'Gold Rush: White Water' Season 3 Finale brings Fred and Dustin’s total to 50 ounces, the show’s highest ever
The last couple of episodes of ‘Gold Rush: White Water’ Season 3 saw 76-year-old ‘Dakota’ Fred Hurt and his crew score almost 12 ounces of gold, worth at least $17,000 -- a lot more than what they had found the previous season. Even Dustin Hurt and his crew at “Rockfall Ravine” hit the motherlode with giant nuggets of gold at their spot.
While Dustin has already broken even (and making profits), it was make-or-break time for his father, who even with a lucky streak, had not managed to find as much as he would have hoped.
The finale of ‘Gold Rush: White Water’ Season 3 begins at Dustin’s spot where heavy rains had only aggravated the already fast waters in the narrow gorge. The crew was afraid that this could turn into a flash-flood that would not only damage (or destroy) their equipment but could also potentially cause accidents. But at the end of the 120-day mining season in the Alaskan Chilkat range, did they have enough time to stop?
Back at “Thunder Falls”, Paul discovered a new shallow pool that could potentially earn them enough to end the season on a high. But on borrowed time, they too had no time to stop and weigh plans anymore. Added to that, to be able to dredge that region, they would have to move their equipment up the pool. Ultimately, they decided to use a system of pipes to take the hose up instead of the whole dredge. While that too posed a set of new problems with suction and pressure, they were finally able to overcome it.
And it paid off. Their gambit worked just one dive later, they found a bunch of tiny nuggets.
At “Rockfall Ravine”, Dustin and his crew encountered a new problem. The bedrock they were hoping to find, was under a massive pile of boulders. With just a day or two away from freezing angry rains, they had to work quickly. But even as they attempted to move the boulders, they realized the storm had begun up the mountain, making it more and more difficult for them to keep put.
After a night of heavy rains, ‘Dakota’ Fred realized it wasn’t possible to try any further. They had reached the end of the line. He called off their mission. In Dustin’s camp, at the same time, their luck took a turn for the better. They found, what was legitimately the biggest nugget anyone had seen in all previous seasons combined.
Fred’s final tally came to 13.1 ounces. But Dustin was the clear winner with 33.6 ounces of the precious yellow metal. A total of almost 50 ounces puts them at almost three times more than they have ever found before. And if that’s not a great end to the season, heaven knows what is!
