Eureka trip and Yellowjacket Mine in Idaho

[Danb]

Back on topic. I found my video of Yellow Jacket. Boy does it bring back memories. I captured it from VHS and will post it on my site and provide a link after a bit of editing. I had forgotten about the dynamite under the old compressor engine. My feet were less than an inch from it. This wasn’t stable Gelamite, but real old dynamite. The lower part of the box was soaked. And it wasn’t water or oil if you know what I mean. This place is so remote it didn’t surprise me that there was still old dynamite around at that time. Luckily the building and I are still around.

[Troy]

Thems fightin words. I aint never seen mike capps japmobile at the tracter pull with us boys in Herriman..... The only thing mike capps is good at is gittin stuck. my dune buggy will manhandle that nissan mike you just let me know.

[ghosttownhuntress]

OMG LMAO this is going nowhere. Boys and their trucks. Just wait till I get my truck's lights working! I'll show ya'll how it's done! Silly boys, trucks are for girls! Anyway, looks like I'm going to have to plan this myself and let people know where and when to be. I was just hoping to get more of an idea of who might be interested in going and start getting a headcount going.

[Mark1955]

Staying off track again for another post... I use my Hummer for work, off road, and just plain fun. The emblem fever angle hadn't crossed my mind... With Hummer now shutting down for good it doesn't leave much to choose from for off road that is reliable, easy to ride in, and has great driving range on one tank of gas. My H-3 can do 425 miles on a single tank of gas!

Mark

[Danb]

Off topic, get a Polaris Sportsman. You will see more places in less time and have a lot of fun. And you won't scratch your vehicle.

On topic, here you go Rachel. I just finished with this video. It's about 11 minutes.
The Mine I explored is west of the main part of the old town.

Yellow Jacket is here: N 44° 58’ 42” W 114° 31’ 50”

Enjoy,

Dan

http://www.historicsilvercityidaho.com/webmaster/videos/yellowjacket_tincupmine.htm

[Mike]

Might as well follow the off-topic conversation since I've been brought up a few times - Troy is right. I am very good at getting stuck, and stuck bad. But I've seen worse. I remember leaving work at 11pm to pull Mr Burgess out of the mud in the salt flats after he sunk his Taurus past the frame in mud. He's lucky we were able to get him out that night.

I'm not a Hummer fan myself, but Mark's Hummer did seem to perform quite well. But like Btay said, it's the driver and his experience that determines where a vehicle goes and what it can do, more than anything else. That and tires. I recommend a good set of Firestone Destination MTs for rugged off road use. Just did the entire sidewinder trail in 2WD with them in my lil nissan (shattered the front axle, wasn't an easy fix).

On topic - I've not made it to the Yellowjacket mine yet, but the area is one of my stomping grounds in Idaho. I've explored about every mine that is open and accessible from Stanley to about 40 miles north of there. I'll be heading back up this September and will have to take the opportunity to hit this area up - its just a little further than I normally venture. The mines of the Sawtooths Mtns are incredible and well worth the visit.

[btay801]

Off topic...again. Nice work Mike. You should make a book of all the places that lil Nissan has made it. I am not a big fan of import trucks, but I gotta say Mike you rally that Nissan like no one else!

On topic...Sorry Rachael. I would love to make it up north to see these mines. Say when and we will try to make a trip out of it.

It was fun exploring with you on the first night of the camp out with Stu and company. The ore chute slide was the best.

[Mark1955]

 it's the driver and his experience that determines where a vehicle goes and what it can do

I agree and I do have lots of driving on snow and ice type of experience. However, I also drive very defensively even if I'm out having fun. I've traveled by car, truck, or van around both the Midwest(Indiana, Illinoius, and Wisconsin) and the Mountain States for the last 32 years... through all kinds of stuff. I have only been stuck one time... on top of Norway Flats with the Kia Sportage... My motto for driving is to expect the unexpected!! The unexpected was at the end of Norway Flats!

Mark

[ghosttownhuntress]

Ok, back on topic here folks, I just got off the phone with the owner of the Yellowjacket; what they're looking for is someone who is willing to help them dig out the entrance of the mine that was blasted shut during WW2. Anybody up for a project?

[Jeff]

Ok, back on topic here folks, I just got off the phone with the owner of the Yellowjacket; what they're looking for is someone who is willing to help them dig out the entrance of the mine that was blasted shut during WW2. Anybody up for a project?

I assume it is an adit? Do they have any equipment available?

[ghosttownhuntress]

I have emailed the owner, I am waiting for a response...

[Stuart]

Initially Id say I am interested in opening any mine that has been closed since WW2, but I would need more information.

Good questions to ask them: Why was it blasted, how deep is the fill, how extensive is the mine behind the fill. Also are we talking about another entrance to the YellowJacket or an entrance to another mine?

[ghosttownhuntress]

It is the Yellow Jacket, not another mine, I don't know how many entrances there are to the mine. I know it was worked as late as 1969-1970 from my research. It may take up to a week for more information because the owners are going out of town. I will let you know as soon as I know anything.