“Gold Rush” has been airing on The Discovery Channel for 11 seasons, and Parker Schnabel has been a mainstay on the program for its entire run. The miner has managed to make a pretty penny digging during his time on the show, his current record being 7,400 ounces of gold dredged up in 2018, which broke the show’s all-time record for a haul and proved to be worth $8.5 million. Parker took over his grandfather John’s mine when he was only 16 during the show’s second season, (per his official Discovery Channel biography) and the brash fellow has gone on to become a leader to those working at the Schnabel mine.

Audiences that have watched Schnabel grow from a teenager to a man on the program might wonder what his favorite experience from filming the show might be, as he certainly has a lot to draw from. Surprisingly, it’s not his multi-million dollar, record-breaking haul.

Schnabel names his first time in Dawson City as his favorite experience

In an interview with The Malestrom, Parker Schnabel said that his first time visiting the city of Dawson City in the Yukon — the nearest large town to the multiple mine and claims featured on the program — was his favorite experience thus far. “It’s just a wonderful mining community that’s made up of some of the best people in the world and I’m really glad to have become, or feel like I’m becoming a part of that,” he told the outlet. The miner added that he still felt like an “outsider” to the community “all the time,” but enjoys his time in the Yukon. He admits that he has no single one-moment answer to the question.

Dawson City seems to feel the same way about the “Gold Rush” crew; their tourism board touts the fact that the show frequently films in the old mining town and that if you head to Dawson City, you might be lucky enough to see Schnabel and the rest of the crew at work.

The Discovery debut of “Gold Rush” Season 14 is right around the corner, and fans are eager to find out what kinds of drama, struggles, and scores this set of episodes will feature. Sadly, the season’s announcement trailer doesn’t have a lot to offer in this regard. It instead puts the focus on series staples Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets, who walk through a dig site wearing snazzy suits before taking their coats off, rolling up their sleeves, and getting to work. The cologne commercial-like atmosphere stands in stark contrast to the dirty, stressful nature of their work on “Gold Rush,” but the presentation isn’t what has fans buzzing.

After the “Gold Rush” logo appears, another set of dress shoes walks onto the site. As the camera closes in on this individual’s face, it’s revealed to be none other than Rick Ness, who has become a standout on the program since his debut during Season 9. The experienced miner puts one of his signature hats on and looks in the direction of his fellow “Gold Rush” stars before the screen cuts to black. Thus, it’s fair to say that Ness is indeed back in action this season in some form after not doing any mining during Season 13.

While this is some exciting news for “Gold Rush” fans, the most dedicated among them likely aren’t too surprised that Ness is back in the saddle.

Rick Ness previously teased his Gold Rush return via social media

Since his introduction on the program, Rick Ness has become one of the faces of “Gold Rush.” Therefore, given his prominence, the fact that he doesn’t feature heavily in Season 13 is a bit jarring, to say the least. However, he gives a pretty good reason for why he elected to take a season off. He shares early in Season 13 that he has seasonal affective disorder — also known as seasonal depression — so instead of doing some mining on the program, he chooses to take a step back and focus on his mental health.

With that, Ness’ Season 14 status came into question, but evidently, his mental health improved significantly, allowing him to get back to what he does best. Come May, Ness made a Facebook post regarding open job positions in his mining operation, giving fans hope that his comeback was imminent. “There’s a big mystery going on about whether or not I am mining this year. I’d love to confirm or deny this, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise,” he wrote, hinting that he may pop up during Season 14 after all. We now know that his return was in the cards all along.

The Rick Ness-featuring “Gold Rush” Season 14 will premiere on September 29.