Other Cool Discoveries Along The Trail...

[Big Skyz]

After we got back in there a few miles on my hike yesterday, we started seeing more sign of deer and elk. However we also started seeing more sign of mining from days long since past. Here is what's left of an old pick up that was shoved off to the side of the trail. The trail btw was once an old two track used to access the mine. I have no idea how long ago they shut down motor vehicle access but judging by this truck is was a heap big long time ago.


Not too far past the abondone pick up we rounded a corner and discovered this old cabin. It was still in pretty good shape. If the Forest Service decided to restore it I don't think it would be that tough to do. It's kind of a shame it's being left to just slowly rot away.


Inside the cabin was this old boot. I'm assuming it was a ladie's boot, but it may have been a man's. It was interesting in the fact that it has little metal spikes on the heels. I figure that was to help navigate climing on downed trees better, or perhaps for better grip on the ice. Either way it's kind'a neat.


Anyway I thought I'd share. I don't know if any of you find this stuff interesting or not, but I love exploring old mines, cabins, caves, and such. It always makes me stop and wonder what dreams those that went before me had.

[johnboy]

Caulk (pronounced 'cork') boots used by loggers mostly. Should have spikes on the sole as well as the heel but maybe there was a second sole piece that fell off.

[BarryBobPosthole]

Those are some high top boots there. for snakes?

BKB

[Big Skyz]

BBP, you know I hadn't really thought of that, but it makes sense. Seems that back in the day everyone wore high top boots like that. Look at old black and white photos of outdoorsman and you'll see they were popular.

Johnboy, I thought the same thing. I've seen the caulked up boots that modern day loggers wear, so I figured that might be what these were for. However this wasn't a logging operation so it made me wonder if they were on the heel just to keep from slipping on the ice. I expect if they were crazy enough to live up there year round, ice was a major factor about 9 months out of the year.

[Niner]

Looks like they didn't get too far along on their house remodeling project before the code enforcement officers showed up and put the kibosh to it.

[Bwana]

cool stuff for sure.

[Captain]

Wow! I'd have that truck up and running in.....

Seriously that front straight axle, leaf springs, fenders, front hubs and steering column with the knuckle joint would be things folks would look for!
It would sure be neat to be able to take some of that stuff out.
Take Care, Captain

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[BarryBobPosthole]

I'm tryingto figure out the puose for that wall in the second picture. Seems strange to tie in the logs like that without another wall perpindicular to it. Was looking at the black marks and wondering if part of it burned and they just braced up the front wall. Shoot, I don't know.

BKB

[Captain]

I saw that too and just figured they were in the process of adding on a room and never got to far along with it.
Sorta odd looking.

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[Thumper]

B/S, when I lived in L.A, a buddy and I would head out for the desert every chance we'd get. There are literally 100's (maybe 1000's) of old mining (ghost) towns scattered all around the western states, but we'd mostly concentrate on California and Nevada. Two of my favorites were the areas around Goldfield and Silver Peak, Nevada. We got a bit daring with 4WD to get up to some of the mines that haven't seen much in the way of previous "visitors". Nothing really "goes away" in the desert. No rain to rot things ... no mildew or fungus ... just dry heat. Roads/wagon trails from the 1800's can still be seen like they were just traveled yesterday. Those miner's cabins can be found scattered all over the desert. We'd usually scrounge up an old bedspring to throw our sleeping bags on. We'd find an old pot bellied stove and piping to warm the cabin on cold nights, etc. etc.

One thing we'd concentrate on was the mine shafts. Many of the mining tunnels had previous visitors and we'd find litter (cans/bottles/graffiti) marking earlier visits, but the shafts were like a page out of history. We had old military surplus parachute harnesses we converted and a bazillion miles of rock climbing rope and we'd actually lower ourselves into these shafts. (one would go down and the other would stay topside of course, but we'd alternate) There were usually rickety wooden ladders, but they couldn't be trusted. What was really weird was, when I'd go down a shaft for the first time, it would look like the miners took a break or left for lunch and simply never returned. We'd find pairs of boots lined against the wall, drilling tools, all sorts of things that looked like they were simply laid down and no one ever returned to collect them. (I should mention, many tunnels would branch off these shafts at various depths, so there was LOTS of exploring to do in each shaft)

We'd even find old dynamite and blasting caps (got a funny story concerning our experiences with some of those!). Old bottles were common. I even found quite a few Sears Catalogs from the 1890's and early 1900's. One old cabin was "insulated" with a bunch of them even. Once, we found an old ore cart while exploring these shafts and the next trip out, we rigged up a winch to haul it out of there and took it back to L.A. We'd sell the stuff we'd find and it paid for our trips.

Examples like that old truck you found were VERY common. Most of the body panels were beat all to heck. What the miners would do is drive an old truck/car up to the mine, then strip the body off it and throw it over the side of the hill. They'd then use the engine to run the mine. Most of the body panels would get pretty much destroyed because once they dumped it off the hillside, they'd start dumping the tailings there also and the bodies would get banged up or crushed. We once found an old Franklin at a mining site. The body was junk, but we brought the motor back and sold it for $300. (this was in the late 70's)

Man-o-man, thanks for this post ... it stirred up TONS of fond memories of my mine exploration days with my old bud Dennis. BTW, Dennis was a Mormon who married a gal (Maria) whom he'd met while on his missionary work in Guatemala. We were about as close to brothers as you could imagine. An odd combination ... a devout Mormon and a low-life heathen! But, we were very close and not only worked together, but my wife/myself and his family spent a LOT of time together. I even gave talks at his church on the history and customs of S.E. Asia for some of the missionaries headed that way (they had a big presence in Thailand). If I remember correctly, the missions were only in in Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan and Hong Kong back in the day, but I believe they've spread to other countries now ... like Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and maybe Burma (Myanmar).

[BarryBobPosthole]

Speelunking in mines is a very dumb and dangerous thing to do. The mountains near my hometown are honeycombed with old mineshafts. A good friend of mine lost his son along with two other boys who were speeklunking in a shaft and died from some sort of gas that was in it.

I've crawled through caves that'd scare you half to death when I was a kid. But never a mine shaft. Bad juju.

BKB

[Thumper]

Heck, we were in our 20's and figured if it was good enough for the miners, it was good enough for us! Never had a problem with "bad air" or the lack thereof that I can recall. (I've done MUCH worse things in my life that should have killed me) The strangest thing I experienced was the first shaft I went down. I had a head lamp type flashlight and went all the way to the bottom of the shaft where it branched out in two directions with tunnels. As I walked along, it sounded like I was walking in some "very dry woods" ... like crunching leaves. When I shone my light down on the floor of the tunnel I realized I was walking on bazillions of dried up snakes! The desert is FULL of rattlesnakes and I assume they'd slither along, fall down into the shafts and eventually die. I'm not exaggerating, the floors of the shafts were literally blanketed with them. That's why we usually went in the very early spring (usually with snow still at the higher elevations). I figure during the summer, those mines were literally crawling with critters!

(Sumpin' for B/S to keep in mind if he ever gets the urge to go into a shaft!)

[Big Skyz]

Barry that is likely very good advice, but it won't change my habits. At least you'll be able to say..."I told you so."