sworn to secrecy, I found the LDM accidentally TRUE STORY

[Jim Hatt]

Jim, Thanks for the welcome, I appreciate it! I live in Seligman,AZ. and its hard for me to get down to the Phoenix area to roam around in the Superstitions(unfortunately). Everyone on this topic/forum, seems to be knowledgeable and well informed.
I am not a newbie when it comes to gold prospecting, and when I lived in California I did quite a bit-and even found a bit of gold on occasion.
I was wondering if you or anyone else on this forum has ever done any prospecting in northern AZ. Sorry this question is not in the correct format and location.

I haven't DW but maybe someone else here has.

In the mean time, check put the GPAA website at: http://www.goldprospectors.org/ and see if they have a local chapter near you. It would be a great connection for "Tips", "Tricks" and "Hints" about good places to go in your area.

Jim Hatt

[Goldseeker]

Cubfan,

Don't worry about straying off the topic here. This forum Gold Prospecting & Treasure Hunting is pretty broad based, and this topic of Bubba's has no real base at all. I try to keep things in the LDM Sub-Forums more on track but I am not always successful, as I am sure you have noticed.

You packed a lot of hiking into a short period. I applaud you for the way you are indoctrinating yourself to the mountains. You are seeing a lot of different country, and attacking the legend from many different angles. You appear to be keeping an open mind, and sizing everything up for yourself.

I made the mistake of locking into a certain area early on, and burning up too many years there, before I got out and looked around at the rest of the range. By the time I figured that out, my hiking legs were 3/4 spent, and we don't get any younger as time passes.

I still have my horse, but more often than not, he has no desire to fight his way to the top of some of the mountains I want to look down from, or through the bushes so thick that he cannot see the ground, and where he is going to be stepping next. He likes to look the ground over real good out there, and plan ahead for where is going to place each one of his feet before advancing forward.

He wasn't like that 10 years ago, but as time passes for him too, he is getting smarter than he used to be. He used to trust me blindly, and do anything I asked of him. Nowadays, he is more into looking things over for himself, and having a "say" in the decision about where we are going to go, and which way we are going to get there.

There are places we have been to before, that he refuses to go to again. He has his way of letting me know that he is willing to wait in the shade and nibble on the grass, while I go "up there", but he has been there, and done that, and has no desire to do it again.

Glad to hear you had a good time, and no mishaps! Hope you got some good photos that you can share with us. If you can do a writeup of your trip without giving away any of the angles you are working on, it would be a pleasure for me to move it into the TRUE STORIES - CHASING THE LEGEND Sub-Forum.

Busca El Coazon my friend!

Jim

Smart horse! In many ways, animals ARE smarter than humans. After all, the horse would be the one taking a chance walking blindly thru brush, climbing a mountain with unsure footing, etc. Dont blame him!


'Course, the horse does not have gold fever, unlike the rider....

[Jim Hatt]

Right on! GS,

In the 'ole days, my horse had no fear of, or respect for the "Hurt" that "Fang" could impose upon him. About 5 years ago he got bit on the end of his nose while bending down to see what all the racket was about.

That could have something to do with why he wants to see where he is putting his feet these days.



Jim

[marks231]

I like the story of a trucker in the mountains who stops and picks mushrooms to cook with his dinner and has a story to tell from his mini-trip, surprised he didn't see Nana later that nite after the Lone Ranger left.
Mark

[Guz]

Magic mushrooms no doubt

[silent hunter]

Wow ,lol. I love it when someone finds the big one.That guy never even stepped foot into the range. Where are the photos? we're waiting. I would never tell a soul, let alone a person. If i find it, it will no longer exist. I will live off my supplies and not leave till there ain't a flake of gold left. And no one would ever know a thing, silence is a privilege.

[Jim Hatt]

And no one would ever know a thing, silence is a privilege.

Words of Wisdom!

[involvedlady]

Take a stake and mark the spot, put your name on it, take the pics you have. Go down and file a claim with some of the gold I hope you find and pay $180 to them. You get a 20 acre parcel that you own the mineral rights to only. People can do anything they want on that property such as fishing, hunting, camping, etc. Go for the GOLD!

[Jim Hatt]

Hello involvedlady, and Welcome to the Forums!!!

It is good advice for areas that are open for filing mining claims. Unfortunately, it's not that simple in areas that are closed for filing mining claims. You can't do that just anywhere you want to.

Jim

[Dudley]

That's true. Especially in the Superstitions. Even if someone found the mine, you could not work it there.

I live next to the Superstitions in Mesa, Arizona and have collected almost all of the popular books on the Lost Dutchman. All the evidence seems to point to a pit mine that was buried by the Apaches in order to hide it. Given the density of the shrubbery and trees in the canyon areas, if would be almost impossible to find.

If there is anything to be found, it would be Waltz's third and largest cache of gold that was removed from the mine. He said he removed the gold from the other two. IMHO, that was probably buried during the earthquake in the 1880s. I don't recall ever reading anything where Waltz described a mine shaft lined with timbers.

I also agree that any Dutch hunter worth his or her salt could never leave a discovery like that mine shaft without further exploration. It is remotely possible that Bubba found an old abandoned mine shaft, but that would not mean that the found the Lost Dutchman.