Gold panner reports rocks thrown in frequent sighting zone within Uwharrie National Forest witnessed in Montgomery County, North Carolina

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This happened around 2014 in the Thickety Creek community of Montgomery County, south of the county seat of Troy. A friend at church asked me if I could come down and check his creek for gold. He knew I liked to do some gold panning as a hobby. We never settled on a day or time, I just told him I would come by one day when I got a chance. I ended up getting off work early one day and decided to run down and wash some rocks. So, I parked at his gate and grabbed my backpack at gear and walked about 200 yards from the road. To my left is the creek with about 4ft banks and a steep mountain to my right. I walked down looking for a place to easily get down into the creek without lots of brush. This area is well known for huge Timber Rattlers. So I find a spot next to a huge flat rock that I end up using as a work station. After a couple hours of panning I stopped to take a break. I always freeze a 2 liter bottle of water and drink it as it melts. I'm standing there drinking the water and...