Don't Look to Me For Long Lat Coordinates to East Fork Gold--A Warning

Of all the things I blog about, the reaction to my posts that makes me smile a lot are the hits i get when writing about my occassional bouts with Gold fever. I"ve occassionally mentioned the approximate areas on the East Fork of the San Gabriels where I've washed tiny nuggets from a pan. But what really cracks me up is when some poor soul sends me a blistering emal for not being specific enough.

As if I'm going to post a sixteen digit lat long coordinate of where I froze to death washing scores of pans in order to get a few flakes of gold? I don't think so. But there are people out there who want shortcuts to riches lying on the surface. And there is gold in Los Angeles County, up on the East Fork.

So where does a latter day argonaut find gold in the San Gabriels?  The simplest place is down stream of 19th and 20th Century abandoned claims where storm after storm has washed old mine tailings. Restated, you find gold in gold mines, my friends.

But what you don't do, ever, is enter and begin exploring old mines that were not built with box frames. That is unless you have a serious death wish. Old mines are dangerous places and the San Gabriels are geologically active. They are also near fault lines.

I remember reading an article several years ago about the state of California's efforts locating and closing the entrance to old mines. The intent of the program was to reduce the safety hazards such shafts create.  Initially, the state thought there were about 1,400 old shafts.  The actual number turned out to be much higher, more than 20,000 (most of which were abandoned unproductive claims.)

So shoot nuggets is you wish, or freeze to death washing pan after pan of imagined pay dirt in an icy stream, but take my word for it, even at $900 an ounce hanging out in old gold mines isn't worth it. Besides, skeletons in old gold mines don't dream or have access to broadband internetconnections.--  a cautious Jim Forbes on 01/29/2008.