Any self-respecting prospector never could resist an opportunity to poke around rocks and dirt recently unearthed by winter storms. Maybe it’s the chance of finding a vein of gold. Maybe it’s the chance of discovering a dinosaur skeleton or relic of earlier times in the history of man.
I believe we’ve all got a bit of the prospector in us.
Prospecting is fun and fascinating. It is also extremely dangerous when the ground is saturated with rain. Slides and cave-ins can be brought on just by climbing around or digging with a shovel or pick.
It doesn’t take a big slide or cave-in to bury a person where they may never be found except by another prospector perhaps centuries from now.
In the Old West, prospectors headed out with a fresh grubstake, following in the wake of a major storm. Some were never heard from again, and I’m betting that slides and cave-ins were often the cause for their mysterious disappearances.
Swollen mountain streams have gouged out deeper and wide ravines. Surface dirt and rocks are spread out on lower ground waiting to be rummaged through by rock collectors and artifact admirers. Up in the ravines, washouts and slides leave previously unexposed treasures ready to be found.
It is highly dangerous ground to be prospecting, however human nature seems to require some intrepid adventure.
Not all ravages of water happen up in the hills. Our gorgeous shoreline also sees plenty of action — sometimes too much action.
I recall a couple of decades ago, enjoying a deep cave in the rocks just west of the parking lots at Goleta Beach. One stormy winter day when heavy surf swept in on top of super tides, the waves blasted the top out the cave.
At first the hole was small, but subsequent waves blew more rocks out the top. Soon the hole grew to become a thunderous blow hole. Larger waves crashed into the depression that had been a cave and shot up 40 feet into the air in a spectacular display of the force of nature. It was magnificent!
No sooner did the waves and tide subside than adventurers were wading into the depression to see what had been unearthed. Some folks were caught in the depression and got mildly battered by waves.
Watching from nearby, I kept expecting to see a large wave sweep in and blow out the top with someone riding on top like a cartoon character. The thought was amusing, but the reality of a large wave would have been death.
Please take care out there after these storms and recognize the dangers of prospecting.
— Capt. David Bacon operates WaveWalker Charters and is president of SOFTIN Inc., a nonprofit organization providing seafaring opportunities for those in need. Visit softininc.blogspot.com to learn more about the organization and how you can help. Click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.
