The Season 8 premiere of Gold Rush: White Water took a serious turn when mine boss Dustin Hurt suffered a painful injury that forced him off-site. While working on the pulley system for the crew’s custom-built Deuce Sluice, Hurt suddenly felt a sharp pain in his hand—so bad he thought something was broken. Viewers noticed his absence at the start of the May 2 episode, and it was soon revealed why: he had traveled over 30 miles to Haines, Alaska, to get his hand checked.
Back at Nugget Creek, the operation was put on pause. With Hurt gone, team member Carlos Minor raised a concern that was on everyone’s mind—how long could they afford to sit still? Time was money, and Hurt was already deep in debt from the high cost of their claims. The team didn’t want to waste a single day.
Trying to stay productive, the crew turned their attention to the Deuce Sluice—an ambitious 250-pound dredge created from parts of three other machines by Wes and Paul Richardson. But the situation grew more tense. The dredge was found sitting dangerously close to the river. One more push from the current and it would be gone. The problem? The skyline anchors, installed 550 feet above, couldn’t hold the weight.
A backup plan was urgently needed. The crew decided to drill into solid rock and install additional anchors to prevent a disaster.
Meanwhile, Hurt received tough news. Doctors confirmed his fears: he had a broken finger and a ruptured tendon pulley. The recommended fix was surgery, which meant missing the entire season. But Hurt didn’t flinch. “It’s an easy choice for me,” he said. “I’ll give up a finger for that.” He chose to stay.
Although he couldn’t dive anymore, Hurt stayed involved, managing the team from the surface. As for the dredge, his plan was risky but clever—tighten the skyline until the unstable anchor gave way, forcing the load onto a more secure set of bolts installed by James Hamm. If it worked, it would lift the Deuce Sluice safely away from the water.
The stakes are high, the risks are real, and the fight to save the season has just begun.
The crew hit another snag when they tried to remove the anchor bolts—but these weren’t coming out easily. It took a risky and dangerous method, but they finally managed to break them loose. Their “fix it by breaking it” plan worked, clearing the way to begin diving at The Wall, one of their most promising gold sites.
Carlos Minor and Paul were the first to dive. But after just two hours, a serious problem hit the Deuce Sluice. The powerful whitewater was messing with the dredge’s filter basket, which slowed down the intake. That caused the hot water supply to overheat—dangerously close to turning into steam. For a moment, the divers’ safety was at risk. Thankfully, the valve released just in time, letting out the pressure before it became deadly.
Even with some material pulled from the riverbed, there was no sign of gold. Things only got worse when sticks jammed the foot valves, and one of the intake valves snapped off completely. With no spare parts, the team had to cut back and rely on just one diver.
Tension was rising, and morale started to slip. Then James Hamm suited up. He dove in, determined to change the tide. He fought through the strong current and followed the wall of bedrock, dredging as deep as he could. It was slow, hard work, and the team finally called it a day.
But just before they packed up, something changed. Hamm found a small nugget.
It wasn’t much—but it was gold. And more importantly, it proved they were finally in the right spot.
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