Posted: Dec 31, 2018 2:54 pm
Having been homeless, and not wanted by the authorities, I can offer my limited insight.
When the “Spotted Owl” logging ban happened in the Pacific Northwest it caused a trickle down collapse of the entire economy. I applied, along with over 2,000 others, for a minimum wage job at a McDonalds fast food joint. I even made it to the interview stage. Needless to say I didn’t get the job. So, I packed my shit into my Mustang and drove up into the Cascade Mountains and opened a gold mining claim. For 9 months I worked with hand tools to extract about 1/4 to 1.5 ounces per week of placer, which kept me fed.
For me it was pure survival economics, and I was healthy enough to execute my idea. Had I a small track hoe I could have done far better than mere survival as the gold was there. My best week involved rolling a 10 ton rock away from where it had rested since the end of the last interglacial, and over 1.5 ounces of small nuggets were encased in seriously compacted aggregate. Were I to face the same dire straights today I would be fucked. I still couldn’t afford that little track hoe, and the logistical nightmare of getting it to my claim would be epic. There is no doubt in my mind that the gold is still there as it took 45 minutes of serious humping to just get to my claim, and there aren’t even game trails to help.
RS
When the “Spotted Owl” logging ban happened in the Pacific Northwest it caused a trickle down collapse of the entire economy. I applied, along with over 2,000 others, for a minimum wage job at a McDonalds fast food joint. I even made it to the interview stage. Needless to say I didn’t get the job. So, I packed my shit into my Mustang and drove up into the Cascade Mountains and opened a gold mining claim. For 9 months I worked with hand tools to extract about 1/4 to 1.5 ounces per week of placer, which kept me fed.
For me it was pure survival economics, and I was healthy enough to execute my idea. Had I a small track hoe I could have done far better than mere survival as the gold was there. My best week involved rolling a 10 ton rock away from where it had rested since the end of the last interglacial, and over 1.5 ounces of small nuggets were encased in seriously compacted aggregate. Were I to face the same dire straights today I would be fucked. I still couldn’t afford that little track hoe, and the logistical nightmare of getting it to my claim would be epic. There is no doubt in my mind that the gold is still there as it took 45 minutes of serious humping to just get to my claim, and there aren’t even game trails to help.
RS