Some History about George and Dave

Winter Planning for 2012

The big plan for 2012 trip -  Here is all the planning that took place before the 2012 trip.  Dave eat sleeps and drinks gold mining and planning.  He’s the planner and organizer and George is his supporting advisor.  Their system seems to work.  I insisted the guys have some structure like a cabin for protection from the bears and it was worth dipping in my savings to make this happen.  Dave had a 12 x 16 cabin package shipped to McGrath.  It turns out they had about 7,000 lbs of equipment and supplies shipped.  The plan is to fly into Anchorage and drive to Wasilla with their food supply packed on dry ice.  They then will fly out of Anchorage on Penn Air to McGrath and then get their stuff to their site. 

Here’s what really happened:  They arrived in Anchorage and found a Cosco.  They were like 2 women shopping calling me on the phone telling me what kind of deals they were finding.  5 dozen eggs for $8.89.  They were so excited to find those kind of prices in Alaska and I can imagine them doing a little “over shopping.”    They found cookies, chips, Doritos… you get the picture.  They drove their stash to Wasilla after packing the meat on dry ice.  Then drove back to Anchorage and took a Penn Air flight to McGrath.  They then hired 2 bush pilots.  The pilot with Tanner Air loaned them his pick-up to retrieve the cabin package being stored and brought it back to the airport.  The Tanner Air plane was a 207 Cessna.  He would be making 7 trips from McGrath to their site 60 miles away to deliver their supplies.  The guys couldn’t go on the delivery trips because they had to take the seats out to accommodate the goods.  Now for the second bush pilot, Ken, who has a small “tail dragger”.  This is the one with the vice grips on the door and also the one where the door flew open as they landed.  Not a Cadillac but a very seasoned pilot.  42 years flying and had participated in the Iditarod race 18 times.  I would have felt safe with him too.  Ken made 3 trips out to the site with even more supplies.  Remember they had to have the bigger plane to get the tin, plywood and 2 x 4’s out there.  They had to cut the plywood in half to even fit it in the 207.  Now that pilot had to fly to the site alone and unload all of this by himself.  You have to understand that Gold Fever is pretty powerful and as the guys will tell you; a lot of fun. 

Then back to the big city of McGrath Sept 2011

Clearing the runway September 2011

You might think all work and no play makes for dull boys, but I guarantee these guys wouldn't trade their experience for anything.  Here is Dave working his butt off clearing the runway.  A plane can't land on the site yet because it is so thick with brush.  They had to have a chopper take them in this time.  They went back to McGrath everynight because they didn't have enough equipment or provisions to set up camp.   

2 happy campers on the fourth of July Creek in Spet 2011

This is their first time on their claim and they didn't seem to waste anytime testing their site. 

Here is Dave with his sleice no doubt drooling with anticipation. 

Their persistence paid off and they are already plotting their plan of attack.  I know what you're thinking and no...they can carry their gold finds in their pocket right now.  But next year, who knows what they are going to need to carry their gold out.   

It's September and the mosquitos don't seem to be bothering them.  But again, wait till next summer. 

The 4th of July Creek September 2011

Just a little ways from the river

Let's head to the river

Here's Dave getting ready to head down to the river. 

Slinging supplies from Moore Creek

Look! We can build a cabin! Sept 2011

Back in 1985 a mining company had been on this site and left some wood behind.  Nothing of value but in Alaska nothing is ever really thrown away.  What goes in usually doesn't come back out due to the cost of hauling it in in the first place.  So no doubt the guys have plans for some of this.  I'm sure it all complies with the building codes. 

Surveying the site

George and Dave surveyed the site and found an old generator left behind and the start of what was supposed to be a log cabin.  This is where they will store and hide some of their equipment from the bears till they return next year.  The bears like to explore and check out things that are left out.  Dave brought a metal bin that is supposed to be bear proof. 

Honey we're home Sept 2011

This is the first time they set foot on their site.  I can't imagine how excited they must have been. 

This will be the place they dream about for years to come.  The planning and dreams is what it's all about.   They have a long way to go, but the big message I think everyone can come away with is never give up on your dream.  Everything starts with first a thought.  It was their excitement that gave this the momentum to move on.  Of course we will all be waiting for the results.  Just know that deep down the guys already know.

Landing on site for first time Sept 2011

Here is the view the guys saw as they landed with their bush pilot.  Their pilot seems to be able to land on a dime.  Alaskan bush pilots are the best.

Chopper View Sept 2011

This is a view of their site from the chopper.  George and Dave had a bush plane deliver their supplies to Moore Creek earlier in the season.  Remember Moore Creek is the mining camp just 4 miles from them where they stayed on their first attempt to get to their site in July, 2011.  They drove to Wasilla from Anchorage and took off in the chopper for their site 3 hours away.  So the chopper now has to sling the supplies over to their camp from Moore Creek.  When it was time to leave the chopper loaded the guys in this tiny helicopter and tried to take off.  They had to unload their gas can and even throw out their 16 ounce water bottles to get enough lift to get them out.  The pilot warned them he would have to tip forward quite a bit to get them out, but all turned out well.  They didn't have enough gas on board for the flight back to Wasilla so they had to stop several times and pick up some gas that had been stategically placed earlier.  When they got back the pilot did a scheduled check and found a belt that had a tear in it.  As you can see God has been watching after these guys. 

Trip 2 Arial View Sept 2011

 

 

The beautiful views

 

And the reality.  You can see where a plane crashed in the past.  The pilot told them about the wind currents and short cuts through the mountains.  The wind is sometimes so strong it pushes them right in the mountain.  Sometimes they can't see and they run right into the ground.  Obviously you have to be a very cautious and skilled pilot to fly Alaska.  Their chopper pilot was about 35 and had only been flying about 5 or 6 years.  George and Dave said they felt very secure with him.  Dave also has a pilot license but George is forbidden to fly with him.  Sorry Dave. 

 

Glad to be home

Taking off from Moore Creek July 2011

What goes to Alaska stays in Alaska

Back at camp

We almost made it!

Crossing the marsh

And the views

The views were incredible.  Here they are on top of the ridge.  When they were cutting their way through the thick brush they were tying pink and green strips of cloth to mark their trail.  Dave is apparently color blind but the bears weren't.  When George and Dave would backtrack George noticed they were missing all the green strips.  Apparently the bears liked those and would pick them off the trees and brush. 

Are we there yet?

They loaded some equipment on a sled to pass over the brush easier.  You can see they are loaded down and will be camping out on this run.

An old Ididarod Shack

The guys found an old ididarod shack on their way.  The pipes they found were all riveted.  The windows had saw blades to keep the bears out.  Pretty much a "fixer upper." 

Still having fun

Eating alfresco

This is a pretty funny story.  When George left for the trip I tried to offer to send some spam and extra food, but he insisted that Al and Cleta were feeding them.  I still packed some really good beef jerky and a little can of fruit in his back pack.  I always send peanut butter and jelly but I don't think the had it in the back pack.  Well, rather than going with my gut feeling and sending the can of spam I let it go.  Now fast forward to a hard day of going through thick brush and working their butts off, dead tired and now it's time to eat.  Starving George asked Dave what Cleta had sent them to eat.  Dave digs in the bag and unwraps some... hash browns.  Yep, that's it.  Hash browns and nothing else.  I have to say I am surprised at their resourcefulness, but I suppose starvation will bring out the creativity in anyone.  George took the beef jerky and combined it with the hashbrowns and cooked up some steak and taters.  And they topped it off with the little can of fruit.  Here they are with 2 forks between them and 1 pan.  They divided the grub in half and passed the pan back and forth sharing their meal. 

Dave will tell you George is a great cook.  Here they are, the best of buds enjoying their hearty meal in the wilderness. 

The campsite

Camping in the middle of the wild

 

 

 

 

After 2 days at Moore Creek the guys are finally on task again.  They made it to the ridge about 1:30 in the afternoon.  They are marking their trail with the orange, pink and green ties as they are going in.  Funny Dave fact you should know:  Dave is color blind. 

The guys put up their nifty bear barrier as you can see and took a break.  They then decided to continue towards their claim.  They are continuing to mark their trail.  They get to the bottom and realize it’s a marsh with 4 inches of water.  They rode through the marsh and are lucky they didn’t sink.  Another interesting fact:  Moore Creek lost a dozer in marshes like this.  It was completely submerged in the marsh with only the exhaust pipe showing. 

After crossing the marsh they stopped and assessed their situation and saw they were going to have to cut through more willows.  They decided to head back to their campsite for the night. 

 

 

2 day rain delay

They didn't make it out the next morning due to the rain.  In fact it was two days.  But not to worry, the guys had fun relaxing compared to what they were doing.  They did some high banking for Al and tested some areas that hadn't been tested before.  Above is a picture of what Al called a Roth Box.  It's really about a 20' sluice.  Moore Creek used to be a commercial mining site but now it's privately owned by Al and Cleta. 

Stuck in the creek

They had gotten lost the day before so this is why Al went with them today.  Al was 70 and used to these mountains.  He had actually walked to their claim several years before and could out walk both George and Dave.  Out walking George is pretty hard with his long legs so Al has to be one tough dude.  He had actually walked to their claim several years before.  Al showed where the guys had missed a turn.  So the guys are still cutting their way through the brush with the threat of bears of course and after getting about 100’ cut into the swamp area, they came upon a river about 20’ across with a 4’bank.  So after surviving their bear encounter, Al says they have to cross this river with their supplies and trailer.  Dave was pulling trailer and gets stuck.

THEIR FIRST BEAR ENCOUNTER

The next morning they had Al with them. 

This is where George saw the bear.  They went the way Al showed them.  They were going wrong, so they went another way to get up on the ridge.  When they cut across is where they saw the bear.  All three saw the bear. Al was yelling, “hi bear, go away bear.”  Dave was trying to take a picture.  George yelled out and announced the bear had a cub with her.  “A cute little thing,” he said.  Al was ahead of them and was closest to the bear but couldn’t really see the bear due to the trees.  In less than a minute the bear got directly behind George when he turned he saw her coming out of the trees.  Geo was reaching for the camera in his pocket but it was catching on his coat.  The bear had a nice slow walk coming toward George as he was still tugging to get his camera.  It didn’t stop and he decided maybe he should get his gun instead.  He was about 75 feet away and George and the bear locked eyes.  She stopped and sat up on her haunches and just stared at George. Dave got one picture as George and the bear stared at each other for about 1 minute.  He said she tilted her head one way sniffing and then the other.  They were relieved when she bear just went down and headed off.  It happened so quickly.  He said the bear was a beautiful, shiny black, mama bear.  “Black as the Ace of spades.”  I asked if they were scared and he said they weren’t but didn’t really have time to be.  He was a little nervous and said he would have hated to shoot her.  George was actually closer than the picture shows because Dave is the one that got the winning shot.  After that they got back to business cutting brush.

Packing Heat

George is not a hunter and would rather enjoy nature than shoot anything. 

Dave has a wonderful wife that keeps track of everything for him.  I think this is a picture of him double checking to make sure he has his gun.

And they're off!!!

Arriving at Moore Creek June 2011

They were excited when they got to Moore Creek.  This is where their home base would be while they forged their 3 mile trail to their camp.  They were greeted by the owners, Al and Cleta, and started getting their cabin set up and their four-wheeler put together.  Their cabin was nicer than the hooches in Nome.  No electricity, no heat and the outhouse was far enough you didn’t want to forget your gun.  They wondered how cold it was going to get that night.  Dave reminded him they were in Alaska.  They saw a generator, but it wasn’t running.  They were a little tired from their trip and noticing the lack of one amenity after another seemed to keep them laughing.

Their first trip June 2011

 

The guys left June 29 for their first trip to their site.  They got to McGrath on Friday and met the bush pilot the next morning.  McGrath is only a town of about 300 and some of the townspeople were waving at the guys as they flew in.  Apparently there is not much traffic.  After getting some coffee and a few high priced odds and ends at the grocery store the guys met their bush pilot, Mike.   He was sporting an old beat up pick up and informed George he would have to hold the door shut on their short drive to his plane.    Oh yeah, you can see where this is going.  The old pick up pulls up to an old bush plane literally sporting some duct tape for extra support.  They said it took off noisy and landed rough.  The arial view on the bottom shows their claim in the middle of the picture.  The top picture is the landing strip at Moore Creek.