Jul 26

Written by:
7/26/2004 12:00 AM 

Greetings from Cripple River! The weather has been fantastic, hot and sunny, with a breeze to chase away those pesky mosquitoes. Many prospectors are running around sporting mild sunburns. I kid you not. It seems they forgot to bring sunscreen. Part of the charm of Alaska is that the weather is always predictably unpredictable. Weather watching is a serious avocation with the Alaskan people. I have been told that many more people listen to weather reports in Nome than listen to football or other sporting events except for the Iditarod. The Iditarod is the world’s most famous dog sled race. It is run in early March and is billed “The Last Great Race on Earth”. This race starts in Anchorage, and runs over mountains, rives, tundra, and frozen sea coasts to finish in Nome 10 –15 days and 1,049 miles later. Both men and women compete in this grueling event. Our own Tom Massie was host on location delivering in depth coverage of the entire race this year.

From the Cripple River camp you can see a large dark colored rectangular shaped island sitting in the Bering Sea approximately five miles from shore (called Sledge Island). This rocky island serves as a bird sanctuary. Yesterday, in the bright sunshine, the island appeared a charcoal gray and seemed close enough to touch. As we watched from camp a white fog bank rolled over the horizon, closely hugging the water. This fog bank slipped up on the island from the backside. Like a giant fog monster with misty paws, the cloud of fog curled over the island obscuring it from our sight. Within just minutes the island was hidden from view. Mother nature’s equivalent of time-lapse photography at it’s finest. Everyday in Alaska is filled with new marvels and unparalled beauty.

We have some new neighbors visiting the Cripple River area just down the trail from camp. A small herd of approximately 12 or 14 muskox have been sighted on the tundra, and are feeding on a hillside slope. Called “omingmak” which Inupiaq speaking Eskimos say means, “The animal with skin like a beard,” this ice age mammal still inhabits several areas of Alaska. While this giant shaggy animal may look slow and clumsy, in fact they are amazingly fast and agile and are only safely viewed from a distance. When riled up, the musk ox can get quite grumpy, and can employ their horns and sharp hooves as formidable weapons.

The gold claims on the beach continue to produce flour gold, with some areas more rich than others. Tom Hill, one of our beach masters, reported yesterday was one of the busier days on the beach with seventeen beach box motors running. Each motor pumps the water for two beach boxes. Beach mining continues to be popular, but this year we seem to have fewer full time beach miners. The camp has an ATV rental program that allows participants seeking larger pieces of gold including nice size nuggets to prospect our 2300 acres with sluice, pan, high-banker, metal detector, dredge, etc. Our prospectors, many of whom arrange their ATV rentals in advance, are now truly mobile. With gold, beauty, and adventure around every bend of the trail the possibilities are unlimited.

Denton Sparks from Clanton AL, learned about Cripple River by watching gold prospecting on the Outdoor Channel. Denton admits to be a new prospector and a “cheechako” or first time visitor to Alaska. He brought his metal detector, but lost the battery pack. An honest person found it and turned it in to the lost and found department at the Trading Post. Next, his metal detector malfunctioned. He then caught a cold. Even with all this he still enjoyed himself and managed to find some gold. When asked what he liked best and least about being here he replied, “The thing I liked the most was the beautiful scenery and finding some gold, what I enjoyed the least was catching a cold.” Denton is here for two weeks.

Another prospector has reported seeing our non-existent sea monster Bessie. Susan Cooke from Magalia CA, has been a prospector for about three years. This is her first trip to Alaska, but not her last. This week Susan was standing at the window of the chow hall hoping to get a glimpse of the seals that have been playing off shore. To her surprise she saw Bessie! Bessie was facing away from the camp so Susan couldn’t see her face, however Susan did get a good look at her. Bessie was described and having a long slender neck, she has ears, and five of her dorsal ridges were seen above the water. Susan reported that she was NOT fully extended. Loren Raddatz, the original discoverer of Bessie disagrees with Susan’s description. Ken Rucker, from Temecula CA, was riding to the Sinuk River this week and found a very unusual skull with (teeth still intact) laying in a tangled mass of seaweed. He brought this find to camp to show it to Don Carr from Moss Bluff LA, our camp critter expert. At first it was thought to be one of Bessie’s youngsters who didn’t make it, (or perhaps was the remains of one of Stephen Kings imaginary scary creatures). The unusual find was taken into Nome to the National Park Service where it was identified as the remains of a Wolf Eel. These eels have teeth to rival a crocodile-pirrahana-pit bull cross. Luckily these toothy fish only grow to a length of 3 1/2 feet. These strange creatures while not rare, are rarely seen. Everyday is an adventure at Cripple River!

Perry Massie guided a group of 25 ATVers to the mouth of the Sinuk River again this week, for a fish cookout and picnic. This popular “road trip” is the talk of the camp! This group of explorers drives along the coastline, past Sledge Island, and through some interesting rocky terrain, and past a small lake or two. Once at the Sinuk River while Perry and the fisher folks are harvesting nature’s bounty, the rest of the group are beach combing, looking at tiny sea shells, jade, gemstones, fishing floats etc. or just sitting and soaking up the freshest air on earth. Their souls reveling in nature’s beauty. A day of fun and relaxation is well deserved by the hard working miners. Later in the week Perry will lead an ATV trip to the trommel for a day of running high-bankers. This trip follows the trail along the Cripple River, past the dredge camp on Lower Arctic Creek where the large eight-inch dredge is operating, to the Arctic Creek Trommel Camp. Running the high-bankers here gives the participants a good chance to get coarse gold, pickers, and sometimes find nice nuggets.

This week we had a few people who went out prospecting on their own. A small “glory hole” was found yielding some nice nuggets. Don’t bother to ask exactly where this “mining claim” is located as the finder is not saying until he is sure the area is picked clean! Would you?

The Cripple River Chapel, built entirely by donations of money, labor, and love holds a Sunday morning service that is usually well attended. This week Mel Terry presented the service. More than thirty-five miners were in attendance making the chapel service standing room only.

Mel Terry from Klamath Falls OR, is the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association’s Cripple River representative. Mel is an interesting and complex person. His gentle nature combined with a no nonsense attitude makes him a valuable and beloved member of the crew. Mel has been gold prospecting since 1951, the days of the old time metal gold pan. With no riffles Mel relates he could pan with it, use it for washing up or shaving, then clean it up and cook in it. Try that today with our new plastic pans. When asked what are the biggest changes in prospecting he answered, “The new equipment including the metal detector, and the G.P.A.A. and the L.D.M.A.” The L.D.M.A. was founded in 1976 by George, (the Buzzard) Massie and the life members of the G.P.A.A. Even back then the need for patented private gold bearing property for the recreational prospector was apparent. The first property purchased was Italian Bar in California. Currently there are over 6,000 members, and fourteen different properties. (There are approximately 33,000 members of the G.P.A.A.) Mel relates that he joined the G.P.A.A. more years ago than he can remember, right after he moved to Oregon from the mid-west. He joined the L.D.M.A. the very next year. A membership in the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association includes a lifetime membership in the G.P.A.A. Membership is very affordable, and if you join up while in Alaska Mel has a price break that will literally “knock your socks off”!

Chip Yorde, who managed to plant flowers this spring and get them to grow and bloom overnight, is in reality, an amazing woman with numerous skills. If it is an artistic endevear, from the spectacular to the down right cute, Chip is your woman. She also is the world’s BEST COOK! People rave about her food, especially her veggie salad.

Chip’s Special Veggie Delight:

1 broccoli 1 cauliflower
½ red onion ½ cup raisins
½ cup sunflower seeds ½ cup cashews

Top with a mixture of:

½ cup sugar 1-cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons vinegar
Eat!!!

Today is again hot and sunny, and as I sit here in the chow hall writing this letter I can look out the open door at the snow-white birds sitting on the amber colored sand bar in the sparkling blue river. The waves are gently rocking to and fro. With the green tundra in front of these white birds and a mosaic of green and brown tundra in the background, I think what a quilt pattern this would make. The hills in the background beckon to me. I can hear Sam Rua, our camp educator teaching a class on rock and mineral identification in the background. The desire to be out prospecting on this most beautiful of days is overpowering. I just can’t resist! Until next time may your life and the bottom of your pan be golden.

Arctic Annie