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| Green Creek Trail to Glines Cny Mine, CA | |
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| | Green Creek Trail to Glines Cny Mine, CA | | | |
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Green Creek Trail to Glines Cny Mine, CA
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| Hiking | 8.20 Miles |
1,550 AEG |
| | Hiking | 8.20 Miles | 7 Hrs 28 Mns | | 1.12 mph |
| 1,550 ft AEG | 8 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | This hike is an out-and-back to the location of the Glines Canyon Historic Mine in the Hoover Wilderness. Note: The RS GPS route is the one-way 4.1 mile hike returning to the TH, not the entire in-and-out. My hike ended at the location of an abandoned stamp mill and I never did see an actual mine. Some research indicates that mining/prospecting was active in this area in 1899 and the site of the abandoned stamp mill equipment may have been used for several small mines in that area during that time period. I could find very little information on this specific mine except for a very short article said to have been found in the Dec 1,1899 issue of The Mining and Metallurgical Journal. It mentioned several mines in that area "turning out good ore and the little mill had been kept running day and night preparatory to closing down when winter gets a hold at its altitude." This article also mentioned a "Superintendent Glines having a half interest in seven locations" in this area. The stamp mill equipment appeared to be designed more for its relatively small size than for its ability to process large amounts of ore, thus making it more portable for being transported into the rugged deep canyons of the Eastern Sierra. I found it strange that there was only a small pile of crushed ore around the abandoned equipment. Perhaps it had either been at a different location in 1899 when it "had been running day and night", or it had just been used to process samples from nearby prospects, none of which were found to have rich enough mineral deposits to support further development.
My hike started from the trailhead in the Green Creek Campground at the end of Green Creek Road. There is an alternate TH for people not camped at the CG about a quarter mile before you get to the CG. The road, which starts off HW395 about 4.8 road miles south of Bridgeport, is gravel and okay for normal clearance 2WD vehicles when dry. It does have some rough spots depending on how long it's been since it was last graded. The driving distance to the CG on this road is 8.9 miles. The CG is for tents only, although small campers on pickups can fit on a few of the sites. There are about 9 sites accommodating 1 to 2 vehicles. All have tables and bear boxes. There is one 2-hole vault toilet kept clean by the resident CG Host but no running water is available.
The hike proceeds up the Green Creek Trail with some scenic views typical of the Eastern Sierras. After about 3 miles it approaches Green Lake where there is a fork in the trail with the left fork going to East Fork and passing by the east shore of Green Lake. The right fork, which is the one to follow on this hike, goes to West Lake. All three lakes are worthy destinations. About 0.2 miles up the West Lake trail look for an unsigned use trail heading west along the slope above the northwest shore of Green Lake. This trail goes around Green Lake to the west shore. This use trail is traveled enough to make it fairly easy to follow but there was a short section buried under trees crushed by the heavy winter snowpack. I was lucky to encounter some backpackers coming out on this section of trail who gave me some good hints, mainly that the trail stays fairly close to the lake edge. The trail passes through a popular backpacker camping location near the west shore and then turns west to follow the West Fork Green Creek up Glines Canyon. The trail follows the remains of a long-abandoned roadbed, perhaps dating back to when the stamp mill equipment was brought in, until reaching the abandoned equipment approximately 3/4 mile from the lake shore. I turned around at the site of the abandoned equipment not having enough time and energy to explore further. This use trail continues on up the canyon to Virginia Pass where it connects with a trail going into the Yosemite Wilderness and also connects with the trail coming from Virginia Lakes past Summit Lake. |
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