You can do panning by going to the stream in camp, opening your inventory, clicking the pan, and clicking 'use'. Do get the pan you have to find Ashfall dead, then you have to talk to the leader, they give you the job of finding the murderer. Then, go all the way to the medicine den (The farthest left you can go in the camp) and talk to the medicine cat. They invite you inside and you can take the pan from there.