Post by Mark K on Dec 24, 2012 9:52:20 GMT -5
In May 2011 when I went to Montana, I made my first stop in Glendive. I walked the easy beach for hours and found a little bit of decent agate, but wanted to go to the islands which were not so easy to get to. I figured that the islands would have more un-picked agate hunting. Only a few people were likely to have hunted the island as opposed to the dozens who had already hit the easy beaches. The water was high, but not too high to try to get to the islands.
I had thought of this idea well before heading out on vacation. I had two rubber rafts. One was for me and one for putting the stuff in. I decided to just use the small one and use empty buckets with lids to float the rock back. I tied the buckets together. I think I had 5 buckets with tight fitting lids with me on this little expedition.
I filled the raft and assembled the kayak paddle I had bought at Wal-Mart. (this should be taken as a sign of what was to come) I brought everything to the shore and tied the rope to the buckets and made sure the lids were tight. I then went as far upstream as I could and launched the SS effup.
I made it almost a quarter of the way before the paddle started to break. I was already sitting way too low in the raft to paddle comfortably and this was further complicated by the lifejacket I am wearing. The paddle which was multiple sections screwed into each other was stripping out at the unions. I had to hold the paddle with a wide armed grip and use it this way. This cost me much time and progress. I was making fantastic progress downstream with the current which was flowing at the pace of an easy jog, but progress towards the island was less than optimal.
Once I recovered the heading I was taking, I got back under way. Now, however, I am coming dangerously close to missing the island and having to go back to shore and start again. I am paddling for all I am worth and hoping the PoS paddle does not come apart in my hands. I approach the downstream end of the island and get into the eddy just in time to be able to make it.
I get out of the raft and discover that the sand at the end of the island is semi-quicksand. If I walk real carefully, I can walk on the sand. I carefully get myself and the equipment onto solid ground and begin the hunt.
The first thing I do is to do a quick recon of the island. I find that some of the island is a labyrinth of mud and water. I can get to all of it, but have to take a side tracking route to get to some of the areas. I begin to search the island for the agate. I use a type of grid to cover the island. I find some nice rocks, but not as many as I found on the shore where it is safe and solid. After a while I have covered the entire island and decide that I am not going to fool with any of the other islands. I distribute the rock into two buckets and secure the covers. Then I double check the tightness of the covers and tie the float buckets to the filled buckets. I blow a little more air into the raft and toss the load into deeper water so I don’t have to try to drag the load across the bottom from the raft. To my surprise, the filled buckets floated on their own.
I launch the raft and start heading for the shore. I am not concerned this time about where I make land fall because it will be somewhere on the beach and I can walk the stuff back to the truck. The beach is about a mile long so I have a rather easy target to aim for. The load followed surprisingly easy. I got back to shore and loaded the stuff up. I had a number of people watching me wondering what in the hell is wrong with the tard who is paddling a raft to the islands in high water. In the end, I ended up with less for my effort than it was worth. I could have found more agate by staying on shore and not looking like an idiot. I did find a 4 gallon bucket full of agates, but that is not really all that much.
I had thought of this idea well before heading out on vacation. I had two rubber rafts. One was for me and one for putting the stuff in. I decided to just use the small one and use empty buckets with lids to float the rock back. I tied the buckets together. I think I had 5 buckets with tight fitting lids with me on this little expedition.
I filled the raft and assembled the kayak paddle I had bought at Wal-Mart. (this should be taken as a sign of what was to come) I brought everything to the shore and tied the rope to the buckets and made sure the lids were tight. I then went as far upstream as I could and launched the SS effup.
I made it almost a quarter of the way before the paddle started to break. I was already sitting way too low in the raft to paddle comfortably and this was further complicated by the lifejacket I am wearing. The paddle which was multiple sections screwed into each other was stripping out at the unions. I had to hold the paddle with a wide armed grip and use it this way. This cost me much time and progress. I was making fantastic progress downstream with the current which was flowing at the pace of an easy jog, but progress towards the island was less than optimal.
Once I recovered the heading I was taking, I got back under way. Now, however, I am coming dangerously close to missing the island and having to go back to shore and start again. I am paddling for all I am worth and hoping the PoS paddle does not come apart in my hands. I approach the downstream end of the island and get into the eddy just in time to be able to make it.
I get out of the raft and discover that the sand at the end of the island is semi-quicksand. If I walk real carefully, I can walk on the sand. I carefully get myself and the equipment onto solid ground and begin the hunt.
The first thing I do is to do a quick recon of the island. I find that some of the island is a labyrinth of mud and water. I can get to all of it, but have to take a side tracking route to get to some of the areas. I begin to search the island for the agate. I use a type of grid to cover the island. I find some nice rocks, but not as many as I found on the shore where it is safe and solid. After a while I have covered the entire island and decide that I am not going to fool with any of the other islands. I distribute the rock into two buckets and secure the covers. Then I double check the tightness of the covers and tie the float buckets to the filled buckets. I blow a little more air into the raft and toss the load into deeper water so I don’t have to try to drag the load across the bottom from the raft. To my surprise, the filled buckets floated on their own.
I launch the raft and start heading for the shore. I am not concerned this time about where I make land fall because it will be somewhere on the beach and I can walk the stuff back to the truck. The beach is about a mile long so I have a rather easy target to aim for. The load followed surprisingly easy. I got back to shore and loaded the stuff up. I had a number of people watching me wondering what in the hell is wrong with the tard who is paddling a raft to the islands in high water. In the end, I ended up with less for my effort than it was worth. I could have found more agate by staying on shore and not looking like an idiot. I did find a 4 gallon bucket full of agates, but that is not really all that much.