So you want to be a gold prospector
But you have Arthritis
6/26/20251 min read


I am just coming off a two-week stretch nursing my back. Translation: I sat on my butt for two weeks trying not to move. On top of my back issues, I have arthritis in just about every joint in my body. By the time I got around to panning, I could barely hold the pan. This is typical for me, and it settles down after some in-home therapy.
The reason I mention this is that there are workaround solutions for seniors so they can still get off the couch and start an adventure. The new Clean Up Buddy is a good example. I went from painfully panning to sitting on my butt nursing my hand while sipping on a cup of coffee to accomplish the same end result.
You have to fight the depression, power through the pain, and it works out for now. Think of the couch as your coffin.
I'll post a video of the cleanup; the suds in the water are from Dawn because I didn't have JetDry. It is recommended to use JetDry to break up the surface tension of the water so the fine gold doesn't sail down past the riffles and down the drain.
I ran the trash a second time just to be sure, then dumped the final tailings into my cat litter box for her midnight maneuvers. If she touches my gold pan, I'm cutting her off.
