Another title that is to the north a bit but great gold at low water is Big Bar. Fantastic pans but a long way up. we mined there in the early 70s. Use to pack our equipment in with a mule. I know when I tell that story everyone says horse shi… But I got the pics to back it up. Old French Frank raised a family in there. Kids never got sick ever because they never played with any other kids in their early years. Frank built his cabin on French bar creek and everything he got in the way of building material came from the Fraser. His root cellar under the cabin had Daily Mail Tobacco tins and also canning jars full of Fraser river fine gold. Sandy his wife had to dump his gold out in the fall so she could use her canning jars for winter preserves. He was one of the founding editors of the old Georgia Straight news paper back it the day when it was an outlaw newspaper in Vancouver. They use to have to move their press at night to keep ahead of the cops. Man look at that paper now. All those hippies have grown up. Frank died a few years back but I hear from some of the locals that he and the old gray still roam the high plateau and river bottoms of the Big Bar. If your ever camped down Big Bar way where the canyon winds blow strong, look to the edge of the campfires light and you might see my friend Frank. Maybe we should write a ballad or poem eh? Lets see If your ever camped down Big Bar way
Where the canyon winds blow strong
Keep an eye on the edge of the camp fires light
And no you won't be wrong
With his mule and dog both packed down
Black hair in a pony tail laid back
Its just Frank looking in
With a bit of a grin
Any way no poem will ever do justice to this man of the river Frank. I get cabin fever every year. And this is the siren call of the old gold miners of the Fraser. The smell of sage and the thrill of the finial cleanup. Gota go... will post the pics of Big Bar in 2 places here. The old cabin is still there.
What great memories! Great images as well! If anyone is heading up there in the next month please let me know...it would be great to meet up and share some stories over some pans...