Prospecting in Packwood: Business Supplies Those Who Seek Gold

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Shawna and Keith Hodges, owners of Packwood Prospecting and Mining Supplies, are quick to caution new customers that even the best prospectors probably won’t strike it rich panning for gold.

“If you’re lucky it’ll pay for your equipment,” Shawna Hodges said. “If you’re very lucky you make some money.”

But many, like Keith Hodges, catch “gold fever” and keep prospecting  — using ever advancing technology to find flecks of the most elusive gold in claims throughout the country and beyond. 

“I did it when I was younger and got the gold fever in the early ‘80s in Dawson City (in Yukon, Canada),” Keith Hodges said. “I just did it the one season.”

The gold bug stuck with Hodges, and five years ago, the Hodges opened Packwood Prospecting & Mining Supplies.

The store sells a wide variety of prospecting equipment, including gold dredgers and panning equipment, practice sand with gold included and several types of metal detectors. 

Hodges said he has to take classes to keep up with the rapidly expanding technology, especially with metal detectors. 

“They’re all like miniature computers,” he said. 

On Saturday, Hodges demonstrated for passersby at the Packwood Flea Market how to use new equipment that catches specks of gold so tiny they float on the surface of water. 

“There’s people who will work all summer to get just a little,” Keith Hodges said.

The gold rush glory days may be over, but the new techniques are revealing gold left in the tailings of older mines.

“There’s a lot of gold out there still,” Keith Hodges said. “Wherever there’s black sand you might have a chance of finding gold.”

Even Washington beaches and the shores of the Columbia River have some gold content, he said. 

Often prospectors come into the store telling “fish stories” about just how much gold they found. 



“But when they bring the vial in and show it to you, that’s when you know,” Keith Hodges said.

The Hodges said anyone interested in prospecting should join a club to learn more about the complex rules and regulations of prospecting before striking out on their own. 

“We get a lot of people that come in asking for maps for where the gold is,” Shawna Hodges said.

Unfortunately for beginners, such a map doesn’t exist. Successful prospectors are reticent to discuss exactly where they’ve struck gold, but Keith Hodges said there is gold in the area. 

“There’s probably a lot more than everyone knows about,” he said. 

Clubs can also help prospectors wade through legal requirements and find claims where they can legally search for gold. An active gold claim, which allows a prospector to mine for gold on land another person owns, can cost $10,000 for 20 acres, Keith Hodges said.

They also advocate for prospectors’ rights, he said. 

“It’s something you’ve got to … fight to keep the rights of the people,” he said. 

The Hodges’ website, www.packwoodprospecting.com, also includes a “How To” section for more information.

While prospectors take their craft seriously and dislike being called hobbyists, “mostly people want to be out of doors and be with their family,” Shawna Hodges said. 

Packwood Prospecting is open from May through September to coincide with local prospecting season. 

“All the gold miners go to Arizona (in winter),” Keith Hodges said. 

The Hodges are planning to open a second location in Tumwater in the near future.