Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
By Marty Basch
Coos Canyon is a golden rest area. There are a handful of picnic tables, including a couple that are covered against the elements. There are grills too. Need the loo? It’s a wooden outhouse.
On any given day, there may be pickup trucks, bicyclists, sunbathers, anglers, ATVers, swimmers and picnickers all lolling around. That’s because Coos Canyon is on Route 17 between Rumford and the Rangeley Lakes area, along one of western Maine’s most scenic drives. So it is there they may rest, take in the sun, motor onto a state trail or get wet in a local swimming hole.
And then there’s the gold.
Gold rush
The canyon is a beautiful rocky gorge flowing with the push of the Swift River. The water streams through the bedrock, the cliffs nearly 25 feet high under the evergreens.
A fence keeps many visitors a safe distance away, but there are those who venture beyond it. In the tiny town of Byron, the canyon is a literal stone’s throw from the Coos Canyon Campground and Cabins plus town hall. The town office is housed behind the volunteer fire department.
The town - established in 1833 - is so small, office hours are only twice a week, for a total of eight hours. The one room school house with its bell holds the town meeting. Peek inside to see the tables, flag, bookcases and piano.
One pan
Maine’s Department of Conservation maintains a list of brooks and streams in the state where gold’s been reported found. The Swift River and its tributaries are on it. See some of that gold across the road from the rest area at the Coos Canyon Rock and Gift Shop. Run by the mother and daughter team of Mary and Rosey White, there are sandwiches, drinks and souvenirs, but also gold panning equipment rentals, instruction, minerals and gold from the area and the “Big Nugget Photo Album” which has pictures of smiling visitors who struck gold.
If they’re busy, Rosey might pop in the 10 minute video that gives first time prospectors the lowdown on using the pan and trowels. Rosey will even let you in on some good spots nearby. But she’ll also remind you that you need landowner permission in some places, don’t dig into the riverbanks and definitely don’t disturb the vegetation.
Inside the store, a wall is dedicated to “local legend” Carl Shilling who lived in a cabin along the East Branch of the Swift for 40 years with no running water or electricity. He owned two pans, and one hangs on the wall.
To get into the photo album, a prospector has to bring in gold that is three grains big, about the size of a match head. There are proud finders in that book, but Rosey figures not everyone comes in to report their discovery. The biggest nugget every found in Byron was an ounce and a quarter, says Rosey.
“You get out of it, what you put into it,” says Rosey about the gold panning.
Try that for a couple of hours and who knows. Coos Canyon might become a golden pit stop.