Bruce Chaytor sticks a shovel into the dirt.

After carefully pouring the material into a black pan, he steps into the Goldstream River and allows the stream to fill the pan. He carefully shakes the pan as the liquid slowly erodes the dark pile.

He sifts his fingers through the remnants of sand and dirt before admitting there isnB次元官网网址檛 any gold this time.

Finding only mud is the norm, Chaytor says, yet the long-time placer miner just canB次元官网网址檛 stay away from gold panning.

B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檙e happy even when you find a little gold dust. It is a quest, much like fishing. You are always trying to find which crack is worth the effort,B次元官网网址� he says.

B次元官网网址淵ou strategize, because you have substantial rocks you have to get under or around (and) there may be 100 different cracks to choose from. It is a singular pursuit of outsmarting Mother Nature.B次元官网网址�

Chaytor, who lives in Langford, is the founder of the Vancouver Island Placer Miner Association, a group that pans for minerals, unlike hard-rock miners, who may blast or drill for them. Once a week he gets out onto one of his five claims B次元官网网址� land on which he owns the mineral and placer rights.

Those claims, for which he paid $300 each to the province, stretch across portions of the Leech River near Sooke. ThereB次元官网网址檚 no making a living from this hobby, Chaytor admits. He and the approximately 100 members of the group chase the glitter and glow of gold for the rush.

B次元官网网址淚 look at it as redneck recreation,B次元官网网址� he says, jokingly. B次元官网网址淎 lot of people like to go down the trails, sniff flowers and look at the birds and bees. Some of us like to get into nature and roll around in it.B次元官网网址�

Chaytor and his wife, Donna, have been placer mining for decades.

Greater Victoria and the surrounding areas played an important role in the gold rush. Those who may not have gone chasing into the Cariboo or Klondike to find their fortune settled around Leechtown near Sooke, a now-defunct settlement built on the allure of gold 150 years ago.

B次元官网网址淭he people of this area donB次元官网网址檛 realize how incredible the gold rush was and how incredible the exploration that found the gold was and what it did to the economy in Victoria,B次元官网网址� Donna Chaytor says.

B次元官网网址滻t was short lived, but it brought on different industries that has brought sustenance to the southern part of Vancouver Island for many years.B次元官网网址�

A new monument marking LeechtownB次元官网网址檚 150th anniversary was unveiled July 19 in Kapoor Regional Park in Sooke along the Galloping Goose trail, on the edge of where the town once stood. Donna says it stands as a reminder of what the gold industry meant to the area, including the naming of one of the West ShoreB次元官网网址檚 most famous streets.

B次元官网网址淭hat is why it is called Goldstream Avenue, because there used to be a huge underground mine where they found gold and a big hard rock exploration in the late 1800B次元官网网址檚,B次元官网网址� she says.

B次元官网网址淲e (just) want to keep history alive.B次元官网网址�

In the meantime the couple, who both have what they call a healthy collection of gold pieces, kept mostly as souvenirs, continue panning streams and rivers in search of nuggets.

B次元官网网址淚t has evolved into a lifestyle B次元官网网址� It is an individualist pursuit in most cases,B次元官网网址� Bruce says.

B次元官网网址淏ut the interesting thing is everyone has a tale of reaching into a hole and finding treasure. No one remembers reaching into the hole and pulling out mud.B次元官网网址�

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