The Boys are back in town safe and sound

The guys were exhausted and so glad to be back.  The videos are great but it is going to take a few days to sort and post so please be patient.  I can't keep up with the stories so that will also take some time.

Getting off the mountain

July 20, 2013
I thought they were going to be there for the winter.  The weather finally cleared enough for their pilot to get in and get them.  Remember he takes them out one at a time to the gold camp, Moore Creek, and then they can all fly out of there together.  George said it was a wild and windy ride with cross winds on their runway.  They have the best pilot thank God.  When George called he said they were eating at the foresty station.  Thank God for them too.  I'm sure they were thanking them for all they did to protect them and their site from the forest fires.  They will fly to Anchorage in the morning and we will soon have some fantastic video.  Be sure to check back for all the pictures and videos. 

Incredible bear video

July 19, 2013  Evening report

"We got some incredible video." Those were the first words out of George's mouth. The guys are bored and waiting for the weather to break so they can get back to civilization. One of the bears decided to provide them with some entertainment. The bear hung around for a couple of hours scratching, digging, rolling around and chewing on a bone. Now picture 2 bored miners playing a little music in the background talking to the bear. I can't wait to see this video to see what the topic was. Dave is pretty quick witted and we will no doubt be rolling when we view their vidoe. I guantee he had George rolling. The bear overstayed his welcome and got a little to close so Dave decided it was his turn to use the pepper spray. Apparently they didn't take the wind speed and direction into account and the irritating spray blew back into the cabin. Thank goodness the bear left because the guys had to evacuate their condo. George said that bear spray is some powerful stuff.

Still Stranded

July 19, 2013 

We’re stuck, stranded, marooned….abandoned!

They are stuck, stranded, marooned, cut off. They have everything packed and the pilot can’t get in. So I asked what they’ve been doing. George said they are waiting for the bears so they can get some more shots of the bears. They are my kind of hunters. They are so homesick now and no doubt the time is going slow for them…waiting for the weather to clear so the plane can get in. They are bored but getting plenty of rest. What’s that Elvis song? I feel so lonely I could cry.

We're stuck

July 18, 2013

First words out of George's mouth, "We're stuck." The guys have everything packed up and and now the weather is foggy and rainy and the pilot can't fly. I could hear the disappointment in his voice. He said they are going to have to unpack some things just to eat supper. Bad news is, tomorrow is going to be just like today.   They had some bacon to eat up so George fried it all up and they ate well. 

I got an email from the gold camp and Penair delivered 3 more of their boxes. Guess who needs to ship earlier next year?

Their 6.18 mile hike

July 17, 2013

The guys took out today doing some metal detecting. They hiked up the mountain, on the river and creek and old game trails for 6.18 miles. How did they know how far? Dave is high tech mountain geek. He uses the GPS, Ipad, spot satellite, and can research anything on the computer and get the answer. George...not so much. But...George can tell you what time it is without a watch and that amazes Dave. They found some little stuff but no 9oz nugget. While they were up on the ridge they could see, what they thought, was an X on their runway. These guys had to be so exhausted they were hallucinating. They decided they would check it out and when they got back to the camp they both loaded on the 4 wheeler. The trip was rough and Dave threw George off. This isn't the first time this has happened and you know the guys (or at least Dave) were laughing but George refused to load back up and walked to the runway. Well, their mirage was just mother nature decorating the mountain side with white moss.

Bear update: George claims they can tell their bears apart. Today they saw the first bear they pepper sprayed walking in back of the cabin. He said the bear walked around their place and never came to the front side. George said he would look over towards the cabin... probably remembering the burn...but knew better than come into range. "He knows," said George. Dave was having a little fun firing off his shotgun while I was talking to George on the phone. I think they are ready to come home.

Bill O'Reilly was on while I was talking to George and as I hung up I hear him say the Factor tip of the day was to "stay calm" if a bear attacks you.

Nothing like a mama bear and her babies

July 16, 2013

 

George was excited and I don’t know how accurate the order of events are but here goes. There was a big bear in the camp eating on an antler and they couldn’t get it to leave. Dave wanted to go check the runway so they fired the gun to scare it off. I think Dave left and George went outside the cabin to pan some concentrates. George said he could hear some grunting and some strange sounds so he decided to check it out.  That's when he saw the big mama bear in a tree right outside their cabin. He was so excited telling the story and if he were a woman he would have probably peed his pants.  He couldn't hardly contain himself telling the story.  He was probably fumbling his walkie talkie trying to call Dave back.   They were both shocked and amazed to see 2 tiny cubs up in the tree with mama bear chomping her jaws trying to coax them down. They figure the gun shot scared the little critters up the tree. Well…here we go again with Grizzly Adams wanting to go out and get some good pictures. Probably had his can of mace.  Dave once again pulled George’s man card and made him stay inside the cabin. So there they were with their mosquito net pulled back shooting their videos. George said the little cubs were so cute and no bigger than our little dog, Toto. He’s about 15 lbs. Mama bear was trying to talk her babies down and the cubs were crying. Top picture is one of the baby bears and the bottom is the mama going up to get her babies.  Great pics. 

We're not prospectors! We're miners!

July 16, 2013

I was informed today that they are miners, not prospectors. A miner doesn’t say how much gold they got and a prospectors tells. So now we’re going to have to torture them to get any more info. He said they are worn out and everything they do is an effort and a lot of work. Their plan is to try to get out on Friday so they are tearing the dredge down and getting it ready to store away. They are planning to metal detect all day on Wednesday, but supposedly we’ll never know what they find. At the gold camp 3 miles away, one guy found a 9oz nugget a couple of years ago. I bet someone will be spilling the beans if they find something like that.

Bear encounter 15' and closing

July 13, 2013
Another bear encounter today. George said the bear wasn't leaving so he thought he would pepper spray him. What is the deal with George and this bear spray?  I did send an email to the company to see if they wanted to advertise on our site.  Dave was getting some good video but he did put the camera down and he and his friends, Smith and Wesson, watched as George mace his second bear. I must have sounded disappointed that he didn't get it on video and George said he was only 15 feet from the bears paw.  Of course I would rather imagine the "show down" than have a reach out and touch video. George said he had to wait till the bear turned his head and then blasted him... but the spray didn't go as far as it did last time. Go figure. The can is 2 years old and I feel pretty lucky it has worked at all. I think Santa will be bringing him bear spray for a stocking stuffer this year.

The mosquitoes

I don't have any pictures from the trip yet until the guys return.  The only communication they have is with their world phone and they can only call out.  They can not receive calls.  They dropped my camera in the river last year so you can see why this makes me a little nervous. 
You've heard me refer to the mosquito as the Alaskan state bird.  The guys have a mosquito repellant device in their cabin and they don't have any problems.  George says they are really bad when he's trying to take a shower.  But tonight George called sitting outside in his easy chair with his handy dandy mosquito repellant.  They had just finished supper...beef tips and potatoes and were relaxing after a day at the river.  They got some of their supplies and apparently the box with the Hormel dinners and camp chairs.  They are still missing 2 boxes.  He said they are very exhausted and still getting some good gold.  I'll keep you posted when Santa delivers the rest of their supplies.   

In his dreams

Just thought everyone would like to see one of George's dreams.  This is where he finds a huge solid rock of gold.  Well, while he's awake he said they're finding good flakes of gold in the area they are in now.  So sweet dreams to the guys and wishing their dreams to come true.   

Finally, a full day at the river

 

July 10, 2013

George called while cooking breakfast. No he didn’t ask for any recipes. Can’t you just picture George cooking in his long johns singing North to Alaska? Anyway, Dave was out checking the runway on an empty stomach. I could feel the smile on George’s face because the rain had stopped and he said it was a beautiful day. I gave him the weather report and it looks like sun till next Monday at least. They are planning on spending the day at the river. I hope the only complaint I get today is with the nuggets getting hung up on the nozzle of the dredge. George said the gold is so pretty in the sunlight. I could hear Dave calling him on the walkie talkies and George had to go.

He is planning to use the metal detector sometime before he leaves. I am anxious to see how that works. Since they are out in the wilderness there shouldn’t be a lot of metal setting the detector off…just the gold. 

Bear report is zero. George did say he got some good video of their furry friends. He said he had a good one of one of the bears scratching his belly.

4PM

They're back from the river and had a good day. Except when they got to the river they found their pontoons on their dredge had flooded. So after spending 2 hours taking them all apart they got to dredge. And dredge they did with a whole tank of gas. They're in a perfect area and into a nice gravel layer. As everyone knows, miners don't ever tell exactly how much but this is what everyone is interested in. Miners know what a show of gold means..flakes, specs and pickers and of course nuggets. George describes this as nice little chunks and they didn't have to have hearing aids to hear the beautiful sound. How much? It's their first full day at the river.

Since they're having sunshine the runway should dry out.  George thought Ken might show up tomorrow with their supplies.  It will be like Christmas for them.  They have been without their snacks and cookies. 

George said he is getting ready for his second shower.  He's only had one shower since he's been there.  Yuk you might say, but they do have their bath in a bag.  This does make you wonder what it might have been like in the 1800's.  George and Dave have a greater respect for all those old gold miners. 

George did tell me I should have sent more movies.  They had so much rain they watched all that I sent and even the ones Dave brought.  He said I should have sent more action movies with naked ladies.  Dave is one of the funniest guys I know and keeps George laughing to the point of tears. No doubt the movies will be a big of their early planning for next year.  So everyone send your suggestions.  I can't wait to see the pictures and videos.  I can guarantee Dave's videos diary will be good. 

 

Gold! Gold! Bear!

July 8, 2013

 

Well, there hasn’t been much to report until today. They have been bear free for 4 or 5 days now. The guys moved their dredge and finally got into some gold. I asked George how their other location faired and he said he just got some little specs not worth picking out of the pan. Now they are happy mountain men and getting into the gold. As George calls it... good gold. It’s been raining every day so that makes it wet, cold and, I’m sure, pretty miserable. Gold fever helps cure that though. The American Medical Association hasn’t announced that yet. They are done with the 40 degree nights and it’s now in the 50’s both day and night (which is still just a dusky day). No wood burning stove because all the connections are at…Moore Creek runway. Moore Creek is really tired of the rain also and said they were in need of supplies, but the plane still can’t land. Pilot Ken dropped some grease out the window of his plane and Cleta said they got it. One had broken open but there is no waste in Alaska. It’s amazing what we take for granted.

Looks like sun for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The guys will be happy to get a good hot shower.

Now for the bears… A new bear showed up while the guys were getting ready to watch a movie. The other bears apparently hadn’t gotten the word to him about the bear spray. He was just outside their condo about 30’ away chewing on an antler. The guys were watching him from the cabin and then George decided he wanted to go out and pepper-spray him. Dave had the sense to pull his man card and talked him into staying in the cabin. I think George was feeling a little invincible and maybe his testosterone levels were up who knows. I should have some good videos when they get back though. I will go back and post pictures with each of these entries so check back later. 

 

July 9, 2013

A quick call from George. Ceiling is about a 100’ and they can’t see the mountains. They are still good on food and fuel but looking forward to the sun coming later this week. Maybe they can get their supplies sitting at Moore Creek. Right now it’s still raining but the guys are panning their concentrates and getting some nice pickers.

Their clueless bear came back again last night. George couldn’t get his boots on in time before the bear took off. I am going to have to find him a spot in a commercial for that bear spray.

The Bears are safe

Thursday July 4, 2013
The guys celebrated the fourth without bears.  The sun peeked out once but still very little dredging. 
I was getting a little worried because I didn't get a call till evening.  The plane still can't land at Moore Creek.  They need at least 2 days of sun to dry out.  The pilot is  supposed to drop some supplies out his window.  Moore Creek can't receive calls and neither can George and Dave, so I try to keep in contact by email with Moore Creek and let them know what's going on and vice verse. 
Friday evening July 5, 2013
George called and said everything is going good.  No bears today.  I guess the maced bear went back and told the others.  What a deal.  No fires, no bears and so far not much gold.  What a boring blog.  The river has raised a foot since all the rain and running pretty hard and the guys didn't get there today because of the rain. 
George got some laundry done.  He can't run the machine here so I would love to have a picture of that.   He has 2 pair of pants and guess where his clothes are?  At Moore Creek on the runway waiting for pick up.  Guess where their cookies and snacks are that we sent up?  This is pretty serious... no cookies.  I hear they also forgot to get some Crisco.  
To make matters worse they are getting their Alaskan days and nights mixed up.  They are both going to have to work the night shift when they get back.  The guys couldn't sleep last night planning their strategy and stays up till 1:00 am Alaskan time.  That's 4:00AM Florida time and 3:00AM Kansas time. 

They didn't get their wood burning stove hooked up, but so far they are good on gas.  Till tomorrow.

Shooting a bear

Wed afternoon July 3, 2013 shooting a bear

This story is going to get more and more interesting.  Looks like rain for a couple more days before they can get to the river.  But… the bears!  They had a really big bear last night at about 1 AM trying to push on the window to get in.  The bear was standing on his hind legs looking in at Dave face to face… are you ready…  guess what Dave did…started taking a movie of him.  So we should have some good pictures when they get back.  George got the pepper spray ready and crouched at the one and only exit.   Dave was behind him with the gun in case the pepper spray didn’t work.  George kept saying, “I’m ready, I’m ready,” and then pulled back the mosquito net and Yogi was right there.  George was looking straight in his face.  He said, “It was really big.  I saw his eyes, his nose and his ears.”  He didn’t say teeth thank God.

Then he pulled the trigger and out came a big yellow burst.  Got that bear right in the nose and that sucker took off. 

Well the guys say they aren’t afraid of bears; "they’re just a pain in the butt."   The little guy that broke their bathroom also broke one of the sprinklers the forest rangers set up for fire safety. 

Since the plane can’t land due to the weather I think the guys are thinking more along the lines of survival and what they might do if their fuel runs out.  It was 46 degrees this morning.  Dave is out right now going to cut some trees for wood.  They want to hook up a wood burning stove but one of parts they need is sitting at Moore Creek.  So it will be interesting to see what they can do with a little Reynolds wrap.  I will keep you posted. 

Tuesday night update

Tues night July 2, 2013-  I got a quick call from George.  He said everything is going good and it still raining…hard.  They have gotten lots of sleep at least.  He said their heater heats the cabin to a toasty 60 degrees.  They still have supplies sitting at Moore Creek that they haven’t been able to get.  When they first arrived last week, the wind was bad.  They spent the first night in Moore Creek and flew out early the next morning.  Their pilot is the best and well seasoned to Alaskan weather conditions.  Remember, this guy ran the Iditarod 18 times.  Anyway the cross winds were bad and the pilot couldn’t get in another flight after he dropped the guys off.  Remember the pilot has to fly George and Dave in one at a time.  So… back at Moore Creek is where their supplies remain at this time. 

When Ken, the pilot, came in night before last (with the Halibut) he started land and bounced and went over the hill.  I guess the cross winds were bad then also.  George said when the pilot landed at Moore Creek his tires sunk 6 inches in the runway. 

Bad baby bear

Tues Morning report-  They had another bear last night.  George said it was a mischievous 1 1/2-2 year old.  Per George, the bear busted a board in their temporary bathroom.  I am putting some pictures in of what black bears look like just to make this post a little more interesting.  I will update when they get home and give me their pictures.  Just imagine going to the bathroom at 1:00 am and finding a bear. 

Their pilot, Ken, came last night and brought them some supplies.  He took his son, Ken Jr, back home so now it's just George and Dave.  Ken brought them another generator so the guys are toasty warm.  George said it's still very cold and they are hoping to get to the river today.  While I was talking to him Dave was enroute to the river to get their wetsuits.  The had all their supplies ready at the river but they decided it would be nicer to put their wetsuits on in a nice warm cabin instead of outdoors. 

George said he started the laundry.  What a guy; he cooks and does laundry.  He has the clothes soaking in a tub of water. 

 

The Bears are back in town- Monday report

It's cold and wet and the rain stopped for a bit today.  While the guys were in their cabin they had some visitors.  The same 2 bears came 4 times.  Who knows one bear from the other, but they seem to be getting to know them.  They will probably have names before this trip is over.  The guys would watch them out the window and yell like they did last year, but apparently that didn't faze them.  So they opened the door and fired off a few shots and the bears still didn't seem to take them too serious.  They just moseyed off.  One bear came about one in the morning.  I don't know how that feels to sleep in a tin shed condo because the bear is probably thinking it's more like a Sardine can.  Knowing George and Dave they are joking and laughing about their old bear friends.  They still haven't been able to get to the river but will go as soon as the weather clears.  I did send more movies this year and they still have that little portable DVD player so maybe they are getting in some movies and popcorn.  I will keep you posted.