Who Am I? Also, Thoughts on Mine Exploration

[fredmcain]

I was having trouble getting the letter colors right - they couldn't be read!

[fredmcain]

- Updated - - -

Group,
I just joined this forum and thought I'd say a few things to introduce myself. I was tickled pink to find it!
I am probably older than most of the people on this group and grew up in Arizona in the 1960s and '70s. All my life I have had an on-again, off-again, on-again interest in mines. Why? Why is anybody lured by something like that? Beats me.
I have also been a life-long "railfan" (in other words, into trains) so I find mines that have old or still active tracks in them particularly fascinating.
When I was much younger, I too, did a little pokin' around in mines. I knew I shouldn't be doing that but overrode my own better judgment and did it anyway. Was it fun? Absolutely! But it was also really stupid because I was both unprepared and didn’t know what I was doing. I wish there had been a group back then like the Mojave Underground or the California Underground Explorers that I could’ve tagged along with and been shown all the "do's and don'ts" so to speak.
Doing recent online searches on abandoned mines, I have come across a lot of stuff issued by federal, state and local governments on how dangerous this is and all kinds of anti-exploring propaganda. You know, you have all seen and heard this stuff.
My question on that is simply this: Does the government in a democracy really have the right to tell people they cannot explore abandoned mines? Because if they can, what else can they ban "for our own safety"? What about rock cliff climbing and white water kayaking? Those are two very dangerous sports. Shouldn't they be illegal too? Thousands upon thousands of people die horrific deaths every year on the Nation's highways. Maybe they should outlaw automobiles, too, "for our own safety".

Another issue I'm not so sure about is the government permanently "sealing" abandoned mines. I am concerned that they are in essence destroying forever an important part of our history and heritage. Wouldn't it be better if they built a nearly (but not quite) impenetrable fence around the mines and plaster them with signs that say something like "DANGER. UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT"?. That would leave the door open to exploration by qualified individuals.
Does anyone have any additional thoughts on this?

Fred M. Cain,

[Mike]

Hi Fred, welcome to Mojave Underground! It's good to have you. It's amazing how the allure of mines keeps us coming back.
We've been fighting mine closures for over 5 years now with little success. The fact of the matter is that great closures cost way more money than simply back-filling them.
As far as legality of exploring is concerned - The mine must be posted Private Property or No Trespassing by the land owner. If the state has a sign in a general area that says not to explore, then the grey water is that each mine is not clearly posted to not explore it. Generally, you're OK to explore unless you can tell it's been posted by the land owner. We encourage people to respect private property.

[John]

Welcome Fred. Hang around here and you will find there is a lot to learn.

[Joanne]

Hi Fred,

I too grew up in Tucson during the 60's and 70's so I'm only a few years behind you in age. I used to follow my dad around the hills of Patagonia while he was deer hunting. I wish I could go back in time and explore all the mines that were open back then. I've heard that they have all been "reclaimed". I'm up in Vegas now and we still have some mines that you can explore, but it's not because they aren't trying to close them all up as quickly as they can.

Anyway, a southern Arizona welcome!
Joanne

[fredmcain]

Thanks, Joanne. I remember there were a lot of abandoned mines on the southeast side of the Santa Rita mountains. I never saw them except on my topo maps. Some of these like the Big Rock Candy Mine might be inaccessible enough that they're still open but I don't know that.

As an off topic aside, a friend of mine and I walked to the top of Mount Wrightson and back one day. Whew! That was one heck of a hike! I had blood in my shoes by the time we got back to his car and was sore for a few days. Great hike, though! It was beautiful up there!

Regards,
Fred M. Cain