This photo is a bit of a throwback to February of 2016, when my buddy Brad and I went out for my first time gold panning. Heading out into a bit of a chilly late morning, we hiked about two (maybe three, my memory is pretty bad) kilometers down the path, looking for a decent place to pan when we settled on this spot. The area that we gold pan in has a rich history of gold mining, with a couple decrepit old mineshafts here and there to see. The photo doesn’t really show it, but it was pretty chilly that morning, and with the cold, wind, and frigid water, my fingers were having a tough time working.