‘Gold Rush’: Todd Hoffman’s Christmas Miracle, Parker Schnabel Gets A Little Help And Receives A Lot Of Hope

The Gold Rush miners always begin each season full of big expectations and belief, battling some very difficult challenges that test their mettle, not unlike the knights of old. In the latest Gold Rush episode entitled “The Holy Grail,” all three crews seem to have made some progress forward, but only after they successfully mastered some major obstacles. Which miner is getting closer to his season goal?

After what seems like weeks of frustration, Parker is starting to get into a groove. Unfortunately, Rick’s site has some water issues and he cannot get enough water pressure to Big Red. This means it is time for a bigger pump to give Big Red the water pressure it needs to work efficiently.

Parker’s folks, Roger and Nancy Schnabel, just happen to come out to visit Parker at this time because it is his birthday–and they brought along a useful gift: a generator. Parker, whose birthday is July 22, loves it.

“I get weird birthday presents.”

They all work together, get the pump hooked up to the generator, and voila! There is good water pressure and Big Red is happening again, despite a few leaks here and there.

In the gold room, Parker’s totals are 266.25 ounces, while Rick ends up with 142.5 ounces.

Things are finally back on track, and Parker Schnabel and Rick Ness are pleased. Will they reach their unprecedented 5,000 ounces of gold this season? If they continue weighing in gold like this, the odds are good.

Last week, the Beets crew spent the entire episode loading the bucket line onto the barge, offering up some big rig excitement. This week, the bucket line fell off of dredge number one twice. There is too much slack, and the pins are just too worn out to be effective.

According to Monsters and Critics, Kevin Beets, Tony’s son, asked for new buckets to replace the old ones 18 months ago. In “The Holy Grail,” Tony admits that the old buckets have run their course. He has replacement buckets, which he bought 18 months ago. He shelled out an astounding $350,000 to replace the old ones! At that price, no wonder he waited until it was impossible to use the old before presenting Kevin with the new.

“Well, I guess Kevin’s finally fed up enough with them f****** buckets coming of that dredge. So I guess I have no choice, I got my 50 cents out of it, they were wore out I suppose, so put the new ones on.”

Tony believes the new buckets should be “extra efficient” and should recover more pay.

“Just by them [buckets] not having any breakdowns, by them taking bigger scoops, I don’t think it’s gonna take very long to pay for itself.”

Rest assured, Minnie Beets should not be looking at red ink in the ledgers for very long, and she stays on message with an enthusiastic “gotta get that gold.”

Catch up on this week's epic episode of Gold Rush on the Discovery GO App available now! https://t.co/3yWDLdcrMZ

— Gold Rush (@Gold_Rush) December 23, 2017

The Beets do everything big, and the upcoming weeks of Gold Rush promise more astounding totals from the prosperous Beets crew.

This week’s totals are almost identical to Parker’s. Kevin Beets ends up with 143.44 ounces, while Monica Beets tallies up an impressive 268 ounces.

Proving she is completely her father’s daughter, Monica gives her brother the finger. The rivalry continues.

As for Todd Hoffman, things are quite bleak. The Hoffman crew is hemorrhaging money. Instead of talking big about beating Parker, Todd is now concerned that they may not make a profit this year. Could this be another year of the crew working for nothing? How are their mortgages going to be paid?

“We’re off the gold and we’re losing money.”

The Hoffman crew is now looking for new ground to run at the Jewelry Box claim. They find a very old and very cool ground sluice created by previous miners.

Most importantly, they believe this site of previous glacier rock is “the mother lode.”

The Hoffman crew believes that the ideal place to mine is a place where other miners have been before, and they get started. What is slowing them down are the humongous boulders in the midst of the claim. They need to be moved.

In some harrowing footage, the crew has to move the boulders one by one, as they are the middle of the claim. Eventually, they are all moved and they can mine.

.@gold_rush sneak peek! A huge bolder creates a big challenge: https://t.co/ywOLgqjtNR@discovery pic.twitter.com/2NTp41yISI

— ExtraTV (@extratv) December 22, 2017

The clean-up total is 64.2 ounces. It may be best for Todd to put that gold aside, as he appears to be the loser in the 100-ounce bet with Parker Schnabel.

What about the Christmas miracle?

Freddy Dodge returns with incredible news. The cancer was removed, and it was thankfully benign.

This is surely a blessing for the affable Freddy, his loved ones, and of course, his millions of fans. All of the gold in the world cannot compare to having one’s health.

The return of Freddy Dodge could also lift this Hoffman crew that is desperate for some good news and a good mining instinct.