Claim it... now!!

        We’re almost ready to disclose location of a new claim, but just a little more work to be done first.

        Fall is definitely here!  We spent Saturday on our new claim, putting up final claim posts with a couple of friends who we also found claims in the same area.

        They were nice enough to provide four-wheelers for the excursion, so Alex spent most of the day four-wheelin’ and loved every minute of it, except maybe the final half hour when it began to sprinkle and rain.  Luckily he was wearing a hoody (unlike grandma!) and stayed pretty dry.

        We had referred to this new claim before, how confusing another claimholders’ markers became and we resorted to obtaining his claim certificates to try to decifer claim boundaries. 

        Just for the heck of it, I mapped his boundaries as posted and came up with at least 110 acres he was claiming for himself and his daughter!  Hmmm… at 20 acres per claimant, that seems a little excessive!  Even that 40 acres allowed has not yet been filed with the Bureau of Land Management.  Their certificate was dated July 1, so if not filed with BLM by Oct. 1, the claim is not valid.

        That is only one of many problems… a phone conversation had relayed that his claim covered the ridge and the valley below.  Using the claim boundaries as described on the claim certificate, it not only doesn’t extend to the access road in the valley, it doesn’t extend into the southern sections as described!  That would bump the total acreage well past 40 acres!

        Something is rotten in this process, and we’ve worked with BLM enough to know he’s going to encounter problems re-locating again!

        A word of warning to those who haven’t properly marked their claim boundaries… a “Mineral Trespass” sign does not constitute a claim certificate!  Don’t get me wrong, we use Mineral Trespass signs, but they are supported by a location certificate bearing a map of the claim.  We generally use Mineral Trespass signs to bring attention to the fact the claim is staked, not to try and scare everyone out of an entire region!

        In the meantime, there appears to be another 40 acres available in the area.

        We’re discussing and have already offered to one party a 40-acre claim for sale.  This is an established claim on a well-documented creek.  For more details, contact us at hillshistory1876@gmail.com.  This one bears a pretty hefty price tag as it includes an existing open cut with placer gravel exposed to bedrock, a year-round creek and nice camping locations!

        We’re also contemplating offering for sale our shares in another placer claim which has proven exceedingly rich.  Our problem is we’re “claim rich” with good producers and “cash poor.”

        Contact us now if you still want to locate a claim this year.  There’s a limited season left to be on the ground, prove discovery and get a location certificate posted!  Our instincts are that $1800 gold will seem like chicken feed by next spring!