As gold prices soar, Bodie is thrust from the past

[n2doc]

By Mike Anton, Los Angeles Times
October 1, 2011
Reporting from Bodie, Calif.— On a day when the price of gold soared above $1,700 an ounce, Jack Shipley drove past tourists strolling through this historic Eastern Sierra mining camp and up a rutted road to where a new breed of prospectors have set their sights.

The Bodie Hills hug the California-Nevada line in Mono County — thousands of acres of jagged volcanic summits, thick sagebrush, dry lakes and plunging canyons lined with aspens.

The hills are a paradox: Empty and wild yet shot through with hundreds of untapped mining claims dating to the 19th century.

"I fell in love with this place the first time I saw it," said Shipley, 66, who lived in Bodie, a ghost town turned state park, for a dozen years as its resident ranger. "But some of the most beautiful places here happen to be in the most concentrated mining zones."

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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bodie-gold-20111001,0,6211982.story

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. They should watch that reality series 'Alaska Gold" or whatever it was called

to see how hard gold mining is

[Duer 157099]

2. I think the Alaska part of the equation contributed to the difficulty

the short season, the extreme weather, the remoteness.

Bodie, and other areas in the Sierras, don't have those issues, fwiw.

[Robb]

3. I've been sluicing with friends.

It's a touch like going fishing, there's a lot of standing around in the river drinking beer. There is also shoveling a lot of gravel, which is actual hard work.

The gold we brought back, we figured if we did it every day at that rate we'd all be making almost enough to pay for the beer. :D

[formercia]

4. Don't quit your Day Job, if you have one.

It's hard, dirty work. Think of it as a Hobby. There's a reason it's a Ghost Town.