Alaska Prospectors and Miners
Association
|
Recreation
in The Alaska Prospectors and Miners Association
|
Here you will find information
about the opportunities for all-season outdoor recreation in the
Alaska Prospectors and Miners Association, as well as some
trivia, tips for goldseekers, and links to other exciting and
interesting places in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley.
- LOCATION: The Yentna Mining area is bordered on
the North, West, and Southwest by the spectacular Alaska
Range, home of Denali ("Mount
McKinley"), and partly lies within Denali
State Park and Denali National Park and Preserve; on the
East by the Talkeetna Mountains, and to the South by the
Matanuska- Susitna Valley and the Knik Arm. Talkeetna is
the largest town within the area, which is, for the most
part roadless and sparsely populated.
- HISTORY: Gold was first reported in the area in
1898, and an estimated 200,000 ounces of gold has been
produced since 1906. Another interesting display of
Alaska Prospectors and Miners Association stuff, and
other items, can now be found at the Matanuska-Susitna
Convention and Visitors Bureau
next to the Parks Highway in Wasilla, and at
the Dorothy Page Museum, also in Wasilla. Another cool
Museum is the Southcentral
Alaska Museum of Natural History in Eagle River.
Some of the interesting history of Alaska includes
the famous Alaskan artist Sydney Laurence painted Denali
from here, and Pioneer Bushpilot Don Sheldon worked
at a gold mine here in 1939, when 4 miners were brutally
murdered in what is today the Blue Ribbon Mine. Many
other interesting bits of history may be found here, and
in Talkeetna, and at the sites mentioned above. (More links
at the bottom of this page, and on our News page!)
- MEMBERSHIP: A resurgence of exploration and mining
activity in Alaska in recent years, as well as the lack
of positive, meaningful representation has led to the
formation of this Association by the active miners and
claim owners. Membership is open to professional and
recreational miners of Alaska, claim owners and other
property owners, and anyone interested in mining,
minerals, recreation, and the principals upon which the
United States were founded. Only active professional or
recreational miners or mining companies and claim owners
are eligible to vote. Mail your request for an
application packet, more information, a price list of
maps and other products and services, or write: Alaska Prospectors and Miners
Association, P.O. Box 423, Willow, Alaska, 99688. (See the link to the Forms
page on this site, too) Many claim owners open
their claims to recreational miners who are members of
the Association, usually at no charge, and sometimes for
a nominal fee. Other benefits available to members
include: Access to hundreds of acres and many miles of
gold-bearing streams, use of campsites on a
space-available basis, regular updates of rules,
regulations, tips, newly-opened lands available for claim
staking, space in the newsletter for buying and selling
claims, equipment, services, etc., special member
discounts and special offers, and much more. Of
course, everyone is welcome, members or not! UPDATE: A State recreation area
has been opened along Peters Creek for recreational
gold panning. For
more recent news go to: (See bottom of this page).
- ACCESS and ACCOMMODATIONS: The heart of our mining
area is easily accessible via the Petersville/Cache Creek
Road, a 40+ mile long unimproved gravel road, beginning
at mile 114.5 of the George Parks Highway, as well as by
numerous landing strips, rivers, and trails. We urge you
to patronize local, Alaskan-owned and operated businesses
for food, lodging, and other services. This is the only
way you will experience the real Alaska. Some of these
places, as well as maps, photos of the area, and drive
guides may be found at the Matanuska-Susitna
Convention and Visitors Bureau website. You can also
contact Roberta Sheldon at Belle's
Cabin B&B (P.O. Box 292, Talkeetna, Alaska,
99676, ph 907-733-2414). Dating back to the early 1900's,
Belle's Cabin is a lovely historical log cabin suite
located in the heart of Talkeetna. It was originally
owned by Belle Lee McDonald, an indomitable, hard-working trading
post operator who lived in the village of Talkeetna for
forty years. The cabin has been renovated to
modern standards with care taken to preserve its special
Alaskan character. One visitor has remarked, "It's a
showpiece, and one with heart and warmth". Located
only a hundred yards from the confluence of the
Susitna, Chulitna, and Talkeetna Rivers, Belle's Cabin
offers the seclusion and privacy of a cabin retreat, yet
is conveniently close to all downtown businesses. "Rustic Elegance in Talkeetna,
Alaska".
- ACTIVITIES: Gold Panning, sluicing, metal
detecting, rock hunting, hiking, biking, photography,
fishing, camping, wildlife viewing,(expect to see moose,
brown and black bears, eagles, ground squirrels, wolves,
beavers, and many kinds of birds and other wildlife), and
much more; all the while the spectacular scenery of
the Alaska Range featuring Mt. Hunter (14,570 ft.), Mt.
Foraker (17,400 ft.), and of course, The Great One, Denali,
(Mt. McKinley),
at 20,320 ft. the tallest mountain in North America,
along with glaciers, rivers, forests, and other stunning
vistas surrounding you.Trail maps (available soon)
will show (in addition to trails and roads, of course),
attractions, waypoints, Historical and other interpretive
sites, campsites, etc.
- GENERAL INFORMATION: Unless prior arrangements are
made, the visitor should be prepared to provide his or
her own equipment (pans, sluices, shovels, etc.),
especially if that is their primary objective, as only a
limited amount may be available, but if they just want to
try panning, depending on the number of visitors, then
there should be no problem. Of course, camping and other
equipment , for the most part, we will not be able to
provide, but sometimes there are campsites
and equipment available. Likewise with consumables:
Water for drinking, and food will have to be brought with
them, or treated before use. Please be aware that no
matter how pure and clean the water in mountain lakes and
streams may appear to be, to prevent serious illness,
always boil water for at least 5 minutes, or chemically
treat or filter. Also, please respect mining claims,
equipment, historical resources, the natural
environment, and private property! Lastly, be advised
that the weather here can change rapidly, and
a sunny warm day can, in a matter of moments, become
prime hypothermia conditions. Always Be Prepared! Check
back often, as this page changes from time to time.
Thanks for visiting.
- FOR MORE INFORMATION On State and Federal Parks,
Recreation Areas, contact the links mentioned above, or
the National Park Service. Or go to our
"Links" page.
- TIPS FOR GOLDSEEKERS More information on
this subject will be found on the Alaska Prospectors and
Miners Association
Education Page.
- Where to look for gold: The best places to
look for gold is where gold has already been
mined or found. Before heading into the hills,
however, first check on the status of the land in
your local BLM or state Natural Resources
agencies for details on open and closed areas,
and active and inactive claims. This is also
where you can learn where or if there are
any public recreation areas where you can pan or
sluice for gold. You might also find the names of
claim owners who will let you mine on their
claims, either for free, a fee, or for a
percentage. Remember, a mining claim
entitles the owner to an exclusive right to mine
on his or her claim, and you must have
permission to pan or sluice from the claim owner.
You can hike, hunt, fish, or cross a claim
freely, but all minerals, buildings, equipment,
etc., are the property of the claim owners, and
disturbing any claim "stakes" , witness
posts, monuments, or other items can result in
serious trouble for you.
- Public Recreation Areas: Some of the
former gold mining areas are open to recreational
panners. A few that are easily accessible
are on the Kenai Peninsula, about 2 hours south
of Anchorage; Independence Mine/Hatcher
Pass/Willow Creek, about 1 hour north of
Anchorage; and Caribou Creek, about 2 hours north
of Anchorage. Panning, sluicing, and suction
dredging is allowed in most National Forests,
subject to certain rules and regulations, and
some recreational gold panning and sluicing may
be allowed on other public lands. Even though the
so-called "public lands" should belong
to the Public, which is you and I, a few
bureaucrats act as though the lands are their
private property. See the "Links" page
for more specific information.
- When you get to the hills: Look
for gold concentrations, called placer deposits,
in and along streams and rivers where the flow of
water slackens or otherwise slows down or
changes: The inside bends of streams, ridges or
cracks in the bedrock, boulders, and so on.
"Bedrock" may either be true rock such
as slate, or "false" bedrock, such as a
layer of tightly cemented gravels or tough
clay. Gold and other heavy minerals will
settle down through the gravels, eventually
coming to rest on an impenetrable surface,
sometimes even working its way several feet into
cracks in the bedrock. Remember, too, that where
the streams are flowing today may have little or
no relation to the former stream channels. While
these abandoned channels may be buried or
otherwise obscured by post-depositional
processes, they are often excellent places to
find gold.
- How to Get the Gold: To describe
panning or sluicing for gold in words would be
rather like describing how to ride a bike or
swim, and about as effective: The best way is to
learn from someone who has done it. Check with
your local BLM, U.S.G.S., Forest Service,
University, or other resource agencies, someone
there should know how to pan. Other
sources of instruction are videos, which may
be available at your local library, and the
manufacturers of mining equipment. Consider this:
It takes about 270 full pans of gravel to equal
1 cubic yard, which is the standard unit of
measurement for placer mining. If you work really
hard, all day long, you might be able to pan one
cubic yard, which, by the way, weighs about 3,400
pounds! With a small, simple sluice, you can work
many times as much gravel as you can pan, making
your experience more enjoyable. Besides, the
average amount of gold found in a typical
placer deposit is 0.015 ounces of gold per cubic
yard. Hopefully, these tips will help you better
those odds.
- Other Stuff:: Be skeptical of those
unproven, or ungrounded in scientific fact,
processes and devices that mostly seem designed
to part the prospector from his or her money. A
question to ask is: "If this works, then why
don't the big companies use it?" Ask someone
that you know you can trust, conduct thorough
research, and try before you buy. This is
especially true when purchasing mining claims.
There is no easy way to recover the finer sizes
of gold contained in the black sands. We use a
jig on the sluice concentrates, then screen and
table the remainder, and are still experimenting
with elutriators and direct smelting. One must
take into account the time and other expenses
required to effect separation, weighed against
the actual value of the contained fine gold. Most
dredges do not keep a respectable percentage of
fine gold, and not all placer deposits contain an
appreciable amount of fine (passing 100 mesh)
gold anyway. I suggest testing a representative
portion of your concentrates on the various
devices before investing in them. Some very good
sources of information are: Placer Gold
Recovery Research, Final Summary, by Randy
Clarkson P.Eng. (403)668-3978; and some great
links can be found on the First Gold Page on
the Web. And check out INFO-MINE,
the Internet's premier mining information site.
- LEGAL STUFF : The Alaska Prospectors and Miners
Associationis not a tourism agency, however we do
encourage visitors, and assist visitors and travel
agencies with planning and fully enjoying the wide
variety of experiences available in the Alaska
Prospectors and Miners Association. The visitor must
assume responsibility for injuries incurred to
participants or personal belongings while visiting the
Alaska Prospectors and Miners Association. This is a
semi-remote backcountry to remote wilderness area, not
Disneyland, and as such any activities in nature of this
type are not without risk. If you are the type that likes
to sue over every little thing, then you and your lawyers
are not welcome, and I suggest you smear peanut
butter and salmon oil all over your body and sleep beside
a Bear trail! On the other hand, if you are a
normal, decent human, then you will be welcomed with
Alaskan hospitality!
Bookmark this page now, as more
changes are coming!
If you have comments or suggestions email
us at FREEGOLD,
or if you would like to exchange links, or whatever.
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Most recent update: 18 May 1999.
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