| |
|
| | |
|
| Hiking | 5.75 Miles |
2,641 AEG |
| | Hiking | 5.75 Miles | 4 Hrs 18 Mns | | 1.92 mph |
| 2,641 ft AEG | 1 Hour 18 Mns Break | 20 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | This hike really should be titled Silver Bell/Columbia Mine Loop. I was about to post this as a generic hike with that title because I really didn't set out to hike to Martinez Mine/Mill. I planned to drive up the Silver Bell/Columbia Mine loop road to the top and hike from there toward the base of Peak 4110, which Tracey and I hiked to from the north three days ago.
Unfortunately, just over a hundred yards short of the top the rocky trail was so loose that once I lost traction on one front tire and when started spinning the Samurai was essentially reduced to two-wheel drive and that just wouldn't cut it on such a steep grade. It didn't take but a few seconds and all four wheels were dug in and it was almost 45 degrees sideways to the direction of travel. That meant that when attempting to back down to a safe spot to turn around, the rear was toward the drop off. With some creative rock stacking and some quick full-throttle stabs up and back I finally was able to back down the hill a few hundred feet to a semi-flat spur where I decided to park it and hike from there.
Ok, now that it was going to be a longer and steeper hike I added more Gatorade to my CamelBak just in case. Good thing, because the first few hundred yards were so steep and the terrain so loose I could hardly walk up the hill... it's no wonder the Sammy didn't make it. Once up to the top I was faced with an up-and-down trek across the high ground to reach the general area I had chosen as the destination for this hike. I reached the southern lower elevations of Peak 4110 when I swung to the west and began a loop back south and east back to where I started. While on this loop I climbed to the summit of a number of lesser peaks in the area. As I neared the highest peaks for today I was greeted by winds I'd say were 45+ mph as I had to brace myself to stand up when taking photos. With temps only in the mid 50's it felt pretty chilly. Once I made the summit of the highest peak for today I headed straight down back to my path across the upper mesa.
Since I was already at the top I figured I might as well head down the other side of the mountain and complete the Silver Bell/Columbia Mine Loop on the way back to the car. Wow! Again I simply could not believe how anything but rock crawlers can make it up the the east side of this mountain... I could barely keep from falling just attempting to walk down the track.
Ahhh! Finally I reached the Silver Bell Mine, which appeared to have two entrances. I put my Hero HD video camera on my head and proceeded to film my explorations. Being alone I wasn't sure just how far I'd go in, but at least I'd film as much as I could. The first horizontal shaft I explored was pretty much straight in for maybe 85-90 feet so it didn't take long to make the round trip and head over to the next entrance.
The second entrance was a bit of a challenge with a smaller and lower entrance, but by getting down on all fours I was able to crawl in. This shaft went in pretty far and had a few side shafts as well. Some were barely 8-10 feet to the side, some were 40' or more. When I was somewhere around 400+ feet in I was beginning to wonder how far to continue, as with all the side shafts it seemed easily possible to get lost. Almost ready to turn back I came upon a dead javelina at the entrance to a deeper side shaft. It appeared to have been dead for some time and seemed to be dessicated as there was no smell at all. About to call it a day and head out, as I turned I spotted daylight off to one side. After further exploration the light came through what was a vertical shaft from above that appeared to have been closed off with timbers but over the years had partially caved in. That small opening made it easy to breathe in the mine due to the air current blowing down the vertical shaft and out the horizontal one I came in from. Time to head out. At the first intersection I wasn't sure which way to go, until I spotted the javelina again and I knew it should be on my left as I turned to the right. Still, I wasn't positive I was going the right way until I had gone far enough to pass by a side shaft with the number 8 on it. Once out of the mine I walked along the outside wall all the way up to where the vertical shaft was to gain a true feel for how deep in I explored.
Ok, time's a wasting so I started another climb to get above the mine before heading down again to the Columbia Mine. There were very visible rails heading into it so I had a feeling it would be another long one. But with it getting late and with more than a mile to hike down another 700 feet down and back up another LONG slog back to the car I decided to leave this exploration for another day and set off down the hill. Every bit of the walk down was like walking on eggshells with so much loose rock on the very steep hills. Again I wondered how anyone ever drove a vehicle up this side. Many switchbacks later I finally reached level ground again, but with huge boulders it still was a challenge at time. Since I had explored the Martinez Mine and Mill area in depth last year I took a few photos and kept moving. Eventually I began the last grueling climb up the loose rocky track up to the car. Oh, what a relief it was to reach it.
Already having taken much more time than anticipated, I wasted little time on the drive out, reaching SR79 within 45 minutes... about 30 minutes less time than the other direction earlier in the day.
Well over 200 photos and plenty of videos but tomorrow is a work day so it might be a few days before I get things posted.
Here's a 9+ minute video of my exploration of the Silver Bell Mine:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=20 |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
|
| 4x4 Trip | 34.60 Miles |
4,184 AEG |
| | 4x4 Trip | 34.60 Miles | 3 Hrs 25 Mns | | 12.98 mph |
| 4,184 ft AEG | | | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | With a long rough round-trip drive and a plan to hike/explore for most of the day I got started early. The drive in from SR 79 to Cottonwood was especially dusty, but that's to be expected with no rain in some time. Thankfully I did not meet or pass any other traffic, so the trip went pretty fast. Once I reached the 'hiking' TH for folks there was some water, which made it a bit tougher getting over some rocks with wet tires. But with very careful tire placement I got through with no damage.
Once past the open cabin area I commenced the drive up the 'road' up toward The Luge, hoping to make it up to the top and save myself some steep climbing on foot. The road got so steep and the rocks so loose that eventually picked the wrong tire placement and lost traction with the front wheels with the rears quickly digging in as the vehicle jumped sideways to a stop. It was as good a time as any to walk up to get a visual of The Luge and plan my route through. One look and I knew there was no way I could drive up it without spotting help, if not using the winch, so I walked back to the Sammy and planned how to get the back end facing away from the drop off before backing down to a safe spot to park. It took plenty of removing and rock stacking before I was able to accomplish the task. After the effort I needed to take a bit of time to prepare for the now-longer slog up the hill and begin my exploration hike.
See hike triplog is here: http://hikearizona.com/x.php?x=70104
As I was ascending the last 300' back up to my Sammy after the full mine loop hike I heard some ATV's coming down toward me. It was a group of 3 ATV's who had made an attempt as I did but all three had given up and were heading back down. But now I still had the job of getting turned around for the drive back down. After many very careful forward-and-back movements I got turned around and headed home. Another day of hiking and 4-wheeling with no injuries/damage to either Sammy or myself... in short, a great day!
View my 9+ minute Silver Bell Mine shaft exploration video here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=20
P.S. A surprise greeted me while about 450' into the mine... alone!
You can view all 214 photos of the trip here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/default/?display=list |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
