Weekend Miners Get a Rush From Gold

The dusty streets are paved now. Four-wheel drives have replaced the horse and wagon. And cappuccino is served with stout at the old taverns along the roadways.

But the gold rush is still alive in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

After James Marshall discovered gold in 1848 at what is now Gold Discovery State Park in Coloma, tens of thousands of fortune hunters poured into California in the Gold Rush of 1849.

Wealth was found mostly by the shop owner who supplied the would-be miners with picks and pans, food and clothing. Encampments grew into towns that swelled by the day. Many boomtowns disappeared, but there’s still gold in those hills.

Today, thousands of part-time miners search for gold. Most prospect more as a hobby than a way of life.

The methods have changed with modern technology. Still, most know only rare luck will yield the Mother Lode.

Rudy Evans, 71, who retired from the General Motors plant in Van Nuys after 35 years on the job, has been mining the North Fork of the Yuba River near Downieville for 20 years. He and his wife, Helen, pack their travel trailer each year with supplies, drive north and camp along the river.

Using a dredging machine that separates rocks and sand and supplies him with air, Evans climbs into a wetsuit and dives 7 feet underwater in search of gold.

After 30 days of prospecting this year, Evans has collected only a pennyweight of gold, worth slightly more than $18.

He uses the gold panned over the years to make jewelry for his family.

“If I cashed it in, I’d just spend the money,” Evans said on a recent day when threatening thunderheads forced him to call off his search. “But if I ever needed money, gold always sells.”

Across the mountain, the Mother Lode Goldhounds, a recreational minerals outfit, prepares for a day of prospecting along the American River. A throwback to the more romantic version of gold-seeking, the four members of the group gather plastic pans and head for the river. They dig on the beaches, panning sediment and seeking tiny flakes of gold.

Merle Litzinger, 67, of Forresthill began prospecting 20 years ago. He became hooked on the chase rather than the dream of instant riches.

“The monetary value does not exceed the excitement of seeing gold appear in the bottom of the pan,” said Litzinger, whose best day has been about $70 worth of gold.

At first, Litzinger figured most of the gold already had been found. But many miners--Litzinger now included--believe that more than 90% of the gold has yet to be mined.

“That’s what I keep hearing,” said Pat Jorgenson, public information officer for the U.S. Geological Survey’s office in Menlo Park. “Makes me want to head for the hills.”