Mine in Rock Canyon?

[andy]

James said he'd heard something about either a mine or a large-ish cave in Rock Canyon. It's so close to the dorms that we can walk, so we went last Saturday to look for stuff underground. We didn't find anything except a little hole that went down 15 feet and dead ended. Does anyone know where we'd find something up there?

[Mike]

There is the Buckley mine in Rock canyon. It is gated, and extremely high on the northern cliffs. Its about 5 minutes hike on the dirt trail. No trail to the mine. You will have to wait till the canyon is dry again to attempt that one.

[offroadcmpr]

Is it possible to get through the gate when it gets warmer? Just wondering as I live only a few minutes away from the canyon.

I know that there is a cave there, spanish moss cave I believe. That one is locked up but I think I can get access to a key.

[Mike]

I have not been to the mine itself, so I cannot tell. Photos show a large gap at the top of the gate that one may squeeze through. Spoke to a couple people who have been to it, said its extensive and worth the effort to climb up to it.

Appx. coords are +40° 16' 5.10", -111° 36' 59.04" Expect a hard, long climb, and plan on going when there is plenty of day light so you can search for the mine, and make your way down the cliffs safely. How somebody put a mine up there, I don't know.

[andy]

Thanks a ton, Mike. James found photos and a guide online on how to get there. The climb looks quite intense. We'll have to take it slow, if only because of the altitude.
It looks from the photos like getting in is certainly a squeeze but possible. Plus, if any human being is skinny enough, it's me.
When we were there Saturday, things seemed pretty dry in that region. Judging from Google Earth, it's not really very far in. I guess we'll have to punch in the coordinates, hike up there, and see what it looks like.

[CaverStretch]

Andy,
The mine you are referring to is actually right at the mouth of Rock Canyon. It's a short hike from BYU. Most people don't know about it because it's really well hidden. We call it Brians Cave or Brians Mine. It has a small entrance, with some mine tunnel and then it breaks into a fairly large cave. The mine has actually been closed for probably 15 years now. A teenager went in there one day during and committed suicide so the parents went up and cemented the entrance shut. I went there about 2 years ago to look at it. Someone has tried to dig the entrance open. I think you could squeeze in, but I didn't try. There are also 3 or 4 other caves right next to it. But it's been a few years since I have seen them.

And of course there is Buckley's Mine. That is an awesome mine. It has two entrances and a really sweet ladder. I have heard of people being in the mine as long as two weeks ago. (Refer to mikes comment).

If you hike down the hill you can see the cables still attached the wall with bolts from the miners. Kinda cool to see.

If you keep hiking up the canyon there is another mine on the right that is about 25 feet long. Nothing much to see. And then when you get to Road Side Cave there is another mine on the left side. That one is a little bigger, but still nothing (100'). I know there are lots of "Little" mines in the canyon.

Once when we were hiking to the top of Squaw Peak, we approached from the front of the mountain. About half way up, in the middle of know where we ran into another mine that you couldn't see until you were right there. It went back about 20 feet to a pit. Depth unknown. But interesting.

So that's a few things in that area. There are probably 100 caves all along the front of the hills there. Some very small, some over 500 feet. And there are a few deep vertical caves too. Pain to hike to though.

If you ever want to see Buckley's let me know. I can get you to the entrance.

Robert

[andy]

Robert,
That'd be great. When are you available?

[offroadcmpr]

I would be interested in getting to Buckleys too. It sounds like it would be interesting considering that it is the closest mine to my place.

[ExpUt]

Couple of my notes from the resource inventory report done in 1994

Buckley Mine: Cabin remains on route to cabin, used by miners. Eye bolts and iron bars used to secure an ore chute can be seen below the mine portal. Mine itself includes at least four levels and two entrances, numerous drifts, inclines, shafts and tunnels. One of the shafts contains a wooden ladder 75 feet high. The claim was located in 1902 by AC Hatch, HA Hatch and five members of the Buckley family, the following year they formed the Garden City Mining Co. By 1905, 300 ft of tunnel, a 12'x22' ore bin, 700' of wagon road and a 1000' ore chute and a 12'x16' cabin. Th claim was patented in 1916. The report was accompanied by pictures of the upper and lower entrances. Site was considered eligible for the NRHP though I'm not sure if it was ever registered?

This report pre-dated the closure, though it was done partially to recommend the type of closure this mine should receive. As Mike guessed, they were closed with bat grates. Work was done by hand, materials flown in with a helicopter. No internal features of the mine were to be touched during the closure.

As the other mines in the area didn't yield the same historic revelence as the Buckley "backfilling with adjacent loose material was the most common form of closure".

Hope thats helpful

Would love to get up there with you gents!

[iamsquat]

this sounds like it will be a fun trip when it happens. Does anyone know what kind of stuff we need to get to the entrance? like ropes or anything like as it looked like the entrance was kind of up on a ledge. Also what's the condition of the ladder within the mine?

[CaverStretch]

Hiking to the entrance is actually fairly easy. You just need to be in good shape. The approach that I usually take is head up the canyon, when you get to the bridges there is a draw that you cut up (about a miles up the canyon). Take this to the top and then cut across to another draw and follow this to the top. There is a little climb you do and then keep heading up. The only sketchy part of the hike is the cliff you have to scale around. But once you are past that you are at the lower entrance. No ropes required from this direction. Once you enter the mine you can get to the upper level via the ladder. It's been probably 10 years since I have been there, but unless something drastic has happened in the mine the ladder should still be ok. Then you can follow the main passage back out and you are standing at the upper entrance.

It's probably the trickiest mine entrance that I have been to. You don't have very many options in the canyon because of the cliffs. But you can do it.

I can probably go later this spring. I'm not sure about going in (gated and locked) but I would love to see the entrance again. And we could check out some of the other stuff in the canyon, and maybe the other mine at the mouth of the canyon.

Robert

[offroadcmpr]

Is it at the first or second bridge that you cut across and head up the mountain?

[CaverStretch]

Hiking Map



Having not been there for over 10 years, this is a rough idea where the hiking trail is. It's pretty straight forward when you start hiking. I'm a little unclear about the last 1/4 mile. I will make a better map once I hike to it.

[offroadcmpr]

So I think I have decided to try to go and do Buckleys this saturday. It looks like it should be warmer this week, hopefully most of the snow is gone.
I found some more info on how to get there here. http://www.mountainproject.com/v/uta...nyon/105935321

It sounds like you cross the first bridge and just before you get to the second bridge you turn and head straight up a talus field. At the top of the talus field there is a wall that people climb called the blue wall. When you get here you turn to the left (west) and just continue across and up until you get to the mine.

Is there anything else that I should look for? Any other tips on how to find it? Is it visible at any point from the main trail? I don't have a GPS so I will be just climbing around until I find it, but hopefully it won't be that hard, or it won't have too much snow.

[offroadcmpr]

So I made it to Buckley mine today. It was a very nice day. i did not have to worry about snow as most of the hike is on the North face of the valley, which has no snow on it. But there was a lot of loose rock with a lot of exposure making it a interesting experience getting up there. There was some sort of a trail that I followed, so I never really got lost. On the first climb up the loose scree someone had carved a trail. It did very steep switchbacks up it, through small threes that someone had taken a saw too. The hike up is not for someone that is scared of heights as most of it is very exposed.

I was able to get past the gate and inside. At the entrance there were some old saw blades, it looked like someone had tried to cut through the gate. There were also a couple ice formations, stalagmites. I explored the first floor and found a small body of water, several of the places had water leaking from the roof. The second level was much more interesting. It looked much more like a cave than a mine. The ground was not flat and the ceiling was very low in some parts, I had to squat down and use my hands to get around. ( I am 6'5" though) There was more water up there, and there was also tons of this white crystal like substance all of the place, especially on the ceiling. I will have to research to see what it is. The upper gate is closed and locked, and I did not see a way around it. The ladder was there and in good condition. It is not attached directly to the wall, so some of it was free-hanging making it quite interesting as you were climbing, I also saw a bat on the way up.

I did not get a chance to explore all of it, there were a few small passages that I am not sure if they go anywhere. But it was a very good trip, I would like to do it again sometime, especially with the weather being so nice.