The show switching to the winter of 1849 and two miners discovering gold references the California Gold Rush (1848-1855), with 1849 being the peak year for the migration to California.
Although Ted Levine is listed in the credits, he does not appear in this episode. He also did not appear in "Mr. Monk and the Airplane (2002)."
Nestor Carbonell and Jane Lynch have appeared in Psych (2006), but in different episodes. Both shows are in the same universe.
The second time that Adrian Monk is hired by someone other than the SFPD. The first was Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny (2004)(#2.13).
This episode is set in a Western-style location and involves gold mining, which makes it appropriate that it contains not one, but two actors from Deadwood (2004). William Sanderson (E. B. Farnum in Deadwood) plays Skinner, while Jim Beaver (Ellsworth) plays the Sheriff.