of the most effective methods of progressing through the learning curve is to go on prospecting adventures with others who more experienced than you are.
Our 2-day Group Mining Projects are one of the primary benefits of New 49’er membership which set us apart from other mining associations. All weekend events are free to Full & Associate Members.
Schedule of 2015 Events: June 6 & 7; June 27 & 28; July 18 & 19; August 8 & 9; and August 29 & 30.
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The New 49’ers Prospecting Association, 27 Davis Road, Happy Camp, California 96039 (530) 493-2012 www.goldgold.com