Post by SteveHolmes on Mar 28, 2010 20:12:53 GMT -5
wanted to get out and do some hiking before i left for post falls on Tuesday. I'll be gone for a few weeks. Haven't done one of these for a while...so enjoy.
It was a Gorgeous Sunny Day so I called a Friend of mine to see if he wanted to tag along. He has never been hiking with me and I don't know if he'll go again! ;D It's rugged terrain with lots of scrub oak brush to tear through before we even get to the designated canyon. See how thick it is....
Yep...he's in there.... ;D
These pinions or junipers are actually not natural. They have been planted along the old trail to serve as markers.
We made it to the canyon bottom after a few hours of struggling through the messy stuff. Alone I would tear through this in about 20 minutes...seriouslY!
This canyon is called Maguires Canyon and there are 4 Mines up though it. This area was mined for Gold, Copper, Silver...back in the early 1900's. The biggest is the Claire Belle Tunnel which goes into the mtn. over 2,000 feet and cuts through 6 or 7 different veins. Here is some of the Copper Ore that has been washed down the canyon from the tailings.
Some of the old trails which have been built up by stacking rocks so they could get the mule trains to the mining areas.
did you see it???
Unfortunatley we didn't make it to any of the mines. My Friend is 60 and although he is in good shape....you really need to be kind of used to the terrain and a Mountain Sheep.....See!?!?!
The herd we saw today...ways up on the mountainside.
This particular mining area was the only one that actually had power running to it. Lucky us...found a insulator I stashed over ten years ago. I found a complete line of them and thought i'd stash one for fun. It's broken but still cool. The ones I kept when i found them originally were intact. I never thought I;d be able to remember the particular rock I stashed this in...I was wrong.
Some other relics of Mining Past....
An old Ore car destroyed by the numerous floods over the past 100+ years
Some of the rails which have most likely been taken out of the mines and washed down the canyon.
This is actually very cool! A stick of Drill Bit steel over 15' long and weighing probably close to 100 lbs. They would haul long lengths like this up and cut them to the size needed for the drill. The drill is actually still up in this canyon and is marked with an 1896 date on it!
close-up of the cross patterned end....
That's about it! I love this area and I think I can fairly say I know this particular mountain range more than any other person...besides my brother! Anyone up for a hike in a few weeks?
Steve
It was a Gorgeous Sunny Day so I called a Friend of mine to see if he wanted to tag along. He has never been hiking with me and I don't know if he'll go again! ;D It's rugged terrain with lots of scrub oak brush to tear through before we even get to the designated canyon. See how thick it is....
Yep...he's in there.... ;D
These pinions or junipers are actually not natural. They have been planted along the old trail to serve as markers.
We made it to the canyon bottom after a few hours of struggling through the messy stuff. Alone I would tear through this in about 20 minutes...seriouslY!
This canyon is called Maguires Canyon and there are 4 Mines up though it. This area was mined for Gold, Copper, Silver...back in the early 1900's. The biggest is the Claire Belle Tunnel which goes into the mtn. over 2,000 feet and cuts through 6 or 7 different veins. Here is some of the Copper Ore that has been washed down the canyon from the tailings.
Some of the old trails which have been built up by stacking rocks so they could get the mule trains to the mining areas.
did you see it???
Unfortunatley we didn't make it to any of the mines. My Friend is 60 and although he is in good shape....you really need to be kind of used to the terrain and a Mountain Sheep.....See!?!?!
The herd we saw today...ways up on the mountainside.
This particular mining area was the only one that actually had power running to it. Lucky us...found a insulator I stashed over ten years ago. I found a complete line of them and thought i'd stash one for fun. It's broken but still cool. The ones I kept when i found them originally were intact. I never thought I;d be able to remember the particular rock I stashed this in...I was wrong.
Some other relics of Mining Past....
An old Ore car destroyed by the numerous floods over the past 100+ years
Some of the rails which have most likely been taken out of the mines and washed down the canyon.
This is actually very cool! A stick of Drill Bit steel over 15' long and weighing probably close to 100 lbs. They would haul long lengths like this up and cut them to the size needed for the drill. The drill is actually still up in this canyon and is marked with an 1896 date on it!
close-up of the cross patterned end....
That's about it! I love this area and I think I can fairly say I know this particular mountain range more than any other person...besides my brother! Anyone up for a hike in a few weeks?
Steve