The winter of 1906-07 was a fairly went one, though not a record breaker. It was remember most for the brutal month of March. The Honey Lake Valley region witnessed heavy rains and snow that month—12 to 18 inches worth depending where one was located.
All that precipitation brought about a few side effects. First there was a lot of soil erosion. This exposed a lot of minerals never seen before. With a mining bonanza under way throughout Nevada, local prospectors went in search of a new mother lode. Gold was being found in the most unusual places. The Indians panned for gold on Bass Hill in a what is normally a dry ravine that feeds Sugro Reservoir (located across the entrance of the Bass Hill Landfill in case you were not aware it has a name). Gold mining was done at the head of Rice Canyon, as well as Shafffer Mountain. As a matter of fact it was reported that nearly all of Shaffer had been claimed for mining. However, when summer arrived and with no major discoveries, the mining excitement faded as quickly as it had begun.