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| Hiking | 3.70 Miles |
1,109 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.70 Miles | 2 Hrs 50 Mns | | 1.85 mph |
| 1,109 ft AEG | 50 Mns Break | 15 LBS Pack | | |
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| no partners | | Last month I was focused more on hiking the ridges and mesa above and to the north of this area so my exploration of the mines was limited to a portion of the Silver Bell Mine. But this trip with a partner willing to step into the dark unknown our focus was solely on exploration of the mines.
Being a Sunday of a three-day holiday weekend I knew it would be plenty busy with ATV's and 4x4's so we headed out early. Although easily capable of driving much farther in we chose to abide by the posted sign prohibiting access by motorized vehicles. This sign has been here for some time but has largely been ignored by the motorized vehicle crowd for so long that most people think it's ok because others are doing it. Sadly this attitude will lead to more closures of recreational areas. Oh yeah, for those who care, the fine for vehicular travel on prohibited land is $25,000. Ok, enough of the 
The day was cool and to start with the sky was a haze of white with some gray clouds so I didn't spend much time on photos. But no matter, this was a mine exploration trip and videos would take precedence.
Having been out here numerous times we took only a cursory glance through the mill and kept on going around and up the steep and rocky climb to the Columbia Mine. After a quick look around outside the mine we turned on our lights, I turned on the video camera and we headed in. We went in some distance (~500'?) to where one set of rails continued straight ahead and the other set curved to the left. We decided to follow the curved track and see where it took us. It continued a ways before being presented with another intersection, this time with more options. To keep it simple we chose a left turn each time. We found several vertical shafts, some going up and some going down. With more air flow in some areas it appears the up shafts were ventilation shafts. We chose not to ascend or descend any vertical shafts even though the ladders made from 2x4's appeared to be almost new... of course they haven't been exposed to the elements. Not prepared to the climbing we headed back to the first curve to take the other route. It turned out to head in straight to a cave-in dead-end. Walking straight out from that point appeared to be close to 600'.
Most of the information I'd found about these mines was that they stopped producing in 1971, however there was water piping with a 1981 manufacturing date so it appears something was still going on 30 years ago.
After exploring the Columbia Mine we headed uphill to check out the Silver Bell again. Having been in it just a month ago we wasted little time in getting to the point I turned around last trip. From there we followed several more turns, encountering more shafts, horizontal as well as both up and down. Again we did not ascend or descend the vertical shafts. Today with further research I found the two mines are connected but without knowing which of the shafts connect that's past what we were prepared to take on. I supposed with a few more ready-and-willing partners with notebooks to 'map out' the mines it wouldn't take too much to figure it out. But while I may be an off-trail-hiker, I do it above ground and I'm definitely not a spelunker so I'll leave it to those who are.
After leaving the mines we hiked up and over the mountain to take the shorter but more demanding hike. We had to be very careful getting down 'The Luge' which would NOT be fun attempting in a vehicle. I like keeping the rubber side down, thank you!
Mine videos are here...
Columbia Mine:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=47
Silver Bell Mine:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=48
I'll post a few on HAZ with the full photo set here:
http://changephoenix.com/jpserver/web/public/file.php?id=49 |
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