Cementing friendships.

[2ndoldman]

This post is going to be a long one guys and gals.
So sit back, open a bubbly pop or three and I hope that you all enjoy.

I would love to say that the finds from this last road trip were as stunning as the scenery was.
Unfortunately this time nature stuck her fist in our face and said not this time suckers.
Normally when we make out annual pilgrimage up to Micheal's place there are literally miles of sandy beach to detect.
2 days before the ladies ( Alison from Ontario and Laurie from Quebec) arrived I made a quick check of the beach at Edgewood.
And what would normally have been around a 1/4 mile of open sand looked like this.
The next Day Daniel arrived from Vancouver and between Micheal, Daniel and I we cobbled together everything that the ladies would need for the week.
Fast forward two days the guests have arrived and our week long adventure began in the silver mining town of Sandon BC.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandon,_British_Columbia

Our destination had been the lost ball diamond however once again mother decided otherwise and washed out the road.
So the back up plan was what we were initially told was the location of the brewery.
Which actually turned out to be the location of the mines powder house. It is crazy what you can find just by looking around in a place like this. What this plunger was doing there is beyond me. When ever you are out in the back country it really does pay to be bear aware. This 3-400 pounder didn't care that we stopped the car to take his picture.
After which we did tour of the museum and then headed home for the day.
PS the swing time on these trips was less than normal as the travel time to these places was between 2 and 3 hours each way.
On day two our destination was the ghost town of Ferguson BC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus...itish_Columbia
No trip to Ferguson is complete without a stop in at Trout Lake for gas.
If you are interested this is an 8 minute video of some of Trout Lake and Ferguson.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAavcUyx4IM

These visible pumps were installed in 1902 and are the only working pumps for miles around.
Alison and Laurie were the winners on this trip.
Alison came back to the van pleased as punch saying that she was now a true west coast detectorist.
This is her gold mining claim tag that she found there.

[2ndoldman]

And Laurie popped out a nice keg tap.
Day three was a total change of pace for everyone.
Micheal wanted to show thew ladies and Daniel how his scoop worked so we headed up to Revelstoke BC for some magnet fishing and scooping.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelstoke,_British_Columbia

This was the five of us on the second of two ferries it takes to get there from Micheal's place. Here is Micheal showing the technique for tossing out the scoop. The whole idea of the scoop is to drag the bottom of the lake for items that have been lost of tossed into the water.
Once you shake out the crud a quick scan of the bottom will show you if you have pulled up any goodies. Daniels technique was not as refined as Micheal's but he sure got some good distance with his casts.
Alison really enjoyed magnet fishing but when it came to the grunt work of tossing the scoop she opted for taking a dip. Where she pulled a silver dime.
And a cool spoon.

[2ndoldman]

On day four it was decide to stick around the homestead and help out with some of the chores.
While Laurie got up close and personal with a couple of the farm residents. Alison made sure that she didn't get to personal with the fruits and vegetables. After picking up a few things strewn about the yard I took on some cleaning chores of my own. The keg tap comes later on.
At this point in the day I decide to make a complete fool of myself.
And took off to get a couple of pictures.
I have driven up to this wharf multiple time before but mother nature took a hand this time and I got stuck in the quagmire.
What else could I do other than grin and own up to my own stupidity. When the tow truck driver arrived he only had to haul me backwards about 60 feet before I could drive out.
In the process though he got himself stuck and I had to interrupt the planned fishing trip.

[2ndoldman]

To get Micheal to tow the tow truck out of the muck.
Once it was all done I joined the happy fishers down by the lake.
It really was not my day that day.
My first cast snagged on a rock and the lure was lost.
The next cast was interrupted by a call from the tow truck driver and once again the lure snagged and was lost.
Two casts were enough for me that day.
I didn't come home empty handed.
A local fisherman decide to gift me with a dozen of the finest trout I will see this year.

In the evening it was decided to have a picnic style dinner down at the river.
While Micheal labored over the barbecue doing hamburgers. The three musketeers took it easy by the fire.
On day five of the hunt our first destination was kiboshed when the road map became unfamiliar.
So we turned around and headed to Alamo siding. The only way to get to this place is a 3 mile hike following the old rail line. Here are the remains of that mill. Below the mill Laurie made a nice discovery when she located one of the mine buildings.
This is Laurie and Daniel checking out the place. She happened to find a whole bunch of crucibles that were used for ore sampling.

[2ndoldman]

Daniel got his treasure find of the hunt when he found one of the crucibles with the sample still intact in the bottom, the little Hersey kiss is my sample. My best find of the trip was a bale seal.
The V R for Victoria Regent dates it to pre 1902 I can't imagine the hardship it took to get what ever was being shipped overland at that time from the North Portal to it's final destination by pack train. On the final day of the trip I guess everyone was getting tied of the long drives and it was decided to stay close to home.
Our destination for the day was to find some guest cabins in the woods down by the old drowned town of Edgewood.
Once again mother took a hand and made things difficult.
Where ever we went during the past week we could see water pouring into the lake right left and center.
You would think that a lake this big would not be affected by the spring rain.

https://www.bchydro.com/community/recreation_areas/arrow_lakes_reservoir.html

However when you add in the winter snow melt
These are just the closet three waterfalls I managed to get pictures of.

[2ndoldman]

The water level had risen by more than three feet in the week and it was a mad scramble over the rocks to stay dry.
Unfortunately the finds were less than spectacular so we headed back home.
This year none of us got our coils over anything spectacular.
That does not mean that nothing interesting was found.
If you are an optimist you can find treasure in the darnedest places.
Take the old horse shoe which was found on day one in Sandon. Add in a little history and it becomes cool.
Laurie had been wanting a demonstration of how Micheal and I made our lead fishing weights so we showed her the process.
This was the start, and when she comes out with her video I will add the link.
This was the last day of the ladies trip and as it was getting dark I decided the the keg tap was as good as it was going to get .
After four days of cleaning Laurie was blow away by the transformation.
I make this trip sound simple and I have forgotten to add in one of the most important items of hospitality.
If it were not for the tireless efforts of Micheal's wife Alice, none of this would have been possible.
Alice my sweets I love you to bits.

[gregszybala]

Great posts, thanks for sharing all with us. Almost feel like I was there.

[2ndoldman]

Thank you Greg. I can not ask for a better compliment.

[Scorpion68]

Bruce - that was an awesome post and trip. Loved the scenery and, with all that water I can understand the flooding. I would have liked to see the beach area that you normally hunt at the beginning of your post. Do you happen to have any pics from the past that we could see. Enjoyed meeting your friends and the walkabout. Thanks for posting it.

[willjo]

Well you are back with fantastic story, neat finds and wonderful scenery, thanks for sharing story

[2ndoldman]

You are welcome Johnny. And thank you for noticing my absence.

[G10+]

Damn , u really make a story come to life !!!! Thank u for taking the time to create such a thread , I really injoyed it

[2ndoldman]

You are very welcome my friend.

[CMD]

Bruce, I don't think anyone puts the amount of work in that you do to create great posts with wonderful photos. Stunning scenery up your way. Thanks so much!

[2ndoldman]

Charlie it does take time to make a post like mine, a bit over 5 hours (not including photo editing) for this one.
I don't always have the best of finds to share with you folks but I try my best to make the reading enjoyable.

[BabaORiley]

That was just a great read Bruce. What beautiful country!!! And those are some cool finds...and no needles!!! Great post Canuck...

[2ndoldman]

Hahaha. Yup no needles in this one.

[2ndoldman]

Bruce - that was an awesome post and trip. Loved the scenery and, with all that water I can understand the flooding. I would have liked to see the beach area that you normally hunt at the beginning of your post. Do you happen to have any pics from the past that we could see. Enjoyed meeting your friends and the walkabout. Thanks for posting it.

Chuck this area is under 10 feet or more of water right now.

[G10+]

Chuck this area is under 10 feet or more of water right now.

GOT to be a point in there somewhere

[2ndoldman]

There are a lot of dedicated point hunters who comb those flats every year when the water levels go down Everett.
I have found one broke up there and one day I will get my first whole up there too.

[chase]

Bravo THANKS! Bruce I am so mad at myself for not going, Michael looks great.

[2ndoldman]

He was hurting this time out Chase. But there is no quit in that man ever.