My guy came in just before noon and like a true gentleman, he came bearing gifts; food! He brought in hot chicken, salad and several cokes and I can't think of another meal I've had on top that hill that tasted so fine. Really, finger licking good! Chris was still out hiking and unfortunately, he missed the majority of them fine vittles and I felt bad for that too, still, we didn't want things to go bad up there in the sun! Just kidding, we saved a decent portion for Chris which he sure seemed to enjoy when he finally made it back.

With the operation winding down, I used this quiet opportunity to say thank you to my operator. I was truly blessed finding such a decent man to work with, and in such a small community too. He's kind, considerate and most of all, he digs safe. We work well together and we've developed a fine respectful working relationship, one that'll get us both home safe come the end of the dig. Good honest people, the best kind to be around!

When Chris finally did come back, he had some fun snake filled stories to share. It seems that while he was playing around on our other claim, the Summer Storm, Chris came upon a group of five rattle snakes. I chuckled while he told us his tale as I'd related earlier that of the claims, Summer Storm was definitely the more snake friendly of the two. He said he managed a couple of pictures to remember the moment by.

I trimmed the hours away while the constant grind and screech of the equipment played out its own version of heavy metal hard rock. When things finally settled down, and since these were Chris's last hours on the hill, I invited everyone out to dinner. Ya should have been there, yup, delicious once again! And then that was it and it was time to go. Chris had some miles to ride before he'd call it quits and there was work yet to do at home for my operator. Me, I bid them good-bye, went to the truck and pulled out my journal, came back in and ordered another beer. After that, it was a quiet evening. My writing all done and my beer empty, I hit the road back and eventually turned up into the hills, sage brush and jack rabbits passing by in the headlights until finally, at the top of the hill with a million mile view, I parked and settled in for the evening and was fast asleep soon thereafter.

Friday dawned another in a wonderful long string of beautiful days. I'd woken in the early pre-dawn hours to the thick cloying smell of smoke. The winds had shifted and this time, they were blowing right towards me. In the morning, the entire valley was blanketed in smoke and it was glorious, all peachy colored in the early morning sun. I may not have been able to see it, but that didn't mean this forest fire wasn't there! Thankfully, it was only smoke that I had to contend with. I spent the day uneventfully trimming again while work continued opening the cut for another bench. Later that night, after the equipment had had time to stop creaking and popping as it cooled, I fixed a gourmet meal of ham and cheese sandwich accented by a rich steaming can of ravioli. A delicate yet flavorful macaroni salad and as a final touché, a fine domestic barley based beverage; ah, exquisite! With the evenings being so enchanting, I again opted to sleep a' top the hill.

Today would be our last with equipment and it was happening, it comes so fast and heavy and then just as quickly it's gone and another year's operation has run its course. The death bell rang around three that afternoon, though not before a final kick sent a wild rock flying through the windshield of the Excavator shattering it into a million tiny pieces, and then that was it and the Excavator was soon crawling its way back towards the flats where it'd await its transport to its next job. The Dozer soon followed and then that was that and the hill was quiet again for another year. Still, don't turn out the lights yet! Earlier that morning, I went for a little hike to take some perspective overview shots of the claim from an adjacent hill, when I'd finished and while hiking back, I noticed a rig coming in. I met them on the road and was thrilled to see my friends Fred and Amy, along with their dog Tully, they'd decided at the last minute to take me up on my offer to visit. I was thrilled and soon, up at camp, hugs were going round.

This would be Amy's first time on the hill and in the Challis area, while Fred had been here before, helping me mine way back in 2003 (www.lrream.com/heulanditemining.html ). There had been a lot of changes in the last few years and both of them seemed very impressed. After a quick tour, I told them of my little honey spot and sent them out for treasure. While they were away, we finished up with the equipment and as I'd discussed with Fred and Amy, I took off for the local Hot Springs to get a shower and hit town for some more groceries. They arrived back in camp within a half an hour of my return. Amy was thrilled and called my spot a "Rockhounds Paradise". They showed me all of their treasures including the small limb cast I'd mentioned earlier and were quite thrilled with their day. We had a quick and dirty dinner and then bs'ed the hours away until finally calling it quits and heading off for bed.

It was quiet and calm when I woke the next morning. Birds called from the brush and a soft breeze ruffled the tarp. The sun was gloriously shining and the shadows were creeping away. When I checked the time up in the cut, it was a quarter after seven and things were very good in my world. My cocoa was hot, my friends were here and my crystals were all sparkly and pretty. Smiling with the thought, I drained the last of my cocoa and began trimming. I'd been at it for a couple hours when Fred came up the hill with the awesome news that Amy had made breakfast, ecstatic, I set my tools aside and joined him walking back to camp.

Breakfast was quite a treat, eggs, sausage and toast, I felt spoiled! Once done, Amy shooed me away and I headed back up to start trimming anew. Basically, I take big rock and turn it into little rock, or if I've done my job right, not little rock, but smaller perfect specimens. To do this, I use several hammers, one a standard rock pick and two others, both crack hammers, one three and the other five pounds. From there it's all about edges, sharp and flat. I use an inch wide chisel approximately nine inches long, ground to a sharp fine edge as my primary cutting tool and a long bladed flat screwdriver more for whittling cracks apart then anything else. Just add the muscle and the hours and with a bit of luck, I've turned raw product, pocket sections, into beautiful finished specimens awaiting only their final cleanings at home. Sometimes I reflect on doing this in the field, as more satisfying results could be achieved at home under more ideal circumstances I'm sure. Still though, the hundreds and hundreds of pounds of waste rock I remove and leave onsite sure look good in my rear view mirror when I pull away, taking all that perfect treasure home!

While I was in the midst of my fun, Fred and Amy decided to make another run to collect more treasure. I smiled and wished them luck and soon they were off and I was back into my grove, trimming away. By the time they'd returned, I'd managed to take a fairly big chomp out of the pile, but still, there was lots more left. I used their return as an excuse to take a break down at camp and enjoyed hearing their stories of their collecting and seeing the newest treasures they'd found. There were more colorful orange skinned agates and small plates jumbled with drusy quartz crystals and smiles galore.

During the day while I'd been working, I'd tuned into a local radio station, one of two I can partially receive, and found that the weather was changing and that more intense storms were on their way. This is just the kind of news to get and keep me motivated! Trimming and wrapping can be a chore, but trimming and wrapping in the rain, uggh! Been there, done that and believe me, there are more enjoyable pursuits! And so, a quick bite and a drink of water and I was soon on my way back up the hill where I worked solid until darkness once again forced me down.

Fred and Amy had taken today, Monday, off work and this would be their last day here. Thus it wasn't surprising that Fred woke first this morning and actually hit the trail before the sun rose, heading for one more load of goodies. Being too dark to start trimming, I lay in bed for a bit longer and then got up, dressed and then fired up the stove for my ritual cocoa. It was a cool morning, the sky was dark gray with clouds and there was no sun or blue sky filtering through. Knowing what was coming, I immediately headed up top and began working.

Sometime during the morning, Fred had walked past me and together he and Amy had packed up all their stuff and before I knew it, they were ready to take off and hit the road. Big hugs were passed round and then, with the dwindling pile of as yet untrimmed rock between us, I waved as they took off for home. And then, I really jumped to it! Off to the south, the clouds were rolling in with long stringing sheets of rain beneath them and they were getting closer. The wind started picking up about the same time I finally finished trimming and packing my tools away. Of course this made wrapping specimens an adventure! But no problem, all told, I really felt fortunate as the rain held off and I was able to finish without a good soaking. At a quarter to two, I packed the last box into the truck and with everything 100% accomplished, I started the truck and headed down to camp for the very last time.

3:32 and I've unpacked the truck, torn down the camp and I've repacked everything. The pad's looking lonely as I drive away, home only to those scraggy bushes again until next year when the whole adventure begins all over again, I couldn't wait! I took my time on the ride out feeling all sentimental, it'd been quite a year this year. I'd had a safe, productive dig and had shared the experience with more friends then ever before and it'd been fun, start to finish, yup, another world class experience in every sense. In my rear view mirror, the claim stood out impressively highlighted against the dark gray skyline and I couldn't help but wonder at what other treasures were still awaiting discovery. Adventure for another day!

Down at the shed, I unpacked everything one more time and then repacked everything into a tight, tight, tight load that had the S-10 stuffed to bursting. I said my good-byes and shook hands and that was that, at a quarter to five, I was on the road for home. It'd been a full day thus far, but there was still plenty of fire in me to make it as far as Missoula, Montana and that's exactly what I set out to do. In Missoula I got a room and slept poorly. I was up at four and hit the road not much thereafter. My ride home was uneventful. There wasn't hardly any traffic and I was able to pull darn near right onto the ferry for my crossing over Puget Sound. Once on my side of the world, those last miles were the most hectic I could remember and I followed a big ol' string of cars all dead set on holding me back. And then finally, finally, after thirty-one days, I was back home.

Buddy met me at the door, all wiggling with that tail of his swinging him around and a big smile on that irresistible mug of his. Belle meowed a yawning hello and wanted her strokes too. Gloria and Katerina were out and I'd have to wait until later to say hi to them. In the mean time, a shower and a nap sound like just the ticket! I'll unload the truck later.

Thanks for coming along everyone, I really had a great time this year and I hope you all enjoyed coming along too. All the very best,

John

PS - Chris Tucker has written two wonderful reports of his adventures at the Rat's Nest and the Summer Storm claims which you can enjoy by clicking on the following links...