TY Roy 2025
We would greatly appreciate you contacting Jerry by email if you wish to attend this outing and mining expedition at the email shown below.
TYROY information:
History:
TYROY is the name of the claim that the Portland Gold Prospectors owns. There are actually three
separate claims that make up a total of 80 acres. ‘TYROY’ is the primary claim where we have found the
highest concentrations of gold. It consists of 20 acres of which we have prospected ~1 Acre over the
past 20 years. We have dug test holes around the current dig-site and it shows good gold continuing for
many years to come. ‘TYPAT’ is another 20-acre claim that borders the TYROY claim and ‘TYROY &
TYPAT’ is a 40 acre claim adjacent to the two 20-acre claims. The claim is on Forest Service land and is
managed by the BLM (Bureau of Land Management).
Why the name TYROY? TYROY stands for Thank You Roy. Roy Valentine was a miner in the pacific
northwest who owned many claims. As he aged and mining was getting more difficult, Roy donated
the Blue Bucket Mine to the GPAA/Lost Dutchman association and sold the current TYROY mine to one
of the founding members of the Portland Gold Prospectors (Chris and Penny Parsons), who were family
friends of his. After Chris passed away Penny remained an active member of the Portland gold
prospectors and eventually sold the TYROY claim to the Portland Gold Prospectors Inc club. Penny
continues to show up a few times a year to meetings.
The gold on the claim is thought to be glacially dropped. We do not have a stream on the site and VERY
FEW rocks that come out of the ground show signs of every being in a river. The local land is used for
open range grazing by the local rancher and there will often be cattle in and around the mining areas
and camp.
General information:
This outing is supported by the Portland Gold Prospectors Inc chapter. Due to the growth of the club in
the past few years, we are limiting the outing to club members and their direct family. This outing is a
family friendly event and we encourage you to bring your spouses and/or children. If you plan on
coming to the event you will be asked to fill out a waiver of liability as well as a medical information
form. Both will be collected by the individuals running the event and will not be shared with ANYONE
else in the club. The medical form is for emergency purposes only and the waiver allows us to offer the
use of the claim without fear of anyone suing the chapter in the case of an accident.
Driving direction and the road into the site:
Please see the separate driving direction sheet for how to get to the claim from the Portland area.
Once you turn on ELK CR. Ln and leave the paved road you will be on a gravel/dirt the remainder of the
way. The road conditions vary year to year. Last year was once of the worst years as there was wash
boarding and ruts, so it is recommended you drive slowly the first time in. We have had small cars and
mini-vans make it in, but have also had to tow multiple trucks out so road conditions make a HUGE
difference. Motorcycles are not recommended on gravel.
Once you leave the gravel road you will take a trail that will quickly become dirt. This is where you
need to take caution. About a quarter mile in you will drop down into a gulch and that drop down is
pretty steep. I would estimate it to be a 20 to 30 degree slope and there is a turn in the middle of it.
Going down isn’t too bad, but coming back up it can be tricky for under powered vehicles and RV’s.
When the road is dry it is pretty safe to drive. The road climbing out of the gulch is not nearly as steep,
but we have had to pull multiple vehicles out with the backhoe after a rain as the soil up there has a high
clay content and the roads become a slip and slide. The good news is that the roads typically dry out
fast and within a half day or so they are passible again by small cars. There are rocks sticking up out of
the roads though and we have had three different vehicles over the years that have either punctured
their oil pan or damaged their transmission so PLEASE drive slowly and safely. We have had just about
every type of car make it in and out when it is dry so if you drive slowly, you should be able to get your
wife’s minivan in and still bring it home unharmed, lol.
Where to stay?
There are multiple options for where to stay when attending the annual TYROY outing. Well over half
the attending members choose to camp on or near the claim itself. The remaining members stay at one
of the local Hotel/Motel’s in Baker City or a RV park on the edge of Baker City.
Hotel/Motels: Baker City is the nearest town to the claim. Many of the members who choose to stay
in town choose the Oregon Trail Motel. It has cheap weekly rates and a restaurant in the parking lot.
It is by far NOT the fanciest place in town. Some individuals checked out after a single day because it
was not up to their standards so keep that in mind if you choose to stay there. For other choices you
can look up Baker City lodging and find a plethora of options. Baker City does host multiple events
during the summer including a motorcycle rally and Bicycle race that fill up most of the lodging options
in town so book ahead if you plan on taking advantage of the area.
Trailer camping: If you want to bring your RV or camp trailer and camp at a designated campground
the “Mountain View RV park” is one option. I have heard it can be a bit on the expensive side and
renting a spot for a full month is sometimes cheaper than renting for two weeks. There are other
places nearby if this site isn’t to your liking. Others choose to bring their trailer up to or near the claim
itself. Due to homeless issues the local rancher no longer allows us to stay on his land so if you have a
trailer it is either the RV parks or pulling it all the way into where we camp on the claim.
Camping: Camping is by far the most popular method as it is FREE if you bring your own gear. There is
a lot of land, but level spots are hard to come by, so we are somewhat limited on the number of people
who camp on the site.
Camping is a “DRY” camp. There is no potable water so all food and drink have to be brought in and
taken out afterward. While up at the site you are responsible for your own meals and drinks with the
exception of a few special events that are held. The club does bring in Porta Potties for both the camp
site itself and the mining claim. If you plan on bringing up a dog it must be well behaved and NOT chase
or harass the cattle that are in the area. Fires are permitted in camp as long as the forest service “Fire
Danger” allows it. We follow their directions for when NO campfires are allowed. All fires must be put
out when not in camp though. We try very hard to make the outing a group friendly outing, but it is
dependent upon each person to join in around the campfires or visit with other people. If you have
time to go out and find some community wood for campfires it will be very appreciated. Bring Bug
spray and sunscreen. At 4000 feet, you can get sunburned easier than at 300ft in Portland. I have
heard that the dirt is an effective sunscreen as long as you don’t clean it off (lol).
Wildlife:
There is plenty of wildlife up near the claim. In addition to the cattle, there are deer, Elk, Antelope,
Coyotes, wild turkeys, and just about any other type of wildlife you can find in the mountains near Baker
City. We have never seen a rattle snake in or near our claim, but this is rattle-snake country and it is
possible for one to be around. We do have a regular issue with Ticks in this area. The ticks in this area
are fairly large and easy to spot if they are on you. We recommend you check yourself for Ticks on a
daily basis as we average two to four individuals a year that get one on themselves. This is the high
desert and as such it is a dry area. Ticks will often hide anywhere there is moisture, so if you are
cleaning out cowpies from your camp, take care in tossing them around to wildly.
Prospecting: mining at the site.
The claims we own are placer mines. This means the gold is found in the soil vs. a hard rock mine
where you have to remove the gold from rock outcrops or tunnels. The club brings in a large backhoe to
do the digging and a community dirt pile will be made. If time allows the backhoe operator may even
bring you dirt directly to your machine, but that is not guaranteed. Bring buckets to shovel into as an
option.
The water source for our prospecting is rain water that is collected in two separate ponds. We will dig
multiple ‘settling’ pond with the backhoe and all prospectors are expected to use these settling ponds
vs. dumping their tailings directly into the main ponds; this prevents the ponds from filling up with silt.
The goal is for the settling ponds to capture the tailings while sending the water back into the main
ponds for re-use. Even with the settling ponds, we have to clean out the ponds every three or four
years. Without the settling ponds, we would have to clean them out yearly. Please make sure all the
water is going into your settling pond and not just dumping on the ground. We rely on the water in the
ponds to last the two weeks we are up there and recycling it is the only way to make it last.
If you have been gold prospecting very long, you have heard that you need the right equipment for the
area you are prospecting. For this site, the best equipment to use are high bankers/Sluices (or similar
equipment) and/or a trommel. Over the years we have had multiple people try to use recirculating
systems. Unfortunately, the soil is very powdery and the water quickly becomes mud. You are not
outlawed from using recirculating systems, but do so understanding that water will be sludge.
You will need some type of water pump to pull water from the pond and into your equipment. The
pump needs to be large enough to support your specific equipment. Most people have gas powered
water pumps that range from 1 inch to 3 inch hoses. If you’re equipment is small enough to work on
an electric pump you will need to bring enough hosing to reach from the pond to your equipment. It is
recommended you have around 50ft to go from the pond to your equipment. You will also need a pan
and panning tub to reduce your concentrates down to the gold itself. All the gold you find is yours to
keep. If multiple people are using a tool, it is customary to split it equally, but that is up to you and the
owner of the equipment. The soil at the claim has a lot of clay in it. We actually have three different
types of clay at the site. The dark brown can be broken up and ran through your machines. The red
clay can be broken up with enough manipulation, but may not be worth running through your
equipment. Gold will stick to the clay. Finally, the white clay is a bit rarer, but it is like a sculptors
clay and it is recommended you do not run it through your machines.
It is highly recommended you bring your own equipment. If you do not have any, we will try to pair you
up with someone but be aware that they may not be able to work with you all the time.
Story and background on TYRoy provided by:
Jerry Johns (Claim Director)
PGPIClaims@portlandgoldprospectors.org
In Closing, we would greatly appreciate you contacting Jerry by email if you wish to attend this outing and mining expedition at the email shown below. Or fill in your name, email address and a Yes in the Other Detail box below.
It would be helpful if the Following forms could be filled out and handed in at the event.
Click on the Links below:
Outing Liability Release form (Must be signed)
General Club Liability Release from (Must be signed)
Medical Information Sheet. (Must be signed)
