Last night's season finale episode of "Gold Rush" was a live presentation held in Portland, Ore. headed by executive producer Christo Doyle. As the live show went on, the gold was being melted into ingots awaiting the reveal of the crew who found the mother lode.
As the clips reveal many scenes not seen during the season. As Parker arrives home, he has closed his grandfather's mine forever and returned the key to the gate to Grandpa John. Parker thanked his grandfather for all he has learned from his teacher and mentor. John gives Parker a big hug and hopes to stay well to see Parker continue his mining operation.
At Porcupine Creek, the dredging is over, as Fred weighs the last of the gold, his knarly fingers write the tally on his clipboard.
Jack Hoffman is making the final cleanup after the bonfire and now the moment of truth awaits.
The gold totals will be revealed; already five times the amount found on last season's "Gold Rush."
As Christo introduced the crews, the Hoffman crew was introduced first. The Dakota Boys included one Dakota girl, Fred, Melody and Dustin. Parker Schnabel, wise beyond his years, was introduced with his parents, Roger and Nancy. As the place was equipped with several armed guards, the miners were followed from the first two seasons and the adversity they endured. Now as season three comes to a dramatic end, Christo mentioned the infamous trammel. Todd did not want to talk about the trammel, but had no choice. Todd took the full blame for the debacle of the trammel and the whopping seven ounces it produced. Dave Turin, who did not agree on the trammel concept, never told Todd that he told him so. Todd got to face Tony Beets and Parker about their thoughts regarding his trammel.
They showed the historic flooding in North Dakota that wiped out Fred's home; the stakes got even higher. Fred used his life savings to purchase Porcupine Creek, now the rest is up to him. Christo asked about his reputation as a bad guy. Christo knows Fred and believes that he is not a bad guy. Fred retired at sixty, has been mining for ten years and intends to keep mining for another ten or twenty years. Dustin almost did not return this year because the equipment was crappy. Breakdown after breakdown, but Fred said, he could not afford any better equipment until he had some gold in his hand. Now with the future ahead of them, Fred plans to mine Cahoon Creek, only accessible by helicopter or a long treacherous hike. Next season's show should be very interesting.
As the Todd, Jack and Fred sat together, Todd has no bad feelings for Fred, and Fred said each crew is working towards their own goals. Jack said that he would have gotten to the bottom of the glory hole.
The next segment showed how Parker grew up after taking over Big Nugget at just sixteen. He had to learn to be the boss overnight and had great shoes to fill from Grandpa John. Parker was sorry his grandfather could not be with them, but as a surprise, the 93-year-old patriarch was there and looking at Parker; one can see what John looked like when he was young. John said that Parker redeemed himself this year. They admitted that Parker took a trip up north to the Klondike to possibly make a deal with Tony Beets to mine Scrivener Creek. Tony has all the faith in Parker. Nancy wants Parker to go to college, but recognizes his ability and let him follow his mining dream and go to college later. His parents promised to loan him the money from his college fund to finance his mining in the Klondike.
As Dave, the smelter has cast the final gold bar, the moment of truth arrived. Chris Doumitt announced that he retired from the Hoffman crew. Greg Remsburg is also leaving the Hoffman crew to seek other ventures. Todd Hoffman announced that he was going south. Next season, he and his crew will be in South America. Parker offered Greg and Chris employment with him in the Klondike.
The Dakota crew set a goal of 190 ounces, and their last cleanup was 24 ounces. Their total was 163 ounces worth $260,000. Parker Schnabel needed 190 ounces to redeem his season. His prior total was 161 ounces; he needed thirty more to claim the season a winner. The final cleanup gave him 31 ounces for a total of 192 ounces worth $307,000. The Hoffman crew had 721 ounces before the last cleanup, and he got 82 ounces for a grand total of 803 ounces. Not the thousand ounces they projected, but $1.28 million dollars in gold and with each season getting better; "Gold Rush" will live on.
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