Maine -- Swift River in 2008

Hey Gold Adventurers...

Another "recreated" Trip Report from years gone past...

This was one of the few times I prospected in Maine.  Can't get much further "East" than Maine!     Several areas have some good glacial gold in the rivers, creeks & streams...

My family & I drove up from Rhode Island to Maine.........visited Bar Harbor, ate "laub-sta", visited New Brunswick, and ended up on the Swift River where I panned and sluiced for the day.

The river was flowing fast, cool and clear.  The bedrock was amazingly polished hard gray granite.  Wow...

Different spots had boil holes full of rocks.  I figured gold just HAD to be at the bottom of them.  Here's just a coulpe FYI:



The rocks in them were very compacted, hard to pry around....  I eventually got to the bottom of one and found just LOADS of heavy iron from ages gone past:





In the end I had a fun day panning & sluicing.  I did get a LITTLE Maine gold:





No bonanza, but I was to learn later that boil holes just aren't the best places to find gold, unless it's covered by a big boulder or an obstacle inside stops the rocks from swirling around during flood, as the rocks just grind the gold to dust/flakes and it washed out.

Worst part was this was the day my sweet wife accidentally lost her 1.5 carat diamond solitaire engagement ring on the Swift River.  I drove the 6 hours back from Rhode Island the next day, spent 1.5 days metal detecting & looking for it.  Never found it.  Ugh... Her name is inscribed in it, so MAYBE some day someone will find it, Google Dee up, return it to her...

Hopefully you'll get out, have fun, and NOT take your jewelry to the beach, lake or stream...  

Randy  C-17A