There are many "placer mining hotspots" in the northern reaches of British Columbia. Holloway Bar is located on famous McDame Creek, home of BC's largest nugget find - a 73 ounce monster discovered in the 1870's. A little south of Holloway Bar, placer miners still work the creeks at the north end of Dease Lake, and even more prospectors work the land 200 kilometers west near Atlin. The region east of Dease Lake along the Turnagain River is also known for its many precious minerals and metals; much of the famed nephrite jade found in the area comes from near the river's headwaters. Wheaton Creek also flows into the Turnagain river some 60 kilometers east of Dease Lake, and has been home to placer miners since the first coarse gold was found there in the 1930's.
As you can see from the map reproduced here, there aren't many roads leading from Dease Lake to the east; although there is a cat trail that leads through the Cariboo Pass that is somewhat passable with the right equipment.
The camp at Boulder City, is it's known to area residents, is located on the banks of the Turnagain River. This is part of the Arctic watershed - so the water flows North, not west like the rivers immediately south, and eventually ends up in the Arctic Ocean.
A collection of semi-permanent small plywood cabins and a few wall tents erected in the summer make up the camp and serves as home to the miners and workers who live here.
As the placer mining operation uses large quantities of water to wash gravel and mud to reveal gold, this is a summer operation. However, sometimes a camp watchman spends the winter making sure that the camp is left alone by curious visitors (snowmobilers and other local residents - like marten and lynx!)
There's much more involved in running a bush mining operation than just putting up a few tents and building a camp fire. Camp facilities to be built include living accommodations, a cookhouse and food storage that's bear-safe!, latrines and showers, electricity and hot & cold running water (which usually means running a generator) a communications center and a first aid station for safety.
In Boulder, recreation consisted of a satellite TV system (usually in the cookhouse) and the great outdoors - the fishing was pretty good right close to camp. Of course, socializing with other residents after work was also a popular pastime.
Home is where you hang your hat - at least while you're out on the jobsite. Placer mining operations take many skillsets to operate successfully, and a wide variety of skills are seen amongst the crew. Equipment operators, mechanics, general handymen, a first aid attendant and a camp cook all live on site during the short summer season. Groceries and other supplies are flown in reqularly to keep the crews fed and working. The nearest store is a 60 km walk across the wilderness, so good planning is essential to operate a remote bush operation like this.
