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June 6th, 2009
We woke around eight thirty, packed up all our baggage and had a hearty potato and egg breakfast. The drive from South Fork to Creede was quiet and cheery with anticipation for the day’s adventure. Downtown at the Orvis Fly-fishing shop we met up with our new friends; Ben, Greg, Andrea, and Kathleen. Up the canyon by the east Willow Creek we parked the vehicles on the side of the road and began our long winding hike up over 1000’ to the Molly-S Mine.
Although the hike was almost an hour worth of steep switchbacks on an overgrown trail, we all had a blast getting to know each other and soaking in the spectacular Colorado scenery. My favorite part of the hike was looking across the canyon at a tram house hanging tenaciously to the sheer cliffs above us. I was amazed by the condition of the structure with the steel tram cables ever dangling to the creek bed far below. Unfortunately we did not have time to drive up the other side of the canyon and make the hike up to that mine, but it is definitely on my list for later this summer.
Climbing higher up the ridge we came upon the Molly-S tram house which I learned had the unique feature of being driven by a team of mules at the bottom of the canyon. The mules drove the tram systems of both the Molly-S and its sister mine on the opposite cliff face. This tram house was in very good condition and I spent a while here with Andrea and Greg taking pictures and waiting for the others to catch up. When we reached the portal I was surprised to find that the mine originated on the top of the ridge and followed the vein downward a hundred feet until it panned out. Halfway down the vein the miners blasted a short haulage tunnel to remove ore and what little waste rock surrounded the rich engineering of the single stope workings. I climbed up about fifty feet of good ladders to determine my theory of the mine stope daylighting at the top of the ridge.
Back outside the mine we took off our mine gear and spent some time soaking up the sun and looking at the little miners cabin near the mine. We accidentally taught Greg a little geology lesson on the way back down the trail by bumping some sizable rocks which gathered momentum and were sent rocketing downward past the switchback that he was crossing. I’m not sure whether it was Ben or I at fault, but I think we both knocked a few down. With our vehicles parked at the bottom of the slide we decided it would be a good idea to watch our footing the rest of the way down.
A good hike has a way of making a man hungry and a hungry man is a grumpy man. Following the advice of this old miners proverb we stopped into the Tommyknocker’s Tavern and had lunch with an old miner. Walking around in a shirt that says “ABANDONED MINE EXPLORERS OF THE AMERECAN WEST†can be an advantageous thing in a town like Creede, it attracts all the right people. We didn’t catch the name of this particular old miner, but he had just enough beers to walk right up to us, sit down, and proceed to tell us all kinds of fascinating things about the eleven different Creede mines that he worked in. From stories of bad air and ignorant mine owners to advice about rock hounding and modern exploration, he covered it all. After lunch we said our goodbyes to our new friends and headed off to our next destination.
Lakeside is a quaint little Colorado town and I was told by Kathleen that it is the most isolated town in the lower 48 states and I can believe it from the gas prices at the one gas station there. Our reason for passing through was a fantastic loop trail over the 12,640’ Cinnamon Pass. At about 11,600’ on a rocky dirt road surrounded by 100 year old mine relics we came across an astonishing sight. Far from any reasonable paved road in this high mountain pass nestled among evergreens and ponderosa pine was a Honda Accord. We will most likely never know the story behind how that Accord got up there or where its driver was, but the groundhogs seemed to be enjoying the warm engine compartment.
Colorado has a crack snow plowing team to match any that Alaska may be sporting. Colorado has most of its dirt roads and jeep trails over ridiculously high mountain passes accessible in early June. We had no problem getting over Cinnamon Pass although the snow drifts were higher than the Rover in some places. I believe that few people know the desolation and icy chill of a truly sterile landscape until they have been above the timberline. We partook in a small taste of the struggle the miners before us faced as they built the tram line up and over the pass to a destination long forgotten. It is a marvel how man’s greatest efforts are buried by the hand of time.
Animas Forks is perhaps one of the greatest collections of mining structures that I will ever be fortunate enough to behold. From the famous bay window house to the mighty Frisco Mill and all the way up to the Sound Democrat Mill, there are dozens of reminders that this was once a burgeoning boom town. Our first destination was the old Frisco Mill and its portal flowing with orange tinted water. We got our feet muddy for a bit and then we headed into the mill where we found some very sturdy construction methods. Most of the support timbers are a foot and a half square with two foot nails and bolts holding them together. Miah and Mike climbed up onto the second story while Crystal and ventured into the basement to look at the shaker board and troughs.
Further up the draw we came upon many concrete foundations suggesting that the valley was once crisscrossed by tram lines carrying ore from mine to mill. One such mill restored to fantastic condition is the Sound Democrat. Built in 1905-1906, this four stamp mill crushed and estimated $20,000 in ore before it ceased operations in 1914. Once again I was amazed by the condition of the stamps, shaker tables, and overall restoration work that Colorado has put into the relics of its rich mining heritage. Growing tired from a long day of adventure we made the short drive to the small town of Silverton Colorado where we checked into the historic 1898 Alma House.
The Inn Of The Rockies, located in a beautifully preserved and lavishly decorated three story brick building, is a place that I would highly recommend to anyone wishing to truly experience historic Colorado. The halls of the house are decorated with historic black and white photographs of the nearby mining operations that were booming at the time of the Inn’s construction. Not quite so historic, but equally appreciated was the hot tub where we relaxed and got ready for some well earned sleep. Crystal and I were fortunate enough to sleep in the grand four poster bed while Miah and Mike found lesser places of
rest.
COLORADO PHOTO GALLERY
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