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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 24, 2017 18:24:01 GMT -5
Got up real early (3 AM!) Saturday (or was that late Friday? Hmmmm...) and drove up to the mountains to check out some old abandoned gold mines. Good thing I had gone online Friday night looking for info on this particular mine, or we'd have never found it.
A lot of people know about it, but lets just call it the "W" mine. We were able to drive within a quarter mile of it, then had to hike - downhill, then back up afterwards.
The concrete tanks held water, as I understand it.
Hiking down the path.
Standing on the edge.
Inside, using flash on my camera. See all the spots in the air? That's why you should wear a particle mask when you go in. Dust (and whatnot) reflecting the flash. A bit out of focus, kinda have to guess at focus and aperture settings, then see how close you came.
Five people went, only four of us went into the "W."
I believe the rusty cans were a ventilation system. They looked to me like steel drums, with both tops and bottoms removed, then taped together to make ducting.
View looking outward from tunnel entrance.
A pile of old scrap steel. Made me thin of jamesp , lol. I think part of this mess was a gate that had been installed over the tunnel opening at one time, so it could be locked.
Not full sized railroad track, but a smaller size used in the mines to muck out all the dirt and rock. If you ever see an old ore cart, you are indeed fortunate. Didn't see any of those. This mine is too well-known, they are long gone.
A rusting hulk.
Lots of buckwheat.
Mr Rockpicker. The mine opening is behind the bushes toward the top, slightly to left of center of photo. Can you see someone's sock?
Can you see it now? We'd have never found the mine entrance without GPS coordinates and a photo similar to these.
Some thistle-like plants. Everything is brown and very dry, fire danger is extremely high. Did I mention it was 91 degrees?
Got better focus on it than I thought I would.
This is a second mine a member of our party located. He had not made the trip down to the "W," but was going to stay up top and wait for us. Guess he got bored, so he went searchi9ng for some other mines he knew were in the area. The GPS coordinates and a photo I found online after we got, gave us the name of this mine. Let's call it the "G." This tunnel was long and level, then had an open area where the ceiling was a good 30 feet high! There was a pile of slabbed off rock beneath the vault, then it continued straight on the other side of the vault. I was very uncomfortable standing in the high ceiling area, as you could see where more large slabs were fixing to join their brethren on the floor. I wanted nothing to do with that, so that was as far as I went. A good earthquake (a minor fault off the Elsinore fault goes right through the area) could bring it all down. There were also bats in this cave, one flew right at and around me. I did not take any photos in this mine.
There was someone's camp set up outside, but no one around. There was a huge elderberry bush!
Taking advantage of someone's shade and picnic table.
A lot of half-assed structures, and lots of junk strewn about the entire area.
I only took one photo of the area I was digging in at the club's claim. This hole is in the middle of the valley, and about hip deep.
That's it for now. Hopefully, I can get come photos of GOLD once we get it processed through the highbanker. We have done well here in the past, but not going to get rich doing it.
It was a long day, hot and humid, and on only about four hours sleep. I think it was worth it.
Hope you enjoyed the photos and report. Jean
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Post by wigglinrocks on Jul 24, 2017 20:39:24 GMT -5
That was a great trip report and well photoed . Now show us some color .
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quartz
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Post by quartz on Jul 24, 2017 22:47:47 GMT -5
Thanks for the trip coverage, always enjoy seeing the places you go. Few ever get rich mining, but several people we know have a lot of fun trying, and maybe making a little for the effort.
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 5:19:35 GMT -5
Rail road iron. Ouch, hurts a man's back just to look at it. Noticing the big weld, must have had some big welding rods. My question is where did the water come from fro the concrete tanks. Could they have drilled a well ? Impressed with the amount of commitment to have invested such a large fixed structure. They must have been sure about the source of material to harvest. It would be a real rush to make a fortune on minerals/metals mined on your own property. Especially a beautiful lapidary material. |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 25, 2017 8:00:50 GMT -5
Great report! Very thorough, as always. Thanks for sharing, Jean.
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Post by fantastic5 on Jul 25, 2017 8:16:49 GMT -5
Loved the report and pictures. What did they do with the tall building? Was it a rock crusher?
I've never tried to gold mine, what were you collecting? Hard rock gold mining is looking for quartz?
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Post by HankRocks on Jul 25, 2017 8:52:29 GMT -5
It's always amazed me the amount and weight of equipment that was hauled up to some of these mines in the late 1800's before any mechanized equipment. Spent 2 weeks every Summer for several years around Silverton Colorado and hiked up to a good many mines in that area. the trails were tough and sometimes above the tree line, 12,600 I think. How those miners got some of the heavy pieces of equipment up is mind-boggling. They were the hardy bunch. Of course the life expectancy for a miner in those days was probably closer to 35 or 40. It was a tough life.
Henry
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 25, 2017 9:40:04 GMT -5
Loved the story and photos Jean................Great times are had,glad you all had the enjoyment to venture out.....Nothing better!
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 11:05:57 GMT -5
Explanation of the functionality please. Got to know how that rig operated.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 25, 2017 11:45:46 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. I am glad you enjoyed the show! Anne fantastic5 and jamesp, let me get some of my honeydews (yes, women can have them, too!) done, and I'll come back and answer your questions. |
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bushmanbilly
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Post by bushmanbilly on Jul 25, 2017 11:58:07 GMT -5
Looks like a lot of fun. Amazing what people will do and go through in the search for the yellow stuff. If your into exploring old mines. These vids are for you. These old timers are plume crazy. Spiritstone this around your hunting grounds. www.youtube.com/channel/UCtFNKt_IKBpalOWXuIreW7Q |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 12:12:00 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. I am glad you enjoyed the show! Anne fantastic5 and jamesp, let me get some of my honeydews (yes, women can have them, too!) done, and I'll come back and answer your questions. Waiting....... |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 12:12:24 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. I am glad you enjoyed the show! Anne fantastic5 and jamesp, let me get some of my honeydews (yes, women can have them, too!) done, and I'll come back and answer your questions. waiting.... |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 12:12:59 GMT -5
Thank you, everyone. I am glad you enjoyed the show! Anne fantastic5 and jamesp, let me get some of my honeydews (yes, women can have them, too!) done, and I'll come back and answer your questions. Waiting(it's been days)....... |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 12:14:37 GMT -5
I would have had them done in 10 minutes
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Post by MrP on Jul 25, 2017 12:27:42 GMT -5
Rail road iron. Ouch, hurts a man's back just to look at it. Noticing the big weld, must have had some big welding rods. My question is where did the water come from fro the concrete tanks. Could they have drilled a well ? Impressed with the amount of commitment to have invested such a large fixed structure. They must have been sure about the source of material to harvest. It would be a real rush to make a fortune on minerals/metals mined on your own property. Especially a beautiful lapidary material. doesn't the weld on the left look like it is cracked?...............................MrP |
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jamesp
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Post by jamesp on Jul 25, 2017 13:35:27 GMT -5
Rail road iron. Ouch, hurts a man's back just to look at it. Noticing the big weld, must have had some big welding rods. My question is where did the water come from fro the concrete tanks. Could they have drilled a well ? Impressed with the amount of commitment to have invested such a large fixed structure. They must have been sure about the source of material to harvest. It would be a real rush to make a fortune on minerals/metals mined on your own property. Especially a beautiful lapidary material. doesn't the weld on the left look like it is cracked?...............................MrP By George it does ! Good eye Michael. It is a bit of a peculiar weld to start with, having a lot of heat to make such a blob. Someone must have had a powerful welder like a 400-500 amp stick unit. Probably on of those old 400 amp Lincoln's with a flat head 4 cylinder. I had one that burnt a quart of oil every 4 hours. Believe it was the old flat head 4 they put in a Willys jeep. Burned oil but burned rods quick too. A beast with that giant generator. |
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bushmanbilly
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Post by bushmanbilly on Jul 25, 2017 15:19:28 GMT -5
Looks like its oxy-acc welded to me.
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bushmanbilly
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Post by bushmanbilly on Jul 25, 2017 15:23:30 GMT -5
I don't see any electrical infrastructure around the mine. If they had power for a welder. There would be lighting remnants in the mine.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 25, 2017 16:51:54 GMT -5
Bushman, I would venture a guess that the welding machine that burned those welds was built onto a trailer and pulled up the road. The second mine we went in (still trying to come up with a name, not what I had been lead to believe it was) had a single wire (romax) running along the wall above head height, fastened to the rock wall. Old fixtures were spliced in every so often. We counted ten fixtures, only one of them had a bulb in it, and it did not connect to anything outside. There is no electricity to the immediate area, although there are homes (with a superb view, I might add!) five hundred feet higher along the ridge line. Electricity/service probably comes down from Julian to those homes. I would imagine a gas generator would have supplied power to the mine, at least the second one we went in.
James, thank you for your patience! I had to look up some more information for you and Anne.
The "W" mine was one of the first to be discovered in the area (1870) and one of the last to be extensively worked (1957). I have been told it was worked on a small scale much later than that. I forget the amount, but hundreds of thousands of dollars (will try to find that reference) worth of gold were removed from it over the years. After operations ceased, the rail track was repurposed by the Descanso, Alpine & Pacific Railway in Alpine.
The mine was in operation intermittently until 1957. In 1962 the county declared the mine a shelter that could accommodate roughly 220 people. Provisions were stored inside. Three years later, the mine experienced a partial collapse and the stored provisions were removed. Perhaps underground shelters aren't the best idea across a canyon from the Elsinore Fault? I know I had thoughts of what would happen if we had an earthquake right now? You can see a portion of the fault across Banner Canyon along the base of Volcan Mountain.
A steep road, the Wilcox Toll Road was put in in 1871, going from Julian to Banner.
Before the road was built, mining machinery in this area as well as provisions for the miners were lowered more than 1,000 feet down these steep slopes by a “stone sled, attached to ropes with a tree tied behind the sled to serve as a brake.”
Wilcox charged 3 cents per head of cattle, sheep, goats and other livestock; 12.5 cents for saddle horses; 25 cents for one-horse carts and wagons; 50 cents for two-horse rigs; and $1 for a loaded four-horse wagon.
In 1874, the road was purchased by the County of San Diego, and made a free road. It remained in use until the present-day Banner Grade highway was opened in 1925. It remained in use until the current As far as what the hulking, rusted structure it, I have seen three different references to it. One said it was a processing mill, another simply said:
You can still see the metal fittings of an old tower and the concrete forms surrounding some openings.
One other source said it was a "ball mill structure." Your guess is as good as mine, but believe it did process ore somehow.
As for water, I saw a photo online of a water tanker that may have been used to bring water in. In one of the abandoned home/dump areas, there were several of the metal cages that hold a plastic container for holding liquid. They may have (in more recent years, anyway) trucked those in. At the old caretaker's, there was a catch system for water on the hillside, consisting of black plastic sheeting.
We had heard that the owner had died recently, and that his son now owns it. We just wanted to check it out, having never been to it before. The entire area is riddled with old mines, and there are some unsavory people in the area. Large, rusted metal structures, mining equipment, and old cars I would expect to see, but tweekers have pretty much taken over the area, and now it looks like a dump. Lots of abandoned vehicles and trailers dumped haphazardly at wide spots in the road. A person in our party had spoken with the "caretaker" of one of the mines about a year ago. His mess and abode at the side of the road almost blocked the road to traffic. I did not take any photos of those unpleasant sites. Locals are not friendly to hikers/explorers coming through, would prefer you leave. Maybe a few of them are, but they are the exception. Did not see anyone while we were there, but a (dirty, hippy-looking) couple was walking up the road in the heat as we were on our way out. They were carrying supplies up the hill to wherever they were staying at. Reading through a lot of blogs online, and the comments under YouTube videos, I understand there is a lot of pot growing going on up there. You don't want to accidently stumble on someone's grow operation.
I hope this makes some sense, I have assembly the above from a half dozen different sources.
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