Alaska Gold Rush Diary

Chapter 6 Gold Deposits

I snuggled in my sleeping bag and finished reading Charlie Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" before adding firewood and going to sleep.

The next morning, he still fried a few slices of bread with butter and ate them before packing his things and setting off.

Walking on the frozen river, the ground was as smooth as a broad road.

The speed of movement was much faster, and it was very easy to walk.

Along the way, the sweet scent of gold occasionally wafted into my nostrils, but it wasn't particularly strong.

Every time he reached a bend in the river, he would stop and sniff carefully at the inner curve like a hunting dog, hoping to find a spot where gold had been deposited.

However, after searching six river bends, no gold-rich deposits were found.

However, the scent of gold was indeed stronger at Hanoi Bend than at other locations, indicating that the gold content was higher at the bend, and his search direction was correct.

They searched until after 4 p.m., walking nearly ten kilometers along the river, but still found nothing.

"Strange, why is there gold, but not much of it?"

Could I have been wrong? Was all the gold here looted by prospectors over a hundred years ago?

But after thinking about it carefully, I realized it was unlikely.

With the technology available at the time, it was simply impossible to excavate every inch of this land.

After a hundred years of rain erosion, a considerable amount of gold must have been washed into the river.

Trying to regain his composure, Zhou Xin continued upstream.

As we traveled upstream, the altitude gradually increased, the temperature gradually decreased, and the snow under our feet became thicker.

The river is also gradually getting smaller, and its surface is becoming much narrower.

As the sun began to set, Zhou Xin knew he would have to set up camp again today.

However, he was not discouraged; everything was as expected.

As Bemon said, if gold were so easy to find, everyone here would be a billionaire by now.

Moreover, with the land frozen over, even if a gold vein were found, it would be difficult to begin large-scale panning.

With these thoughts in mind, he began to set up the tent with a relaxed attitude.

It must be said that after two days of camping, my skills in setting up campsites have become increasingly proficient.

Before long, wisps of smoke rose from the snow-covered canyon riverbank.

We stopped earlier today; the sun hadn't set yet when the fire was lit.

He made himself a cup of coffee, moved a small folding stool to the riverbank, and enjoyed the sunset while drinking his coffee.

At this moment, time seemed to slow down.

The setting sun bathed the distant mountain peaks in a golden glow, and he was captivated by the beautiful sight of the sun-drenched mountains.

For the next few days, he walked uphill along the riverbank.

When you're tired, stop and rest; this will help you calm your mind.

But he still felt something was off. Logically, after traveling so far, he should have found one or two places with a lot of gold deposits.

But the truth is, not a single such location could be found.

If the gold wasn't completely looted during the gold rush more than a hundred years ago, then it's only possible that someone came here to pan for gold in recent years.

But as he walked along, he couldn't find any trace of anyone having been there.

I don't understand the reason yet, but since we're here, we have to keep going.

He made up his mind that if he couldn't find gold in three more days, he would leave the river and search elsewhere.

They walked for another two days, and the river became even narrower, with the river surface now only five or six meters wide.

"If we still haven't found anything by tomorrow, we'll have to give up on this river."

He sat on the edge of the bed, added two pieces of firewood to the stove, and stared at the flames at the stove opening, muttering to himself.

Although I was mentally prepared, I still felt a little disappointed after so many days without any results.

It seems that gold panning is not an easy task. Even if you have the ability to smell gold, you still can't easily find the gold buried underground.

No wonder countless gold diggers hoping to get rich overnight come here, but most of them end up going bankrupt.

However, Zhou Xin believed he would not fail.

After all, he's got some kind of cheat code.

Because I slept too soundly during the night and didn't add firewood, the temperature inside the tent dropped rapidly after the fire went out in the second half of the night.

He was awakened by the cold shortly after dawn.

He peeked out of the tent and knew something was wrong.

The sky was overcast, and fog surrounded the area; the weather had changed.

The long stretch of sunny days is finally over, and it will probably get colder today, with a possibility of snow.

"Looks like fate is going to keep pushing my gold rush even harder."

I relit the stove, heated up the leftover rice from last night, mixed it with some chili sauce, and ate it in a few bites.

We quickly packed our things and continued on our way.

The sky remained gray and seemed to be getting darker.

It seems a blizzard is inevitable today.

Having lived in Alaska for eight years, he has mastered the weather patterns here.

His gold-hunting journey was fraught with setbacks, and the weather turned against him, casting a shadow of gloom over his mood.

Another bend in the river appeared ahead. He walked to the inner bend, put down his backpack, and lay down on the ground, almost touching his nose to the ice.

He knew very well that this was just psychological comfort.

He didn't even need to get close to the ground; just by the faint smell of gold in the air, he could basically tell that there wasn't much gold here.

His ability to smell gold allows him to ignore the effects of barriers and temperature, enabling him to detect every wisp of gold scent in the air.

"It seems it's time to leave the riverbed."

Re-entering the forest signifies starting all over again.

Moreover, walking in the jungle is not as comfortable as walking on ice, and the speed of movement will be several times slower.

He shouldered his backpack, and although he was reluctant, he knew it was time to change direction.

Just as he left the ice and prepared to re-enter the forest, a gust of cold wind blew by, and his eyes suddenly lit up.

He sniffed hard, his heart filled with joy.

This rich, sweet aroma is gold, lots and lots of gold!

The wind was blowing from upstream, but the mountain ridges on both sides blocked the view ahead.

But one thing is certain: the gold deposits we've been searching for are right ahead!

With excitement, he returned to the ice, quickening his pace to almost a jog.

Another gust of wind blew in, making the smell in the air even stronger.

Absolutely right, there is a lot of gold ahead!

After turning the bend in the river and going around the obstructing ridge, Zhou Xin was stunned.

Looking at the scene before him, he instantly understood why he had searched along the river for so long but still couldn't find the gold deposits.

Before him stood a cliff more than ten meters high.

On the cliff face, the water flow is completely frozen, forming a magnificent icefall.

One can imagine that when the river thaws, this place must look like a waterfall cascading down three thousand feet.

The impact of the waterfall has created a deep and large pool, or lake, at the bottom of the cliff.

The gold from upstream fell down the waterfall and settled at the bottom of the pool.

In other words, the pool at the bottom of the waterfall is the golden sedimentation point of this river!

Reaching the bottom of the icefall, looking up, you see huge ice pillars hanging down from the cliff top, like ice stalagmites or transparent stalactites.

Without needing to sniff closely to confirm, the rich, almost overwhelming sweet aroma in the surroundings already says it all.

After nearly ten days of trekking, we finally found the ideal gold panning spot!