ABSTRACT



Aquiring data with Garmin GPS 76 and a Kodak EasyShare Dx6340 camera to collect and map the necessary information of accessible locations for the disabled to pan gold.



INTRODUCTION



In the summer of 1967 my family moved to California and, shortly thereafter we moved to Georgetown. Always interested in fishing, hunting, trapping and anything that has to do with the outdoors, I became interested in prospecting and treasure hunting. I have now been a starving prospector and treasure hunter for about twenty-five years, although a back injury has taken a big bite out of my ability to pursue these activities with any real vigor, not to mention, that if you are starving you will generally find it a good idea to work at something other than prospecting.

To give some more background I have a brother that came down with Polio when he was nine months old. He spent six out of the first twelve years of his life in the hospital getting treatment for the physical handicaps he has suffered as a result of this disease. My brother has not been one to let his physical handicaps interfere with his need and want to be a part of the rest of the crowd. As kids we would hike approximately four miles down to Canyon Creek to fish, swim, and camp. This of course, also required the hike out. Although this was very hard on my brother he would not be held back. I remember very well the frequent rest stops that my brother required along the way. I was happy the day my parents bought him a mini-bike. I thought now at least we wouldn’t have to wait on him. This proved to be more of a burden than a relief as the mini-bike had barely enough power to pull itself up the hill and would not go uphill with any weight on it. So what used to be a series of frequent rest stops along the way waiting for my brother had now turned into a whole lot of extra exertion on my part as I was now required to push the mini-bike and my brother up the hill.

HISTORY

I started panning gold somewhere between 1978 and 1979.

I caught the fever after finding my first nugget, and so started many an adventure in search of this illusive substance. I panned my first nugget at Greenwood Creek in Greenwood, California just a few paces from the road. I have searched for gold in numerous creeks and rivers in the Motherlode region, and have been successful in finding color in all but a few. In some instances I have been able to glean gold right off of the bedrock. Limited to just a gold pan, maybe a sluice box and few digging implements I found most success in the smaller streams that are running where bedrock is exposed or covered with less than a foot of overburden. Though I have hiked in several miles at times in search of placer it was at these times that I was met with little success. Most of the gold I have found has only been a short distance from the road-- which brings me to my contention.

One of my favorite sites for gold prospecting has been a little creek that runs through the middle of Greenwood Ca. This creek is where I panned my first gold nugget. It is also in this little town that I lost that very same nugget on the road about a block from where I panned it, (Another story about the allure and illusiveness of Gold). Some of the History of the area I was able to glean from the web gives some idea of this area’s possibilities. [2] “The Nagler or French claim, first discovered by Mr. Sheperd, is a seam mine, worked after the hydraulic process, developing richer in greater depth. Mr. Desmarchais is the superintendent of the mine, with which a stamp mill is connected to crush the larger rock, and work the vast pile of tailing over. North of the French claim there is the Bower mine, run by eastern capital and pushed with great vigor. A Chinese agent some years ago came up here from San Francisco, offering the sum of $100,000, for this property as it stood at the time, while bout a year before that, it could have been bought for perhaps $15 or $20. The Chinese however were not the only ones who had found out the value of the mine, tests had been made to determine its extent and value, which had proven satisfactory to the owners, who decided not to sell for the sum offered. The Argonaut mine, upon which as long as 1852 prospecting was done to a limited extent in search of the quartz ledges, as from surface working course gold had been obtained in very paying quantities for years past, was lately sold to San Francisco parties, who have undertaken to make a thorough practical test of extent and value of the ledges of this mine, which, though most gratifying indications are given, as yet did not expose no well defined lode upon which to settle for working."

It is believed that out of all the gold that is to be discovered, only 10% has been extracted. My contention is that whenever any significant amount of gold was found a road or at the very least a path was made to it. A large part of the work to find gold has already been done. We can drive to most places where gold has been discovered, and indeed I have found most of my gold as I stated above just a few feet from the road.

With the technology available to us now I have undertaken the task of mapping the areas along the forty-niner trail where I have been successful in finding color in my pan, and show that it is possible for the Physically Handicapped to find color, and with enough diligence find a real gold nugget.



BACKGROUND



Some of the accomplishments of my brother have been swimming, riding a mini-bike, running the Bay to Breakers race in San Francisco, climbing Mt. Whitney, and operating heavy equipment. As I stated in the introduction he has not let anything stop him from reaching for that which he desires.



American society has undergone an enormous change in its attempt to accommodate the physically handicapped. From preferred parking, to wheelchair access ramps and doorways, to furniture design, to hand controls in cars, and of course braces and crutches and the like. We have changed the curbs at intersections for wheelchair access, we have provided sounds for the blind so they know when it is safe to cross the street, brail for the blind to read and alternate ways for the deaf to communicate. The list is almost endless wherever we as a society have seen a need we have stepped up to the plate to meet these challenges. Our technology has availed us much.



[1]One organization that aids the physically challenged is The Cooperative Wilderness Handicapped Outdoor Group (C.W. HOG). It is a regional self-help group with members who have similar handicaps to the ones my brother has. "Kripples in the Kumboo" is a group of individuals both handicapped and able who have organized outdoor activities from rafting and kayaking to snow skiing, and have taken on ambitious pursuits such as an organized a trek to Mt. Everest Base Camp.



There is a continuing effort to aid the physically challenged with the tools and opportunities to make recreational outdoor activities realistic for these individuals. This project is an attempt to introduce the world of gold prospecting to the handicapped so they too can enjoy a spontaneous excursion, and seek those golden moments that one prospects for when he/she has a love of the outdoors.



METHODS



My survey starts in Coulterville Ca. From there north along highway 49 for two days with the help of my brother we set about collecting Waypoints and Pictures of locations that are accessible to the physically handicapped, and rating them according to their difficulty of access. This area of interest covers approximately 225 kilometers (as the crow flies), and the collection of 29 Waypoints and 33 Pictures. At some locations more than one picture was taken per given Waypoint. The weather conditions of the two day period were favorable for collecting Waypoints at these locations, although some areas of the trail were obscured by forestation which seems to have interfered with the signal to the GPS unit. My collection of Waypoints was not entirely successful. Another problem that may have caused a loss in data was the unit was set to track and over such a long distance the Track filled to capacity. I thought it necessary to delete this Track and just continue to collect the Waypoints. I have obtained some interesting results during the collection process. I discovered that when I looked at the GPS unit that only way points from 13- 29 show up with numbers 25, 27, and 28 missing, one of which might be number 415. Numbers 1-12 are missing entirely, which make the results even more baffling when all of the data was plugged in to ArcMap using GPS Photo Link Software. Waypoints 1-8 with the pictures show up in the map, 9-18 do not display. Pictures 19-33 all displayed along with Waypoints 19-29. Leaving me without the data collected between the hydropower generating facility in Moccasin Ca. to the Glory-hole in Georgetown Ca. The whole center section of my Route along the 49er trail did not acquire.