How we fly out of Moore Creek

How brave do you feel after watching this?  Remember they came from their site 4 miles away, one at a time, because their runway isn't long enough to get them both off the ground at the same time.  Now they can take off from this gold camp because this runway is longer.  I think this is like some rite of passage... they're true mountain men.  Really I think it's just the gold fever.

 

Their friends at Moore Creek

This is Al and Cleta's place.  Very tight and cozy but friendships grow in tight places.  They ate bear stew one night and they said it was good.  "Tasted good, tasted good," said George, but then he isn't really a complainer and 1/2 stick of butter makes everything good.  He did say the bear ribs were a little tough. 

Dave signing off at the camp

Closing up for the season July 2012

Tour of the condo

Building their condo-oops we forgot the ladder

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. 

Baby bear in camp

Dredging

More dredging on the river

 

The dredge on the river

This is the only still picture of the dredge taken just before the camera was accidentally dropped in the river. The year before I sent the old camera. This year since he was a little older, I trusted him with my good camera. Thank goodness Dave was making a video diary.

Mosquitoes... The State Bird

I haven’t talked about the mosquitoes much, but if you play the videos you’ll see just how thick they were.  I think the mosquito is really the Alaskan State Bird.  We found some mosquito device that ran off of a battery with a CO2 cartridge.  They said they found thousands of dead mosquitos when they cleaned out the tent.  George said when they came in they were immediately trying to get out.  Outside was a different story.  The guys had to wear their mosquito nets the entire time they were out. 

The Trek to the River

 

They started to the river with the dredge.  Dave rigged their little trailer to carry the dredge.  This wasn’t an easy task and even with the river only 1000’ it took about 1 ½ hours to get everything to the river.  George is showing all the brush they had to go through.  He said the brush is so thick you wouldn't know if you stepped on a bear.  They can always tell when a bear is close he said because they have a musty smell. 

Scoping out the area- bear in the distance

 

 

They were getting a little cabin fever with all the rain and decided to put on their rain gear and head out.  They took their gun and George wore his little fanny pack survival pack complete with a Christmas Bell to alert the bears.  Of course Dave teased him about his bell and fanny pack.  As they walked above the tree line because it was easier, they saw bear in the distance and scared him off  with a gunshot so they could get down to the river.  They thought they were actually on the bear path as they were descending.  They smelled the musky bear smell and were sure there was a bear close.  Now Dave was saying he was glad George had the jingle bell.  They drew their guns and were ready because the brush was chest high and very thick.   George said you could step on one and not know it.  This was the first time they had seen this part of the river.  It was very narrow and the mountains seemed to have dropped right off in the river.   They noticed an outcropping of quartz which is a very good sign for those who know about gold.

They sat on the side of the mountain and ate their peanut butter and jelly sandwich as they realized how far they were from camp.  Their trip back would be all up hill.

They also noticed they were on bedrock but it would be quite a feat to get a path and bring the dredge to this location.   They were exhausted when they finally made it back to camp but happy with their discovery. 

Putting the Dredge Together

 

They haven’t been down to the river yet and now they only have a week left of their trip.  I get little reports every night or so, but they have to be short so we don’t use up their minutes.  I usually give a quick weather report and then write a few notes to keep a journal.  They have only had about 5 days of sunshine in their 3 week stay in the mountains.  They put the dredge together without a hitch and started hauling it to the river.   

Good Food Good Friends July 2012

 

 They definitely ate well. They might have even gained a little weight. They had fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, polish sausage, fried potatoes, vegetables. They had some prepared meals they loved also. George fixed Dave some Spam and fried potatoes and cream corn one night. Dave was a little hesitant on the Spam but George made a believer out of him. Anyone who knows George knows Spam is one of his very favorite meals. This makes him the brunt of a lot of jokes and razzing but whenever anyone tastes our Spam and fried potatoes they change their tune. Hard to believe; but true. I imagine the makers of Spam, Hormel, stock will rise once this blog becomes well known. We have always thought of it as a miner’s meal. You can carry it in your back pack for an emergency meal.  

Ditto, Bear!!!

Ok, so they know the alarm works, but at 2am they hear it go off again.  Believe it or not they didn’t believe it was another bear.  You got it.  The next morning they realized it had been another bear because all the wire was down.  Were they laughing?  Oh yeah.  They did sleep with their guns.

They set everything up again and decided they would heed the warning of their alarm system.  I know, you’re asking yourself, “Well, did they take the trash out?”  George said they did take it out on a regular basis after the bear scare, but like many households it was always the question of who’s turn it was.  They were probably like the odd couple.  Dave would tease George about his cooking.  He would tell him he was a good cook but he would rather look at Marlene (His wife) instead.  George would tease him and call him honey.  They razzed each other about everything.  Dave’s only job was to make coffee in the morning to get George out of bet to cook breakfast.  Problem was, I think Dave had never made a cup of coffee in his life.

Bear!!!

 

 

 

After about the 8^th day and it was raining hard. The alarm was going off but George couldn’t hear it. They thought the alarm was going off because of the rain. They figured it just short circuited. Oh the apathy. They hadn’t seen any bears to this point so why would anything change? It’s been raining and the trash at the front of the tent so why would a bear show up now. Bear class 101 teaches a lot about bears but I think George and Dave flunked that class. Not to worry though because they are protected in their tent. As they are lying on their cots, the corner of the tent moved as if someone tripped over it. Well, George gets up and looks out his window and doesn’t see anything. Dave unzips his window and turns white as a ghost according to George. He kind of whispered there was a bear out there. George had his gun and said, “Are we gonna shoot a bear?” Dave said, “Yeah, just don’t shoot me.” George was a little nervous and said, “Should I cock my gun?” Dave said, “Well how else you gonna shoot him? Just don’t shoot me.” Dave unzipped the tent crouched low with George over him. Dave goes out first and saw the bear over at the trash dumb about 60-70 feet away. He fires off 3 shots and then George fired 3 rounds. I think they were shaking so bad no doubt they didn’t hit him. One thing about bears, I think they go tell their friends about their easy pickings. This will be the first of their many bear encounters at their camp.

Movie night

 

At the last minute I packed a little DVD player with about 8 movies.  Yes the microwave was my idea.  I’m the one who is thinking of the comforts of home.  Every night after supper the guys would put this little DVD player with a 7” screen between their cots on a plastic tub and watch a movie.  Their ingenuity kicked in again and they hooked the sound system up to a tiny amplifier I had sent.  They had to watch the same movies several times over.  I sent up some action movies and comedies.  No King Kong stuff to give them nightmares.  They loved all the movies and laughed themselves silly some nights.

HGTV should present...Our Condo

I think HGTV would be impressed if they found this little gem in the woods.  Built in 8 days without all their fancy schmancy tools.  No ladder and no waste.  What a deal. 

The Condo is looking good

Building the condo in the rain

They would work on the condo as the weather would allow.  Within 8 days their piece of heaven was done.  What an accomplishment.  Here is a funny little story with that.  They had no ladder; just a 6’6” George.  They stacked their shipping boxes up to be able to put up the roof.  Oh how OSHA would cringe.  They finished without one scrap of wood or tin left over.  They were proud.  What minor wouldn’t want to stay in this beautiful tin can fully designed with a loft, some shelves and hooks?  But the real test will come when they convince Marlene or I to visit.  Remember, there is still no outhouse.

Starting from Scratch

They still haven’t done any dredging after the first week.  There was a condo to build.  The bears were still at bay and the cabin was next on the list.  It was amazing to me to see how much these two guys could accomplish and call fun.  They would still laugh and talk about their days events every night.  There wasn’t ever any animosity or bickering.  Something the Discovery Channel would not like.  They like the drama and conflict.  George and Dave only saw the adventure and the joy of discovery of just living their dream.

It is truly is amazing that these two can work, eat and sleep in tight quarters and still come out best of friends.  It just shows how the universal law of attraction is always bringing what you are looking for.  They were in God’s country and grateful for every moment and every experience. 

First Landing July 2012

Now the guys are getting a little low on gas as it went faster than they had anticipated. They were getting a little nervous and were hoping to see Ken.

Ken showed and circled the site letting them know he was there.  They ran up to the runway with camera in tow just to get the historical landing.  It took every bit of that runway but you can hear the cheers and praises on video.  Now they had fuel and the battery for the refrigerator.  It was exciting for them to see him even though it had only been 5 days.  He ate a sandwich with them as the guys talked about their plans.  Ken is a seasoned pilot and has ran the Iditarod 18 times.  I think it's pretty clear the guys are in good hand with this guy. 

The Fourth of July on the Fourth of July Creek

They got their water supply from the creek and boiled their drinking water.  They had a black plastic bag which was a solar shower system.  Since the sun didn't shine much they also had "Bath in a Bag" which proved to be quite valuable to cleaning up when there was no sun to heat the shower water.  They are pre moistened washcloths loaded with special soap. 

This is Dave down at the river getting their water supply. 

What are they there for

If you are a gold miner or panner you already know what gold looks like and the excitement that comes from just seeing the yellow stuff.  Here is a picture of what a one ounce nugget looks like. 

T

We're trying to train our little Jackaranian (1/2 Pomeranian and 1/2 Jack Russell) to sniff out the gold.  Yep that's a one ounce nugget he's holding. 

The camp

Over the next few days it rained.  They cleaned up around the site and found a spot for the cabin.  Priority was to get the runway cleared to enable someone to land.  Good thinking.  I think their meals became a highlight after a hard days work.  You can see from the pictures George became the designated cook especially after Dave asked George the steps to boiling water. 

They used their ingenuity and set up their bear alarm.  George found some rebar, drilled some holes in some duct tape and ran fishing line through and surrounded their tent as a barrier.  The fishing line was hooked to these little alarms that blew your ears out when the pin was pulled.  If anything crossed the parameter they would be able to hear it.  They worked 2 days on the runway and cleared another 250’ making it an 850’ runway. 

Arriving for the summer stay

 

 

They made it!  You've read their journey and now they're on their claim.  Now, all alone on their site, they did a gentleman’s high 5.  First thing on their agenda was checking their guns.  After all they were sitting ducks for the bears.  They started unpacking and used the chainsaw to make a clearing to put the tent up.  Now I just want to point out that when I was a kid I felt safe under the covers so I’m wondering is this tent providing that same feeling? 

They worked till  7 or 8 setting up camp.  They were starving and they actually cooked a meal.  The cook stove was set up.  They had a propane refrigerator but had to hook it a battery to get it to work.  A little something they learned after the fact.  I even sent a little microwave to make life a little easier but they didn’t ever use it.  They had some generator problems.  They didn’t have their bear alert system set up but they were sure their generator would keep the bears away.  They still slept with their guns under their pillows.  They're alone in the wilderness with only a world phone as their only link to civilization.  They have walkie to communicate between them on the site. 

 

Flying to Moore Creek 2012

- The guys flew out in the little “Tail Dragger” finally heading for their site.   The weather was good and the trip took about 30 minutes.  They saw a black bear occasionally dotting the wilderness.  In their helicopter rides they were able to see more.  On this flight they were anxious to get to their site because now they would be camping out, in the wilderness, in a tent.  Only a world phone would connect them to civilization.  The minutes were limited so the calls were short. 

They landed in Moore Creek.  Remember a plane cannot land on their site yet.  The chopper arrived and the guys immediately started getting the slings ready and loaded.  The Chopper Man took George over to their site first and dropped him off.  He gave some brief instructions and headed back for his first load.  Dave had the first load ready and hooked the sling onto the cable without a hitch.  Kind of like a drive buy loading system.  There were 2 slings, so while the chopper was heading for the site for George to unhook, Dave was getting the second load ready.  George was amazed at the precision of the chopper pilot.  He could bring the chopper right to their camp hovering between the trees while George unhooked the sling.  This scene repeated itself for about 5 trips.   They had worked hard loading and unloading and they had to be exhausted but I think the excitement was what was keeping them going.  Chopper Man took a bottle of water and he was off in a flash leaving the guys to fend for their selves for the next month.  They would have to get the runway cleared in order for a small plane to land to pick them up.  Their work from the previous year was just not enough. 

 

George's chopper ride to the site

Move 'em out. Landing 2012

Loading up for flight to Moore Creek 2012 trip

Here they are loading up for their flight to Moore Creek.  They’re excited and should be tired after cutting their plywood for their cabin and loading the planes with a total of 7,000 lbs.  Now they have to fly to Moore Creek and meet the chopper that is going to sling their stuff to their site.  So they are going to load all that weight it in the slings again…sling it to their site and unload it.  They say the excitement from the gold fever is what drives them. 

Hello McGrath, we're back 2012 trip

The guys left June 29, 2012 for their first trip to their site. They got to McGrath on Friday and met the bush pilot the next morning. McGrath is only about 300 and people 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.

 

Arriving in Anchorage 2012

George and Dave rented a car and answered one of the basic questions asking if they had car insurance.  They assured Rental Man at the counter they did indeed.  They started looking for the Cosco and turned down the wrong way on a one way street.  They were shook up and turned into a convenience store to get their bearings.  Still shook Dave gets out of the car forgetting to put the car in park and left George inside.  George realizes the car is going backwards.  With his long legs he reaches over and hits the gas instead of the break and goes backwards even faster before finally getting it stopped.  Yes they were laughing and laughing imitating Rental Man asking if they had car insurance.