Gold Rush-Alaska
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Quote: EvenBobIs this new Discovery show a comedy? Talk about a gamble. Lets sell everything we own and go to Alaska to mine gold. We have no experience, don't know what we're doing, but what the heck. They're going to be there only 3 months, 13 weeks, yet they took a semi load of lumber with them to build a lodge and cabins. Why? They all have motor homes. Maybe a church and a hot tub would be great too. So far its a comedy of errors, especially the old guy with the white beard who sounds exactly like ol Gabby Hayes. If these yayhoo's can strike it rich, anybody should be able to.
They already have someone paying them to film it. Thats half the battle.
Heck if a guy can bake cakes and get a show I want to know when my show airs.
All this "Glory Hole" talk is making me feel uncomfortable.
Quote: EvenBobIs this new Discovery show a comedy? Talk about a gamble. Lets sell everything we own and go to Alaska to mine gold. We have no experience, don't know what we're doing, but what the heck. They're going to be there only 3 months, 13 weeks, yet they took a semi load of lumber with them to build a lodge and cabins. Why? They all have campers. Maybe a church and a hot tub would be great too. So far its a comedy of errors, especially the old guy with the white beard who sounds exactly like ol Gabby Hayes. If these yayhoo's can strike it rich, anybody should be able to.
You are probably watching reruns of the first season. Yes, I seen all the mistakes they were making because I have placer mining experience, at least one season, but I was working with veterans. Last season the Hoffmans lost their ass in South America. But that doesn't count the money they are getting for being on the show. They should have never left Yukon.
because he asked for a raise.
http://starcasm.net/archives/281566
Quote: EvenBobStarcasm says Fred got fired last spring
because he asked for a raise.
http://starcasm.net/archives/281566
One of the big mistakes the Hoffmans made in the first season was getting themselves into an untenable contract with the miner that owned Porcupine Creek. All they accomplished the first season was removing all the overburden. Then they got kicked off the claim and Fred came in to work the paydirt the next season.
BTW, Porcupine Creek and Big Nugget Mine are up the Haines Highway from Haines in Southeast Alaska. The Haines Highway or "Haines Cutoff" runs up to Haines Junction, Yukon and intersects the Alaska Highway.
the claim because instead of using the money
Disc gave him to make the payments on the
claim, he pocketed it. The state of AK has banned
him from mining there because he broke every
rule in the book the first season, including shooting
a harmless young brown bear just so they could
up the drama.
Quote: EvenBobTodd Hoffman is an ass.
Agreed.
Quote:...including shooting
a harmless young brown bear just so they could
up the drama.
That is sad. I did not know that.
Dave is the only guy from that crew (maybe he should start his own crew and dump some of the dead weight) who appears to have any brains, for the most part.
Quote: bushman
Dave is the only guy from that crew (maybe he should start his own crew and dump some of the dead weight) who appears to have any brains, for the most part.
Todd's whole crew deserts him this season.
It's all fake nonsense anyway, they follow
an outline written by the production company.
All reality shows do that. No network can
afford to just stick a bunch of cameras on
a set and hope things work out. They have
to know beforehand what will happen.
They learned that with COPS. They have to
shoot hundreds of hours of tape just to get
enough for a half hour episode. So they put
crews in a dozen cars. You can't do that when
you have just one set of actors to film.
Quote: mickeycrimmOne of the big mistakes the Hoffmans made in the first season was getting themselves into an untenable contract with the miner that owned Porcupine Creek. All they accomplished the first season was removing all the overburden. Then they got kicked off the claim and Fred came in to work the paydirt the next season.
BTW, Porcupine Creek and Big Nugget Mine are up the Haines Highway from Haines in Southeast Alaska. The Haines Highway or "Haines Cutoff" runs up to Haines Junction, Yukon and intersects the Alaska Highway.
See that rusty ass bridge in the opening that goes to the Big Nugget? I worked on it putting high voltage across it. Also from about 14 miles[?] up past mosquito Lake all the way to the Border station. I'm almost a star. That was original electricity for plenty of them. The big step down transformer came from Nome, if you can believe that. The project was for Tlingket Haida. That was '92, killer dungees.
Also, iirc that was maybe the only year it hit 100 degrees. The mosquitos and white sox were biblical in numbers
Quote: EvenBobStarcasm says Fred got fired last spring
because he asked for a raise.
http://starcasm.net/archives/281566
YES! Ever since he undercut them in season 1 I've been rooting for him to fail, which sucks because I like his son.
Pumped for the new season!
There is a ton of work that goes into working a new creek. First you have to build a stock pond and divert the creek into it. The overflow goes out the other end of the pond. This is the water that goes through the plant and washes the rocks. Then you have to build a settling pond for the water that has gone through the plant. The State of Alaska does not allow placer miners to let muddy water go downstream.
From that point a back hoe peels the dirt and rocks out of the stream bed and loads it into a dump truck. The dump truck takes the dirt and rocks and dumps it next to the back hoe that feeds that plant. When the rocks come out the other end of the plant a front end loader has to haul the rocks away or it will clog everything up.
The Gold Rush guys are losing a lot of gold because they don't have jigs on the sluice box. The jigs separate the sand from the small rocks and that sand is sent through a smaller sluice box with less water flow to capture the fine gold.
Quote: Romes
YES! Ever since he undercut them in season 1 I've been rooting for him to fail,
!
You don't get it. Fred didn't undercut them.
In reality (not TV Reality) Todd stopped making
payments to the claim owner and Alaska
banned him from ever mining there again
because he violated every rule in the book.
He make Alaska look foolish to the real miners
there and there was such a stink about them
illegally shooting a bear that they banned the
Hoffman's.
All Fred did was buy the claim, since Todd could
no longer mine there. The show is made up crap,
almost none of it is real. Fred didn't steal anything
from anybody.
Quote: EvenBobYou don't get it. Fred didn't undercut them.
In reality (not TV Reality) Todd stopped making
payments to the claim owner and Alaska
banned him from ever mining there again
because he violated every rule in the book.
He make Alaska look foolish to the real miners
there and there was such a stink about them
illegally shooting a bear that they banned the
Hoffman's.
All Fred did was buy the claim, since Todd could
no longer mine there. The show is made up crap,
almost none of it is real. Fred didn't steal anything
from anybody.
I get that they were complete newbies and made themselves look like idiots... but I was still rooting for them at that time to turn it around (before I learned Todd was basically the main problem with this hunches and crappy ideas). So at that time when he bought the claim out from under them, while yes I agree the "right" thing for the claim owner to do, I still just didn't like him. I didn't say he stole, just that he undercut them, which technically he did do.
It was always folly Mr. SewardQuote: EvenBob
Quote:He make Alaska look foolish
It has always been legal to shoot a bear in defense of life and property in Ak. The rub lies in the interpretation of when you are actually threatened. I shot one at a distance of 3 feet. It was my fault, but fish and game let me off with a dlp claim.Quote:illegally shooting a bear
The Schnabel family is real. The Chilkat river is real with 2500 pairs of bald eagle's mating there yearly. The mosquito's are real. The dungee crab are unreal.Quote:The show is made up crap,almost none of it is real.
Quote: RomesSo at that time when he bought the claim out from under them, .
How can you undercut someone when they've
been banned from the state? They are no longer
able to run the claim. Somebody had to do it,
might as well be Fred. You have no idea who
these Hoffman's are. For 20 years they owned
slumlord motels in Portland, until the city finally
shut them down for health violations. They owed
fines of almost $100,000 to the county. These
are not nice people, they lived in a million dollar
house while the people in their motels lived in
squalor. I hope they continue to fall on their faces,
they make a joke out of the American Dream.
Read this about the heroic Hoffmans:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-3112-home_sweet_home.html
Quote: petroglyph
It has always been legal to shoot a bear in defense of life and property in Ak. .
That didn't happen. They claimed a grizzly was bothering
their camp, so they went and shot a half grown brown
bear who wasn't bothering anybody. Made me sick, as
well as lot of other people.
Quote: EvenBob...so they went and shot a half grown brown bear who wasn't bothering anybody. Made me sick, as well as lot of other people.
So you weren't wishing schadenfreude to the bear? You only do that to with humans?
Quote: EvenBobYou have no idea who these Hoffman's are. For 20 years...
Whoa there tiger. I wasn't claiming they were good people, nor that I knew them. I was simply saying it was a new TV show that I liked and they were the "hero" newbie group trying to venture out for the first time. With that information in mind I was rooting for the underdog at the time. I didn't know they were banned from mining in the state until you literally just posted it.... but how did they mine in Season 2 and 3 then? They also didn't explain any of this in the show (obviously) so when watching Fred buy the claim it 100% to any viewer would come across as though he completely undercut them.
Quote: RomesSo you weren't wishing schadenfreude to the bear? You only do that to with humans?
Whoa there tiger. I wasn't claiming they were good people, nor that I knew them. I was simply saying it was a new TV show that I liked and they were the "hero" newbie group trying to venture out for the first time. With that information in mind I was rooting for the underdog at the time. I didn't know they were banned from mining in the state until you literally just posted it.... but how did they mine in Season 2 and 3 then? They also didn't explain any of this in the show (obviously) so when watching Fred buy the claim it 100% to any viewer would come across as though he completely undercut them.
Seasons 2 and 3 they were in Yukon, Canada.
Quote: EvenBob
Read this about the heroic Hoffmans:
http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-3112-home_sweet_home.html
Nice find Bob.
I didn't like them from the very beginning. What a bunch of clowns. Makes any working person with a skillset seem dumber than we are.
Can I say, A**clowns here? Well they are. I shuddered at the unsafe conditions and utter ignorance time and again on that show. I like it though because I was there for awhile and like the area.
Kodiak island has 3000 bears and 12000 people. Most bad encounters are the peoples fault but no less frightening when they happen.
That giant hole Fred had in the ground looked like a death trap waiting to happen. Can't believe they were allowed to operate like that.
This is what I think is going on. I can hardly believe all the reality shows [which aren't realistic] about Ak. It seems every month there begins a new show about the place. I think they want people to move there for some reason? imo, it has something to do with support personnel for the oil/gas industry? When I was there it was really hard to understand the amount of leo's of one breed or another. They have all the rules and enforcers that can be imagined if a person came from dc or what I thought Ca. would be like.
If you spill a drop of fuel in the ocean when fueling a boat, the oil spill rags come out immediately. Take one to many fish even when there are so many they can't even get up the creeks to spawn and you are "busted". They would rather let the resource rot on the beach then let people harvest it. Its friggin crazy. Millions of acres of spruce, dead from beetles. You often can't harvest them to heat with without paying a few blm dudes to stand around. Foolish, hypocrisy at its level best.
In the far north, I believe the conditions is what turned around somewhat these gun conceal laws. Locals for the winter months mostly now have snow machines. They all have heavy clothing on and somewhere easily accessible is a big firearm. At the bank, the store or getting gas. It is a necessity. It seems every year the Polar bears will walk through town harvesting inhabitants.
In Haines, down in SE where the gold show started, you can't leave your dog out on a chain very long. The black bears will come steal your pets.
I don't see much of the show, but IMO, heck with the Hoffmans for shooting a bear for no reason. The land belongs to the bears and we are visitors. It is our responsibility to be respectful in their home.
I was born there in NE Portland, long history there. So the Hoffman's have insulted me on several fronts. The AK, reality show iirc "life at 40 below" or whatever is the most real one I've seen about life up there.
Quote: EvenBobWe have no experience, don't know what we're doing, but what the heck.
Most of the Yukon Expedition had no idea where it was, how far it was, what the journey would be like or how to mine.
Read some of the guidebooks and read the ads for that crème. You rub it on your clothes then you roll down the hill side and launder your clothes at the bottom. That guy made a good living.... so you know his customers were idiots.
Quote: Romes.. but how did they mine in Season 2 and 3 then? They also didn't explain any of this in the show (obviously) so when watching Fred buy the claim it 100% to any viewer would come across as though he completely undercut them.
They mined in Canada, that's how. They never
explain anything because 95% is FAKE scripted
nonsense.
Quote: mickeycrimmSeasons 2 and 3 they were in Yukon, Canada.
And in 2 and 3 the narrator never once mentioned
that the Yukon was in Canada, so most viewers
thought they were still in AK. To this day most of
them still think that.
Quote: petroglyph
I didn't like them from the very beginning. What a bunch of clowns. Makes any working person with a skillset seem dumber than we are.
Can I say, A**clowns here? Well they are. I shuddered at the unsafe conditions and utter ignorance time and again on that show.
I thought the same thing. I tuned in because the concept was right up my alley. I'd very much like to strike out and earn a living digging holes in the middle of nowhere. But right away, I was bowled over by wtf moment after wtf moment.
I can relate to "winging it". Nearly everything I do is winging it. But when I fail, I risk getting DQ'd from a race. He is risking the sum total of 10 of his friend's and family's life savings. It's idiotic.
He mines like he's playing Minecraft. Just digs where he wants based on little more than hunching and supposition. If that was my cash on the line, he'd not have made it out of the woods.
Dave does seem savvy. He must be a competent mud mover in his real life. And I do like Thurber, because epic mustache. But most of the rest of his crew was cringe worthy.
I dunno Fred's story, nor care. That old man would be walking from my camp with a lot more problems than a short leg.
I want to cheer for Parker, but he's gotta lose the "teen" from his attitude. I think grandpa's love might save him, but he needs to learn to follow before he can know how to lead.
I knew from the jump this was gonna be just more "reality" shaden. My .44 might be the first thing I unpack and the only thing I never take off, but I sure as hell wouldn't have plunked that bear for no reason. I do hope they caught hell for that. Usually shooting browns isn't much different than shooting people; you need a damn good reason and evidence to back it up. Jacking up the spawning grounds? Good! Glad they got shut right as they got going. Jumping down into the steep, deep pit as water continued to eat away the walls? Very "here's your sign".
You do know that if you are going to use that .44 for bear protection in Alaska, you need to file the front site off right, right???Quote: Face
Quote:My .44 might be the first thing I unpack and the only thing I never take off
Save the last round for yourself.
Quote: socksI also cringe at Hoffman's incompetence, but I think I've had to reevaluate (again) the value of other traits, such as stubbornness and/or charisma (How does he get people to follow him or give him land?)
It's all fake and scripted, like all other reality
shows?
Quote: petroglyphYou do know that if you are going to use that .44 for bear protection in Alaska, you need to file the front site off right, right???
that way when the bear shoves the 44 up your ass it doesn't hurt so much
Save the last round for yourself.
My buddy said the same thing. I don't buy it.
.454, .460, .500, those are all one and done. .44 and 10mm is as big as I can personally go and still trust the 2nd-3rd-4th shot. I'm not hunting; we're talking 20'.
If a bear can take three of those to the face and still munch me, then maybe she deserves her prize =p
Quote: FaceQuote: petroglyphYou do know that if you are going to use that .44 for bear protection in Alaska, you need to file the front site off right, right???
that way when the bear shoves the 44 up your ass it doesn't hurt so much
Save the last round for yourself.
My buddy said the same thing. I don't buy it.
.454, .460, .500, those are all one and done. .44 and 10mm is as big as I can personally go and still trust the 2nd-3rd-4th shot. I'm not hunting; we're talking 20'.
If a bear can take three of those to the face and still munch me, then maybe she deserves her prize =p
Geez you are a serious man. Ok, the filing of the site thing is a joke. No bear deserves to eat you,,,,yet. Fish, maybe? Yeah grizzly's have been killed by everything from .22 on up. All the way up to the machine guns mounted that fire through the propeller of biplanes where the machine gun is hooked to the timing chain of the plane and fires through the prop.
Lots of studies done about bear protection. They studied bears [brown] in Kodiak and I think they set around 80 skulls on stumps at different distances and fired 00 buckshot at them. NONE of the pellets penetrated the skulls, but it was felt that in self defense if a person could take out the eyes and sense of smell it greatly increased their odds.
Also, there was a northern grizzly project done in Glacier park Montana. It was said they tried pepper spray on 86 different nuisance bears and the spray was effective in every case.
The slant of the skull will deflect about any round. Hitting the target when its coming at you at 30 miles per hour and bouncing isn't easy. I can't do it. I'm bear-anoid. I want a flame thrower or howitzer. I like a 12 gauge[6-7 round] for fishing, makes me feel better. The point isn't about killing one, its about replenishing our safety. The trick is to "turn" them and have them go away, not a fight to the death. However that is achieved is optimum. A 44 will work. Most encounters if incurring a bear charge are false attacks. Knowledge is key. I've also read that if using a .357 it is only effective if fired from inside the bears mouth. There are more moose attacks up there than bears. Way more.
Its funny talking with some of the bear guides. Sometimes when they take an old bear [up to 40 years old] when skinning them how many rounds and different calibers are found, like the Goodyear blimp. I read they take an average of 38 pounds of lead out of it per year.
Quote: petroglyphQuote: FaceQuote: petroglyphYou do know that if you are going to use that .44 for bear protection in Alaska, you need to file the front site off right, right???
that way when the bear shoves the 44 up your ass it doesn't hurt so much
Save the last round for yourself.
My buddy said the same thing. I don't buy it.
.454, .460, .500, those are all one and done. .44 and 10mm is as big as I can personally go and still trust the 2nd-3rd-4th shot. I'm not hunting; we're talking 20'.
If a bear can take three of those to the face and still munch me, then maybe she deserves her prize =p
Geez you are a serious man. Ok, the filing of the site thing is a joke. No bear deserves to eat you,,,,yet. Fish, maybe? Yeah grizzly's have been killed by everything from .22 on up. All the way up to the machine guns mounted that fire through the propeller of biplanes where the machine gun is hooked to the timing chain of the plane and fires through the prop.
Lots of studies done about bear protection. They studied bears [brown] in Kodiak and I think they set around 80 skulls on stumps at different distances and fired 00 buckshot at them. NONE of the pellets penetrated the skulls, but it was felt that in self defense if a person could take out the eyes and sense of smell it greatly increased their odds.
Also, there was a northern grizzly project done in Glacier park Montana. It was said they tried pepper spray on 86 different nuisance bears and the spray was effective in every case.
The slant of the skull will deflect about any round. Hitting the target when its coming at you at 30 miles per hour and bouncing isn't easy. I can't do it. I'm bear-anoid. I want a flame thrower or howitzer. I like a 12 gauge[6-7 round] for fishing, makes me feel better. The point isn't about killing one, its about replenishing our safety. The trick is to "turn" them and have them go away, not a fight to the death. However that is achieved is optimum. A 44 will work. Most encounters if incurring a bear charge are false attacks. Knowledge is key. I've also read that if using a .357 it is only effective if fired from inside the bears mouth. There are more moose attacks up there than bears. Way more.
Its funny talking with some of the bear guides. Sometimes when they take an old bear [up to 40 years old] when skinning them how many rounds and different calibers are found, like the Goodyear blimp. I read they take an average of 38 pounds of lead out of it per year.
Petro, there is a man in Juneau, that damn sure has your back. He is a litttle bit older than you. He is 89 years old. His name is Jim Wolfe. He comes from Worley Idaho.He was protecting the world long before scrunts like us were born. He wound up in positions in the second war the you kids can only dream of.
Quote: petroglyph
Geez you are a serious man.
Always when in the woods. I don't even go out here in NY without a .40 lol.
And my only brown threats were inland, specifically Wyoming/Montana. 600lbs is nothing to scoff at, but I wasn't running into the coastal giants you get up there. Sure, I'd not mind something bigger. But not only do I not own anything bigger than a .44 or 10mm, I'm crippled up. There ain't no way I was humping 11lbs and 5' of Mosin through the mountains for 14 hours.
Agree on the moose. When fishing the Snake River we had to tromp through a nearly impenetrable wall of willows. It went on forever. I had the 10 tucked into the top of my chest waders for that one.
Interesting stuff about the autopsies. I love hearing the stories from the grizzled old locals. There's a bar in the Alpine area what has a stuffed brown, apparently killed by knife by a local in hand to paw combat. It's quite the legend in that area. I love it =)
A bear half that size is nothing to scoff at. Heck I don't even try to challenge Panda or even Kuala bears. Davie Crockett or Daniel Boone I ain't. I think there were years that I didn't sleep? I have had them kill and eat baby moose a couple hundred feet from the house. Its creepy, you can hear them crunching through the bones, and the cow baying in grief of her loss.Quote: Face
And my only brown threats were inland, specifically Wyoming/Montana.Quote:600lbs is nothing to scoff at
The giants aren't usually the problem. Bears, as with people, its the teenagers that cause the problems. By the time a brown has made adulthood [unless a sow with cubs] they have learned to respect and avoid hunters, they know the drill.Quote:I wasn't running into the coastal giants you get up there
Is that the Snake in Idaho? Love it. Did you see the sturgeon there?Quote:When fishing the Snake River
Quote: petroglyphIs that the Snake in Idaho? Love it. Did you see the sturgeon there?
A bit of Idaho, a bit of Wyoming.
The Idaho part was all floating in a ClakaCraft. Only saw the brown I caught and a few surfacing trout. The willows was hiking the Wyoming side, and we only saw cutthroat and whitefish.
I'd have loved to have seen a sturgeon. Loved even more to try to land one on a fly rod =D Alas, we couldn't find the bite for anything.
Achingly beautiful country, tho. Takes your breath away, although maybe that was the elevation and my pack a day habit ;)
Quote: mickeycrimmI read somewhere recently where a guy had to fire his gun to save his life from a charging bear. I think it was in Yellowstone Park. It's not against the law to carry a gun in the park but it is against the law to fire it under any circumstances. So they are prosecuting the guy. LOL. Good luck with the jury on that one. It's amazing how stupid the government can be.
I hope it's just a formality. Obviously you don't want to encourage discharge, but if he actual gets convicted? That'd be ridiculous.
I was shocked at the wildlife in park. I personally was within a few feet of cow elk three different times, and close enough to punch a bison at least twice. They ain't scared of nothing. I spent hours on high alert mode
Quote: FaceI hope it's just a formality. Obviously you don't want to encourage discharge, but if he actual gets convicted? That'd be ridiculous.
Hopefully, this link works:
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Texas-Man-Charged-With-Firing-Gun-In-National-Park-277125351.html
Quote: mickeycrimmHopefully, this link works:
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/Texas-Man-Charged-With-Firing-Gun-In-National-Park-277125351.html
It did.
The biggest crime here is a Texan was carrying a pissy lil .357 ;)
Quote: FaceIt did. The biggest crime here is a Texan was carrying a pissy lil .357 ;)
LOL! Being a misdemeanor he may not have the right to a jury trial which means he could get convicted.
Quote: FaceAlways when in the woods. I don't even go out here in NY without a .40 lol.
And my only brown threats were inland, specifically Wyoming/Montana. 600lbs is nothing to scoff at, but I wasn't running into the coastal giants you get up there. Sure, I'd not mind something bigger. But not only do I not own anything bigger than a .44 or 10mm, I'm crippled up. There ain't no way I was humping 11lbs and 5' of Mosin through the mountains for 14 hours.
Agree on the moose. When fishing the Snake River we had to tromp through a nearly impenetrable wall of willows. It went on forever. I had the 10 tucked into the top of my chest waders for that one.
Interesting stuff about the autopsies. I love hearing the stories from the grizzled old locals. There's a bar in the Alpine area what has a stuffed brown, apparently killed by knife by a local in hand to paw combat. It's quite the legend in that area. I love it =)
And here's another one.
When a cheechaco [newbie] arrives in the "greatland" eventually they will inquire of a "sourdough" [long time Alaskan] what is the best firearm to be used for bear defense. The sourdough will often reply that the best overall is probably a .22 caliber. When asked why such a small weapon the sourdough will reply that in the event a bear charges all he need do is shoot you in the leg. jk
Quote: mickeycrimmQuote: FaceIt did. The biggest crime here is a Texan was carrying a pissy lil .357 ;)
LOL! Being a misdemeanor he may not have the right to a jury trial which means he could get convicted.
Happiness is a Texan headed home,,,, with an okee under each arm.
Quote: petroglyphHappiness is a Texan headed home,,,, with an okee under each arm.
Pipeline days joke! When you walked in a bar in those days, if you didn't know better, you would swear you were in Texas.
Quote: petroglyphHappiness is a Texan headed home,,,, with an okee under each arm.
Do you know how to get to Texas from Alaska?
You go south until you smell it. Then go east until you step in it.
Quote: mickeycrimmDo you know how to get to Texas from Alaska?
You go south until you smell it. Then go east until you step in it.
Yeah, and if they keep bragging about how big everything is, we'll cut Alaska in half and make them the 3rd largest state.
Quote: bushmanMan, if I had a half-ounce of gold everytime Todd says, "This is our last chance" I would be a wealthy man. I know, reality is not always what it seems.
It would almost be worth half an ounce to jerk that goatee out of his fat head.
