News

The outing this month will be to Big Bear and the Holcomb Valley where our claims are located. Brian will be showing you some additional spots where prospecting should be favorable. The meet up location is at Wyatts Saloon parking lot, 42900 Big Bear Blvd, Big Bear Lake, CA 92315. Meet up there at 9:00a.m. on Friday, July 25, 2025, and 9:00a.m. Saturday, July 26, 2025. Contact Brian if you have any questions. The weather up there has been favorable, mid 50s at night and mid 70s during the day. Although be prepared for weather variation. Holcomb Valley is at 7500 feet of elevation so come prepared should the weather change fast as it can. I was up there a few weeks ago and the days were in the hi 80s. I usually head up the back side of the Mt. using Hwy 38 through Yucaipa instead of the Hwy 330 to 18 route. It's a little longer that way but the road up the Mt. is easier with less switch backs. You can set your map for Baldwin Lake in Big Bear.

The ground has been dry so you will be able to dry wash. Metal detecting up there is difficult as there is a lot of debris in the ground from the last 150 years of mining and other activities. There's a lot of brass shell casings and lead to be found. Being that they are non-ferrous they will set off your detector like gold. Nevertheless, people over the years have found large nuggets up there. So, if you dig out the trash and debris you may find that one in a 10,000 nugget.

Good Luck Prospectors, Robert, V.P.

The "Boot Of Cortez"

Was found in 1989 in Sonora, Mexico, near Caborca and the Gran Desierto de Altar.

It weighs in at 389.4 Troy ounces, (26.7 US pounds).

Almost unbelievable is the fact that it was found using a Radio Shack metal detector.

It's still out there, one of our members showed me a picture of a 3.5 ounce nugget he had found out near Potholes some time ago. Not quite 389 oz but I wouldn't throw it back.

Happy Hunting.

This month's outing will be to the Big Bear claim. This has been one of my favorite claims for quite a while especially when the desert heat prohibits us from going out to our desert claims. This year alone I've already been up to the Big Bear claim three times. The last time was just a week and a half ago. Greg Yager and I camped out on the claim 3 days. The first day it rained, and it was too wet to dry wash. It may warm up during the day, but it drops down into the high 40s or low 50s during the night at this time of the year. So come prepared for some cold weather at night. No campfires are allowed up there. I have had some success on this claim. In the summer of ‘23’ I went up there frequently and pulled out three grams of gold from the claim. The current results have been varied, but I am usually able to find a picker in most buckets. On this last trip we found a .12g picker, pictured.

Most people dry wash right above the creek digging down to expose the bedrock. I usually use my gold wheel or a sluice. The sluice requires carrying a lot of water, approximately 80 gallons. That's it in one of the pictures.

There are a few camping spots on the claim. There are two immediately at the Y when you turn onto Union Flats Rd. And another one 230 yards up Union Flats Rd. That's a larger area and can accommodate quite a few people. All camping is primitive.

We have found a new dig spot. Right next to the camping areas at the Y there is a trench or culvert coming down from the road perpendicular to it. Greg and his friend dug a small area and immediately found a picker near the surface. We dug some on our last trip there and were

very pleased with the results. 

The new claim is marked on the map that we can provided on request. This new claim is directly down the creek from the old claim. It is very steep and will require scaling some rocks. I have explored down this area a little bit but have not done any prospecting as of yet. This area has some bear sightings reported and confirmed by one of our neighbors, Russ Cronk. As you make your way down the creek, you'll see a bear den high up on the left, (see Pictures).

The sow has been known to use this then on a regular basis but lives further down the creek in a mineshaft with her Cubs.  

Russ is also an SPMA member and has a summer cabin just across Holcomb Valley Road about 150 yards away from the claim. On our last trip there, he invited us up to his cabin. He showed us pictures that he captured on his wildlife camera including the bear, a mountain lion and a wolf. I've seen deer on almost every trip up here and we actually startled one that was bedding down in our camping area. It ran off as we pulled up. 

Metal detecting on the claim is questionable. Other people in the past have said they have found pickers and nuggets but there is over 150 years of debris on that mountain, so it makes metal detecting frustrating, matter of fact, the big campsite that we use on the claim was once the site of a saloon. Old time miners would likely dig gold all day along the mountain side and come back to the saloon at night and drink it all away. Prospecting up there can still be productive. Russ told us a story about the $10 bucket. Gold processors in Big Bear would buy buckets of raw pay dirt from prospectors. They were only required to dig down to bedrock and then bring the buckets in and get paid $10. That's a pretty fair amount for the 1880s and 1890s. 

Other than the wildlife and the weather to be aware of there is also the altitude to be aware of. The claim sits at 7500 feet of elevation. You might find yourself with some shortness of breath and even a headache due to lowered oxygen levels at altitude. To combat the shortness of breath you may want to work slower. Also taking aspirin the day before you go up the Mt and while you are there will help with headaches. .

Enjoy your time on the claim,

Robert.

Gold Price Today, June 13, 2025: $3386

One Year Ago: $2323

Five Years Ago: $1325

Ten Years Ago: $1189

Greg has been a very active member for over a year now and has been looking for a way to help out more. Let him know you appreciate his stepping up. He will be stepping into Joe's shoes and taking some of the responsibility off of his shoulders. Thank-you Joe for filling the office of secretary as well as many other roles and thank-you Greg for volunteering your time.

The SPMA Board of Directors has decided to discontinue the open email list policy. As a non-profit organization, we had benefited from the use of a free mass mailing service from MailChimp, provided that our list remains relatively small. Well, our mailing list grew and we must reduce the number of people on it. Non-members will still be able to read the Assay by clicking the Library tab in the search bar. It will still arrive in your mailbox each month if your membership status is up to date. If you would like to continue receiving the Assay via email, just become a member or renew your membership.

Our Assay monthly newsletter is now being published by our own Calvin Hastings. He will be emailing the Assay to members monthly and it will be available here after publication thru the Assay drop down tab. This is a members only area accessible with a password. You will need to provide your full name and the membership date on your membership card. Text Robert at (619)519-4805 for the password.

If you have any news worthy items, articles or pictures you want submitted for publication send your items to Calvin at: manta42mkii@outlook.com

Thank you for your participation.

After you visit an SPMA claim, please take a few minutes fill out one of our Claim Use Forms. We collect them at our meeting (or by mail) and present them to the BLM at claim renewal time. Documenting our claim use shows the BLM that we are being responsible stewards of the land and that we're good to have around. When we apply for new claims, they take our written record into consideration. Please contact a board member for a claim form. Thank you.

The new ‘SPMA Member’ bumper stickers are in. Get yours at the next meeting, $3.