Prospectors Head for Mountains, Hope to Strike Gold

Recent heavy rains in the Sierra foothills have lured pan-toting prospectors who hope to strike it rich in the same area where gold was discovered in California in 1848, setting off the great “Gold Rush.”

The prospectors are clumping through the hills searching for gold uncovered by the winter rains in what some are calling “the new Gold Rush.”

State geologist John Alfors said spring runoff usually turns up some hidden gold but this year’s volume of rain has produced more gold earlier in the season.

“The toppled trees turn up some of the best gold deposits because they’ve been hidden for so long in the bedrock,” he said. “The best areas are where the loose gravel and the bedrock meet, which is usually near the tree roots.”

“It’s better than ever right now,” Alfors added.

Some prospectors have been lining up for hours before the doors open at the gold-mining supply store operated by Paul Bailey in this town in El Dorado County, which means “The Gilded One” in Spanish.

Gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at nearby Coloma on Jan. 24, 1848, and in 1849 thousands of people poured into the area to stake out every inch of ground along streams.

There aren’t that many people this time, but geologist George Wheeldon says gold has been found “all over.”

“You can pick it out of the ground with tweezers,” said Wheeldon, who teaches at Cosumnes River College. “This could be one of the best springs ever for finding gold.”

Those who have found gold like to talk about the size of their discovery, although they won’t say exactly where the strike took place.

“It is everybody’s dream to find a chunk of gold in the roots of a newly fallen tree,” said Jack Tyree, 31, of Diamond Springs, who claims he found just such a tree.

Bailey said he can not keep up with the sudden demand for mining gear.

In addition to running his store, Bailey regularly works a number of claims. He said that so far his yield includes several nuggets about a half inch in diameter worth about $300.

Bailey said one prospector short of cash asked him to take a pouch of gold as payment, just like the original 49ers did.