I've been gold mining for close to 5 years now and a lot of people ask me why I do it. Its more of a labor of love than anything. Working in small scale mining is more about being in the outdoors and finding a little "color" than getting rich. As a small scale miner you just cant move enough dirt to make a living, its more about being in the outdoors and enjoying yourself. Small scale mining isn't about having heavy equipment, rock trucks or giant machines to separate gold from dirt. Its getting your hands dirty and hard work. It has opened up other doors for me though. In 2017 I was left out in the Canadian bush for 6.5 weeks alone to film the Discovery Channel show "Devils Canyon", which was one heck of an experience.
I've been filming my adventures and shenanigans out in gold country for about the last 2.5-3 years. You can check it out on YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/user/Highway318 to follow along. Here are a few shots some some of the digs.
This is what I am talking about when it comes to hard work. All those rocks were moved by hand.
One of the biggest payoffs is some of the country you get to see
The money shot....a little over 11 grams of gold. At todays prices....$471 for a day of digging.