Jul 10

Written by:
7/10/2009 12:00 AM 

Greetings from the Cripple River Gold Camp! It's hard to believe it’s the fifth week is here already! Every summer, the time here races by on wings, but this year the summer days seem to be flying away with a tail wind behind it. There is so much to do and, as always, not enough time to do it all!

Last week, Rodger Bartley, our famous camp wood carver, found an older one of Tom Massie’s hidden "Pirate Treasures," an Altoid’s tin full of his special treasures, wrapped with silver duct tape. It was on the beach near the Cripple River property marker. Good find! Tom fills these little boxes with a variety of items, choosing from among coins, walrus ivory, jade, hat pins, his own signed drawings, fire cracker, lighters, gold pickers, garnets, a certificate for a special hat - the list of what he can chose to include is virtually endless. He chooses three, four or five things and, sneaking out in the dead of night in the dark with his flashlight (okay you caught me, this is Alaska), sneaking out in the weaker sunlight or the brightish light of 4 a.m., Tom checks carefully to be sure he isn't seen (harder to do in the daylight isn't it Tom?). Unobserved, Tom then hides his little treasure boxes.

The weather this week has been extremely varied, with a day or so of rain and blowy winds, several days of bright hot sun, and then warm overcast days, making the weather predictors crazy. This far north, the weather changes at the drop of a hat and sometimes Mother Nature drops the hat herself! Yesterday, KNOM, our local radio station, reported a 100 per cent chance of rain and wind, but the determined people for the beach glass trip to Nome left on schedule under an overcast sky and rain. The people in the truck were fine but Bonnie and I were on ATV’s and the rain hitting our faces felt like pins and needles, forcing us to slow down our riding speed. This uncomfortable stinging feeling was more than compensated (for me at least) by the sense total of freedom of riding along the beach in the pure, fresh, salty sea air. Bonnie was several hundred yards ahead of me - a small dot in the distance - the truck was nowhere in sight in my rear view mirror, and for a few minutes all that was there was me on my ATV, the Bering Sea, and the rainstorm. The birds were not even in sight.

The rocks on the beach glittered like jewels, and the waves leaped and washed at the shore line. The gray skeletons of driftwood reached out its arms to catch my ATV, but I zigged and zagged, weaving in and out among them, just missing some of their outstretched limbs. Riding just above the water line, dodging rocks, driftwood, and higher waves trying to swamp me, for a few of the most precious of minutes I weaved and danced in perfect harmony with the Bering Sea and Mother Nature. I breathed in the fresh, salty, life-giving air, replacing the stale city-fied air in the bottom of my lungs. I danced in joy, my soul sang, my whole being rejoiced in being here! I became one with the beach. Peace and contentment, often so hard to find, filled me from the top of my head to the bottoms of my feet. As I rode on, the rain gradually stopped, and I came back to what most call reality, and I again started thinking about my beach glass group and plans for the day, but for a few minutes, I was lucky enough to experience what many people only dream about.

Once we all arrived on east beach, the truck driver, Dennis Yorde, walked down to the beach and picked up a small piece of the hard-to-find cobalt blue in about 30 seconds. A good omen! The rain had stopped, and it was about 60 degrees, the sky had lightened up and the all beach glass was easy to spot as it was still wet and gleamed like the ocean jewels they are. (Once the sun came out later in the day the glass higher on the beach would dry and be harder to see). In fact, the first piece of glass was found less than two feet from the truck. Everyone found a nice selection of well-tumbled beach glass, several pieces of cobalt blue were found, one red, several yellow, then the list of colors including green, aqua, frosted, white and milk white, olive, brown, pottery pieces, and misc. colors. Add to the glass interesting rocks, driftwood and whatever, and the beach hunters were busy!

After several hours on the beach it's off to town to have a picnic, or eat hamburgers at the pizza place. There's usually time for a little shopping, or to tour the 1900's Miner's Museum in the basement of the library, visit the giant jade boulder behind the Visitor's Center, then it's back to the truck and return camp. Everyone had a great day hunting colorful beach glass gold!

IT’S HAPPENED AGAIN!!! Treasure hunt time is on!!! Last night, Tom Massie (better known as Long Tom Gold the Pirate) hid 20 of his special silver duct tape wrapped "pirates booty" all around the Cripple River Gold Camp. Some are in plain sight, some are almost in plain sight, some are buried and need to be metal detected for, and others are in, around or under things. Tom takes a great pleasure in hiding these little packages of goodies, and there are some still in hiding from previous years still waiting to be found. They are all hidden in common use areas only!!!! None of these little boxes are ever placed in containers, or the mechanics shops, supply, the kitchen, or private hooches, so if you think you shouldn't be in that area, you probably shouldn't, so-o-o-o don't go there. There will not be any treasure hidden there, be respectful of other peoples things and privacy. Have fun treasure hunting, and may the ghost of pirates of the past be with you!

The day trips to the Trommel Camp to run high-bankers continue to be popular with coarse gold and pickers being found. These are on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the truck trip and Wednesdays for the ATV trip. The Ketchmark camp has hooches for people who stay overnight, for a day or several days, or you can go up to the camp and run the high- bankers just for the day. At the Dredge Camp, they also have hooches available, and you and a partner (for safety one of you tends while the other dives) can check out a four-inch dredge at the dredge camp if one is available (there usually is) and you know how to dredge. Bring your wet suit and equipment, except for the lead weights(the camp has extra weights), but not always enough of the right size weight belts. Hand sluices, shovels, gold pans and buckets are available for check out at supply, so if running a beach box for flour gold is not the only thing you want to do, there are plenty of other options at the gold camp.

For the non-prospector who doesn’t mind somewhat primitive conditions there are also so many interesting things to see and do. This is a place to try new things to see new sights, learn new skills, stretch and grow as a person, and experience a different way of life, with a chance for adventure around every corner!

Visiting us from St. Helen’s, Ore., is Todd Eidem, who joined the GPAA about a year ago and admits to have been watching all the gold prospecting shows on TV for several years. He found himself hunting elk then stopping to pan for gold in the creeks and streams! Todd will be here for two weeks - weeks 5 and 6. He has been running his beach box ragged, but plans to give it a rest and go to Ketchmark and high-bank soon. Chelsey, his lovely and understanding daughter, celebrated her 14th birthday recently, but "she insisted I come to Alaska anyway, as she knew how much I wanted to make this trip. My daughter is a really special person, and I gave her a birthday present before I left the lower 48. We can celebrate when I get back home." Todd also remarked that his gold vial will be much heavier by the time he leaves this camp, as he still has plenty of time left to prospect. "I'm having a great time!"

Time to teach a garnet-picking class so, until next time, may your life and the bottom of your pan turn golden! Your friend, Arctic Annie