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So there is another local mine explorer that I've known online for a year or so, but we have never had the opportunity to get together. Well cured that problem this week. We jumped into our vehicles and headed into the desert south of Vegas. The whole of southern Nevada is dotted with mines so there were no lack of locations. We decided on a mine that he had been to a couple of years ago and that I had never visited before. It was good that we both have 4x4 vehicles since it made access a bit easier.
Like many of the mines in the area, it has been abandoned for a long time so it doesn't have a large adit as you might expect from a mine of this size. Of course that's good since most folks won't just stumble across it as they are wandering around in their Jeeps.
"B" led the way to a mine entrance up on the side of a ridge. About 30 down slope was an air shaft and another 30 feet or so down slope was what remained of the main adit. There was going to be plenty to see!
First thing we came across is this wooden "grizzly" that is used to keep large rocks from clogging up the ore chute below.
A bit further along the drift came to and end at another ore chute. Since the chute wasn't clogged we decided to climb up into it. Looking from down below, this is the track where they would have dumped the rock out of an ore car. The spot of light in the picture is from the air shaft we saw on the way into a mine.
And from above.
A bit more exploring and we found our way to an interesting intersection. Drifts came together from three directions on this level. Looking down you could see three more levels below us!
It reminds me of some of the interstate interchanges in California with three or four levels all criss-crossing over each other. It must have been quite a site when the mine was still active. This is looking down three levels.
As we walked down this passage we decided it was the "Hall of Giants". Not sure why it was so tall.
This is at a lower level of the "intersection".
As most of us do the first time we explore with someone new, I was evaluating his skills and exploring style. I have no doubt that he was doing the same thing with me. Turns out that we that we are both quite happy to casually explore the mine, sticking our noses in every nook and cranny to see what we can find. It's nice to find someone who has a compatible exploring style!
After exiting the mine we decided to explore some tailings piles that we saw on the way in. We found the source of the tailings, but the entrance had been dozed closed. Down the road a ways we found a collapsed entrance that had just a tiny opening that sloped down into the darkness. Sliding down into it would be a bit of a squeeze, but getting out would be a real effort. No time to waste. We could worry about getting out later.
The drift we found ourselves in wasn't very large, going back 30 feet or so. We found a little side drift that looked like it was back filled. I climbed up over a dirt file and found a small hole that looked like it opened into another drift. Sure enough we had found our way into another small system! As we wandered around we came across a steep winze that dropped about 20 feet into a lower level. It was bit too steep to climb down and we didn't have rope with us. We were about to call it a day when we noticed a large metal bushing (about 12x12) down at the bottom. I decided to climb back out and grab a rope and a couple of hand ascenders. Sure enough, we finally found our way into the "closed" mine. Yeah! I didn't get as many pictures in this mine as I did the prior one.
Although it doesn't look like it, "B" was about 10 feet below me at the bottom of a small incline.
At this point we had been exploring for a few hours when we found a connection to a lower level, the main mine level. Since we had to climb the 20' winze and try to wiggle our way out the entrance, we decided to come back another day to finish the main level exploration.
So keep an eye out for our next trip out into the desert. There is so much to see that I could spend a day a week exploring this area. Can't wait!
Joanne
Like many of the mines in the area, it has been abandoned for a long time so it doesn't have a large adit as you might expect from a mine of this size. Of course that's good since most folks won't just stumble across it as they are wandering around in their Jeeps.
"B" led the way to a mine entrance up on the side of a ridge. About 30 down slope was an air shaft and another 30 feet or so down slope was what remained of the main adit. There was going to be plenty to see!
First thing we came across is this wooden "grizzly" that is used to keep large rocks from clogging up the ore chute below.
A bit further along the drift came to and end at another ore chute. Since the chute wasn't clogged we decided to climb up into it. Looking from down below, this is the track where they would have dumped the rock out of an ore car. The spot of light in the picture is from the air shaft we saw on the way into a mine.
And from above.
A bit more exploring and we found our way to an interesting intersection. Drifts came together from three directions on this level. Looking down you could see three more levels below us!
It reminds me of some of the interstate interchanges in California with three or four levels all criss-crossing over each other. It must have been quite a site when the mine was still active. This is looking down three levels.
As we walked down this passage we decided it was the "Hall of Giants". Not sure why it was so tall.
This is at a lower level of the "intersection".
As most of us do the first time we explore with someone new, I was evaluating his skills and exploring style. I have no doubt that he was doing the same thing with me. Turns out that we that we are both quite happy to casually explore the mine, sticking our noses in every nook and cranny to see what we can find. It's nice to find someone who has a compatible exploring style!
After exiting the mine we decided to explore some tailings piles that we saw on the way in. We found the source of the tailings, but the entrance had been dozed closed. Down the road a ways we found a collapsed entrance that had just a tiny opening that sloped down into the darkness. Sliding down into it would be a bit of a squeeze, but getting out would be a real effort. No time to waste. We could worry about getting out later.
The drift we found ourselves in wasn't very large, going back 30 feet or so. We found a little side drift that looked like it was back filled. I climbed up over a dirt file and found a small hole that looked like it opened into another drift. Sure enough we had found our way into another small system! As we wandered around we came across a steep winze that dropped about 20 feet into a lower level. It was bit too steep to climb down and we didn't have rope with us. We were about to call it a day when we noticed a large metal bushing (about 12x12) down at the bottom. I decided to climb back out and grab a rope and a couple of hand ascenders. Sure enough, we finally found our way into the "closed" mine. Yeah! I didn't get as many pictures in this mine as I did the prior one.
Although it doesn't look like it, "B" was about 10 feet below me at the bottom of a small incline.
At this point we had been exploring for a few hours when we found a connection to a lower level, the main mine level. Since we had to climb the 20' winze and try to wiggle our way out the entrance, we decided to come back another day to finish the main level exploration.
So keep an eye out for our next trip out into the desert. There is so much to see that I could spend a day a week exploring this area. Can't wait!
Joanne
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