Lehmi River Valley (Idaho, United States) | Gold Fever - 6 Oct, 2023

 

Sagebrush occurs at several elevations in the Intermountain West. It is one of the most common plants, and this green shrub comes in several varieties, occupying open landscapes from the valley floors to the foothills, and is even found near tree lines. I love the smell of sagebrush. It has a wonderful earthy-bitter fragrant aroma that reminds me of the West. Nothing smells quite like it.

After breakfast, Dad and I begin rinsing the UTV. There is dried mud from yesterday all over the machine, including inside the cab's roof. I shake my head and laugh. No wonder I was covered in mud yesterday. This landscape has a strange relationship with water. When you add water, it becomes a sloppy, slippery mess nearly undrivable. However, within 24 hours, it is usually bone dry. When we head out this morning, you can't tell it rained yesterday.

Riding along in a UTV has its ups and downs. I haven't spent much time in a motor vehicle over since May of 2022.  There are times when I enjoy riding along ande other times I grow tired of sitting on my ass. When it's the latter, I notice that it is easy to become disconnected from what I am experiencing. The Mind will drift and get lost in thoughts. When I feel myself approaching this feeling, I reconnect with my breath and find a way to ground myself. The last thing I want to do is be disconnected from my experience, even if I am simply a passenger. This is nothing new or unexpected, as it can happen under all sorts of situations. It is great to find opportunities to practice mindfulness, as there are so many incredible sites all I need to do is be present.

Today, we rode west up and over the Lehmi Mountains into the eastern side of the Salmon River Valley. In the photo below, the west side of the Lehmi Mountains is visible. "Do you want me to stop so you can take pictures," asks my Dad. Nah. I've taken pictures from a high-speed train. I can handle a 40 kph (25 mph) ride on a UTV, I say, laughing. 😂

Sometime in the early afternoon, we stop near a creek to stretch and grab some drinks. I notice Jeff reach into the metal box behind his UTV and pull out a black plastic gold pan. He catches me looking over, "Let's see if we can find some gold," he says with a smile. I follow Jeff over to the creek. He squats down, digs the pan into the creek bed, and begins swirling the pan around in the water. "You gotta wash the big rocks out, and then the finer, heavier materials will sink to the bottom of the pan," he says. Jeff continues the process. He adds a little clean water when he's down to only a tiny amount of fine materials in his pan. "Look. There a handful of colors there," he says as he points to several fine flakes of gold shimmering in the sunlight. He empties the pan and hands it to me. "Give it a shot," Jeff says.

I walk upstream about 30 ft (10 m) and find an eddy where the water has slowed. "When the water slows down like that, the heavier gold will drop to the bottom of the creek," says Jeff as I dig my pan into the sandy gravel bed. I begin to swirl my pan and watch it get murky. The bigger rocks slide over the edge of the pan. I dip my pan into the creek and continue working the material slowly.

The process of panning for gold is very enjoyable. Having never tried it before, I am surprised by this. I always thought of panning for gold as a waste of time and a boring thing to do. However, as I continue to wash the rocks, my perspective changes. I love watching the contents of the pan slowly reveal themselves. I love how I can be as deliberate as I want to be. I can spent minutes or hours panning a single plate. I find this very rewarding as an activity. When I have but sand left in my pan, I swirl the contents and fan out the material in the bottom. Wow! There are over a dozen flakes. I pause to admire the gold. Then, I  look up and down the creek and envision myself under a canopy, repeating this process over several days. I wonder how much gold I could find? As I stare at the flakes, I realize they are so fine that a single ounce (28 g) would take a very long time to accumulate an ounce. I smile at the thought. I think I just got hit with gold fever. 😃

When it isn't too dusty, I take a pictures from the UTV. Here, we are heading back up another valley to the summit of the Lehmi Mountains.

There are many times of abandoned mines scattered through these mountains. Most are simply holes in the side of a mountain. However, there are also many mines that have remants of homesteads.

Or remnants of a larger mines. Some of these larger claims still have active claims that are being mined, like this one. As I approach I notice a sign warning me that this is still an active claim and private property, even though there is no one here at the moment. In the background of the photo, on the other side of the Salmon River, is the Lost River Range (a.k.a Pahsimeroi Mountains) of Idaho. The highest peak in the Lost River Range is Dickey Peak at 11,141ft (3,396 m). 

Returning to camp, I reflect back to my panning expereince earlier today. Could I do this recreationally? Might be a fun hobby to take up. Start up costs are relatively low. Then I start to chuckle as I remember what my friend Rick used to say. "Martin, do you know how to make a small fortune panning for gold? Start with a large fortune and know when to quit." 😂 Rick, who was 10 years my elder, used this expression for just about every money-losing venture you can think of (e.g., gambling, woodworking, etc.) Gold has made a lot of money for some people. It has also lost some people a lot of money. Nevertheless, it was a fun day and I learned that gold fever is a real thing!