When Steve Sheldon and Tim Vogel began hauling freight in trucks, they reduced the time to two days. Tim Vogel reported on June 24th, that the roads were so good he drove from Haines to Porcupine in only 4 hours!
Even today everything must be hauled along an mile dirt road or forded across the Klehini River. The children enjoyed these outings. One of the men at the office would give us each a baking powder can with a lid and a pair of tweezers. As soon as the water had been diverted from the flume, the men collected the larger nuggets left by the washing process, but we could climb right up and crawl along the riffles picking up the small nuggets.
We fit better up there than the men did. We were built closer to the ground, our eyes were sharp and our fingers were nimble. If we managed to fill a can to the top and it takes a lot of small stuff to fill a baking powder can we were given a whole quarter. Sometimes we would earn only a nickel or a dime, but in those days even a penny was a coin worth having. Mining on Porcupine Creek after returned to the small operations of individuals and partnerships.
Today a few individuals still mine the creeks of the Porcupine Mining Districts. Nothing of the many flumes remain and only a few decrepit structures mark a town site once occupied by hundreds. In the summer of the Discovery Channel began filming a reality TV series on placer gold mining entitled Gold Rush Alaska on location less than a mile from the old town site of Porcupine. Various locals have been featured on the series, including the Schnabel family, who have maintained a small mining operation on Porcupine using heavy equipment since the early s.
Cynthia Jones Updated by Blythe Carter, Contact Donate Cart 0 Items. Porcupine Gold Rush. Porcupine town site 4th of July, Note both the U.
Prospecting party leaving Porcupine, early s. This huge flume, the largest in Alaska at its time, was 6 to 8 feet deep, 24 to 40 feet wide and 8, feet long. It took 2 million board feet to build, circa The same flume as pictured above. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report , 49 p. Koschmann, A. Geological Survey Professional Paper , p. MacKevett, E.
Geological Survey Professional Paper , 33 p. Roppel, Patricia, , Porcupine: Alaska Journal, v. Smith, P. Geological Survey Bulletin B, 19 p. Geological Survey Bulletin C, p. Still, J. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report , 35 p. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report , 6 p. Williams, J. Winkler, G. Geological Survey Open-File Report , 91 p. Wright, C. Geological Survey Bulletin , 35 p. Geological Survey Bulletin , p.
Find additional scientific data near this location. Placer gold mineralization and workings extend for approximately 3 miles along Porcupine Creek from its junction with the Klehini River to just above its junction with McKinley Creek.
Wright [B and B ] refers to three types of gravel deposits in the Porcupine area: creek gravels, side benches and high benches. The creek gravels and side benches are are related to present and recent past fluvial activity. The high benches are older and were deposited during earlier interglacial periods. Stream gravels consist of fragments and slabs of slate and boulders of diorite and some greenstone up to 2 or 3 feet in diameter. Hoekzema and others add alluvial fan gravels at the mouths of Porcupine Creek and Glacier Creek SK to the gravel deposit types recognized by Wright [B and B ].
Several flumes and tunnels were built in early s to divert the creek to allow mining of the creek bed and to supply water for hydraulic methods; Hand methods, sluices, rockers, and a trolley lift were used in early s.
Best of all, she knows all of the miners in the area and can get you special access. We went to the mine and Melody and Dustin Hurt took valuable time from their mine to help us pan pay-dirt.
We all found gold and, yes, you keep what you find. We also ran into Dakota Fred on the way back to Haines. Everyone at the mine was amazing and super friendly. There is a lot of land without gold claims on it. You can pan for gold in many areas but I would check with locals about the best places to avoid trespassing issues. Date of experience: June Helpful Share. I H wrote a review Feb Edinburgh, United Kingdom contributions helpful votes.
Panning's not for Wimps. This was a fascinating insight into the unglamorous life of a prospector. Digging the sand and gravel from the creek, washing and panning and picking out stones to get acouple of specks of gold dust, if you are lucky, then doing it all over and over and over again.
It's fine as a tourist but an arduous backbreaking way to earn a living. You would have to have gold fever to choose this. The bald eagles and scenery did provide some respite though. Not for the fainthearted.
Date of experience: April Joyce G wrote a review Jul
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