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October 2, 2006
Fall (and winter) comes early to the north. In this photo, taken mid-September, the leaves are already turning colour and the mountains have already been sprinkled with snow a few times by storms bearing the first of the winter snows. The temperature's been dropping below freezing at night for a few weeks now forcing miners to drain their water pumps and lines between mining sessions. The first snowfalls have already hit ground level, and within a few weeks, the snow will be here to stay for the next six or eight months.
October 9, 2006
Scott designed lots of lights into The Wizard that let him work late into the night when the need arises. The full path the slurry of mud and gold takes through the plant is well lit, and there are a couple revolving warning lights active when the plant is running. I'm not sure what midnight travellers on Highway 37 must think when they come around the corner and are presented with this "light show" in the middle of the valley, but I'm sure their first thoughts aren't necessarily of "gold mining".
After a hard struggle with the weather and the insects in the search for gold, prospectors often keep the results of their labours in a small glass vial. Nothing "lights you up" like a thick layer of gold in the bottom of a vial. But, nothing drags you down more than dropping and breaking the vial of gold on the rocks - so that the gold goes full circle and rejoins the ground. You can imagine that there was lots of scrambling after this picture was taken...
October 16, 2006
October 23, 2006
Throughout history, a man's (or in this case, a woman's) best friend has always been the trustworthy dog. On this day, Ri and Kay are keeping Christina company on this big rock, but dogs serve a very useful purpose in the back-woods of Northern BC as both an early warning system to let you know if you have company and as a protector when you do have unwanted company. The feeling of security they give you isn't something that is easily found when you're on your own in a remote area.
October 30, 2006
The general area surrounding Holloway Bar contains many more minerals than just gold. Cassiar's old asbestos mine is just around the corner, and the general area is also filled with jade deposits. Sometimes the jade is in such a remote location that it's necessary to fly it out to the nearest road. This large collection of jade boulders is sitting on the Kutcho airstrip, located about 70 miles southeast of us. About a ton and a half of jade was flown from Kutcho to Dease Lake per flight during this jade haul, which took place in late 1970's.
