The setting for this series of pictures is 40 miles south of Anchorage on Crow Creek. The Kenai Pennisula is very mild most of the year which makes it possible to operate a suction dredge from April through October. Many of the streams are glacier feed which means they are silt laden during the summer months and run clear during the winter months. Therefore, the winter months tend to be more favorable for dredging, not only because the water is clear, but also because the water level drops resulting in less current. The first order of business is putting the equipment in place. Although Crow Creek is fairly accessible, getting the equipment in presents quite a challenge as demonstrated by the picture below.

It is extremely dangerous trying to carry equipment down into a canyon on your back so the preferred method is to string a rope or cable from the top of the canyon to the bottom and using a pulley, lower the pieces of the dredge to the bottom. This is obviously a two-person operation. This picture was taken October 6th with the weather being ideal for dredging. However, it would not be until the following weekend that our vacation time begins and we are able to start dredging. The weekend is spent pre-positioning the equipment.

ANOTHER PICTURE

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After viewing these pictures you may ask if it was all worth it. The answer for the more hardy is YES! For me the ordeal was too much and I pulled out after the snow and cold weather hit. Steve remained to the bitter end, ignoring the worst that mother nature could throw at him. He was rewarded handsomely for his endurance. I would be out of place to tell you just how much gold Steve collected but I will tell you that for every six hours of hard dredging in this spot one will recover between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 ounces of flake gold.

Last Update: 11/14/98