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Our initial descent down the winze in the Hidden Treasure had yielded more questions than answers, at least for me, and it was high time that we answered them. The trip objectives Saturday were two fold – one to replace the gate and two to descend the winze again and further our exploration. Our last two forays ended with not much in the way of breakthrough discovery. Shawn and I practically ran down the main passage trying to discern whether it lead to the Buckhorn or not as his girlfriend sat alone at the top of the winze with only the dripping water and the tommyknockers to keep her company. Stu, Crystal and I descended hours later but went off on a wild tangent exploring one of the large stopes very near the bottom of the winze. This time would yield results – my krafty senses told me so…
Derek, Stu and I rigged the drop in the traditional manner, and after checking gear (Derek now sporting Italy’s finest spring KONG fashion gear) J we dropped. Following the passage we shot-out nearly everything we came across leaving no dynamite box unturned. We followed the airflow down a particularly low roofed internal incline, passing a small level yielding a unique ore cart, standard decaying mine junk, and a wheel barrow. We came to the bottom of the incline, a vertical drop of approximately 120 ft., and I stopped, intrigued by a small tree branch nestled in between the tracks. I took this as a good sign that we were near another entrance. We rounded the corner onto a pile of mining debris – carbide canisters, broken dynamite boxes, and other odds and ends littered the passage. We continued in that direction, thru a large passage for some distance to the bitter end. Not defeated we retreated towards the incline, on the way taking in a small side passage with a large wooden barrel, completely lined with custard colored calcite fed by the clearest underground spring water imaginable. The water poured out of a small fissure in the roof, dribbled down the wall, and collected in the barrel. Further on following the watery fissure a small cave opened revealing thickly decorated walls and ceiling before descending into a tight hole in the floor. That is officially four caves / significant areas of cave formation within this part of the mine!
Continuing back past the incline we came upon a unique ore cart complete with it’s own brakes for each wheel. Further down the passage, in a side drift, we discovered the remains of the mule stables and the mountains of dung. Across the passage were heaps of hay and seed debris covering the floor of the drift. Further on we passed the gaping maw of a large, steep incline, past the area that housed the winch, and up the ant hill that lie before the incline. The stories we had heard and their descriptions of the Buckhorn matched perfectly. It was a very interesting find. We continued down the passage, feeling the air move more quickly as we passed through constrictions and two wooden doors until, rounding a tight jog in the passage, we could see light!
I immediately recognized the portal as the main haulage level of the Buckhorn. This level leading on even grade directly to the storage bins at the top of the Buckhorn tram house. What a confirmation it was! All exploration up until this point led me to believe this was the way, but finally making the connection in a relatively easy fashion was almost unreal. My understanding was that in John Skinner’s attempt to reach the lost Boy Scout inside the Hidden Treasure he came to a collapse or missing ladders that blocked his way. I imagined a soggy, crumpled ladder lying in a heap at the bottom of some 300’ deep shaft connecting the two mines deep inside the mountain, or an impassible collapse somewhere, but here we were – we had made the connection!
Following our route, the only impassible area would be the nearly 90’ almost vertical winze we descended to reach the lower levels. Without a ladder ( this could account for John not being able to reach the Hidden Treasure via that route) one would have to free-climb up the pipe or attach Prussiks and scale the compressed air supply line – a very risky proposition. The pile of wood mulch at the bottom of the winze must have been the ladder that once existed and linked the mines.
After taking-in the excitement we returned to the level we had rappelled to. This level’s main passage turned-out to be much more difficult to pass through, as the miners stoped directly up from the haulage tunnel then dumped debris back down the footwall onto timbering that comprised most of the passage roof. This was in poor condition in many areas leaving us to crawl over waste rock and shimmy back down into the passage beyond these constrictions. In a shorter distance than in the passage some 120’ below us, and trending in roughly the same direction along the same fissure, we again passed through wooden doors and into Manganal-barred daylight behind two other portals to the mine. We assume these to be different haulage levels for the Buckhorn; likely older since they were higher up the mountain. Almost a thur trip; we retraced the entire route to grab my pack and the key and finally popped-out the Hidden Treasure side to meet Mike and Cassie in the cool, humid atmosphere of the late evening. An awesome trip, a personal crusade satiated, and just plain old fashioned fun. Photos of the inside of the Buckhorn are in the photo gallery in Derek’s photos. Enjoy.
Derek, Stu and I rigged the drop in the traditional manner, and after checking gear (Derek now sporting Italy’s finest spring KONG fashion gear) J we dropped. Following the passage we shot-out nearly everything we came across leaving no dynamite box unturned. We followed the airflow down a particularly low roofed internal incline, passing a small level yielding a unique ore cart, standard decaying mine junk, and a wheel barrow. We came to the bottom of the incline, a vertical drop of approximately 120 ft., and I stopped, intrigued by a small tree branch nestled in between the tracks. I took this as a good sign that we were near another entrance. We rounded the corner onto a pile of mining debris – carbide canisters, broken dynamite boxes, and other odds and ends littered the passage. We continued in that direction, thru a large passage for some distance to the bitter end. Not defeated we retreated towards the incline, on the way taking in a small side passage with a large wooden barrel, completely lined with custard colored calcite fed by the clearest underground spring water imaginable. The water poured out of a small fissure in the roof, dribbled down the wall, and collected in the barrel. Further on following the watery fissure a small cave opened revealing thickly decorated walls and ceiling before descending into a tight hole in the floor. That is officially four caves / significant areas of cave formation within this part of the mine!
Continuing back past the incline we came upon a unique ore cart complete with it’s own brakes for each wheel. Further down the passage, in a side drift, we discovered the remains of the mule stables and the mountains of dung. Across the passage were heaps of hay and seed debris covering the floor of the drift. Further on we passed the gaping maw of a large, steep incline, past the area that housed the winch, and up the ant hill that lie before the incline. The stories we had heard and their descriptions of the Buckhorn matched perfectly. It was a very interesting find. We continued down the passage, feeling the air move more quickly as we passed through constrictions and two wooden doors until, rounding a tight jog in the passage, we could see light!
I immediately recognized the portal as the main haulage level of the Buckhorn. This level leading on even grade directly to the storage bins at the top of the Buckhorn tram house. What a confirmation it was! All exploration up until this point led me to believe this was the way, but finally making the connection in a relatively easy fashion was almost unreal. My understanding was that in John Skinner’s attempt to reach the lost Boy Scout inside the Hidden Treasure he came to a collapse or missing ladders that blocked his way. I imagined a soggy, crumpled ladder lying in a heap at the bottom of some 300’ deep shaft connecting the two mines deep inside the mountain, or an impassible collapse somewhere, but here we were – we had made the connection!
Following our route, the only impassible area would be the nearly 90’ almost vertical winze we descended to reach the lower levels. Without a ladder ( this could account for John not being able to reach the Hidden Treasure via that route) one would have to free-climb up the pipe or attach Prussiks and scale the compressed air supply line – a very risky proposition. The pile of wood mulch at the bottom of the winze must have been the ladder that once existed and linked the mines.
After taking-in the excitement we returned to the level we had rappelled to. This level’s main passage turned-out to be much more difficult to pass through, as the miners stoped directly up from the haulage tunnel then dumped debris back down the footwall onto timbering that comprised most of the passage roof. This was in poor condition in many areas leaving us to crawl over waste rock and shimmy back down into the passage beyond these constrictions. In a shorter distance than in the passage some 120’ below us, and trending in roughly the same direction along the same fissure, we again passed through wooden doors and into Manganal-barred daylight behind two other portals to the mine. We assume these to be different haulage levels for the Buckhorn; likely older since they were higher up the mountain. Almost a thur trip; we retraced the entire route to grab my pack and the key and finally popped-out the Hidden Treasure side to meet Mike and Cassie in the cool, humid atmosphere of the late evening. An awesome trip, a personal crusade satiated, and just plain old fashioned fun. Photos of the inside of the Buckhorn are in the photo gallery in Derek’s photos. Enjoy.
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