Quote Originally Posted by Elessar View Post
Hey,

I was reading a magazine about gold prospecting and came across some info
for Alaska. It mentioned one place I believe you once referred to...Tallkeetna.

Have you ever delved into panning or prospecting up there?


I've dabbled with panning. It's interesting, but contrary to what the huge amount of reality shows display, it's brutal, backbreaking work.

Really, the only way you're going to make a buck is to get set up with a small dredge and follow the trail up a promising creek somewhere looking for the jackpot.

I had a friend that was a lineman years ago. He got bitten by the gold bug and began devoting all his free time to working a little claim up in Turnagain Pass, about 80 miles from Anchorage. He found color, and kept working up the creek as the color got better.

After about 3 years of this, he finally hit a monster gold deposit where all the previous gold had come from. It was substantial enough that he quit his job and moved to the Lower 48 and bought a house and a top-notch diesel pusher RV.

The cool part about gold mining is that those that hit it big do the smart thing and don't report it. You just dip into it as you need - it's money, after all. He's set for life.