Tweet
Hello Folks. This forum appears to be pretty dang cool. I can appreciate all the info but I might be able add some more.
We do a camping trip every year and the last couple years have been at Joy UT. I believe this area is where the Black Boy and Ibex mines were located? This is a great site with plenty of standing structures to explore and some very interesting mines. You have your standard mine shafts going into the mountain side but there are tons of open pits and holes all over the place. You can spend a couple days out there exploring. The addition of grave sites adds to the fun too. I'll get some pics up when I can. Why isn't Joy on the MU map? There are still giant piles of black rock there, I would like to know what those piles are, you can see them just fine with Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Joy+(Site),+U T+84083&sll=39.758408,-112.548065&sspn=0.282403,0.700378&ie=UTF8&split=0& ll=39.568349,-113.035004&spn=0.008849,0.021887&t=h&z=16
I grew up exploring mine sites that were with in walking distance of our house in Sandy UT. I grew up in a house just down the mountain by the "Le Caille" 2 kilometers sign on Wasatch Blvd (about 80th S). There were several mines up on the mountain right there in that area. I was 13-14 years old climbing all over those mountains and found a lot of mine shafts. You can can see the tailing piles from Wasatch Blvd, there used to be a 4x4 trail right off of Little Cottonwood Road just past where Wasatch Blvd splits off, that went to those mines. The trails are still there. The trail that went up to a higher mine is still there, you could probably make it up there with an ATV if you can get past the neighbors. Check out the trail going up the ridge lline:http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...21887&t=h&z=16 There was an open mine up that road and it might be high enough that it is still open.
A couple small canyons north from there is a road that ends labeled "Golden Hills Canyon Road". Up that canyon I don't remember which direction there was a good size mine with 3 big openings, braced with lumber, each side by side. You could enter those mines 16 years ago, probably not now.
Also, there was FCC camp up in the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon on the south Bonneville shoreline . There are some old tools and ditches still up there behind the houses on "Silver King Circle". There are tailings up that small Canyon (Ferguson Canyon). My grandparents live in that circle so I've been all over those mountains as well. There is an open shaft right in the middle of this link. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...01368&t=h&z=20 . The shaft faces West, it's about 30 feet up from the small trail that runs from Silver King Circle to Ferguson Canyon trail. Follow the loose rock to find the hole, look for protruding roots above the hole that you can almost see from the trail. The shaft is in solid rock and only goes in for about 100 feet. The tunnel has some excellent translucent bugs in it.
I also found some mine shafts way up on the cliffs above the south side of Bell Canyon. Those shafts are narly, I have no idea how those were mined. The only reason we even found those was because we were looking for the engine from a crashed Cessna that hit up there.
One more, there was a section of railway with a railway car on it up on the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It's probably the remains of the Alta line, it sure was awesome to find for a 14 year old kid.
If anyone knows the history of these mines I found as a kid I would greatly appreciate hearing what you know. I remember sitting in Elementary school and hearing about "Rag Town" that was a mining community just off Wasatch Blvd at about 80th S. Has anyone been in these mines recently?
We do a camping trip every year and the last couple years have been at Joy UT. I believe this area is where the Black Boy and Ibex mines were located? This is a great site with plenty of standing structures to explore and some very interesting mines. You have your standard mine shafts going into the mountain side but there are tons of open pits and holes all over the place. You can spend a couple days out there exploring. The addition of grave sites adds to the fun too. I'll get some pics up when I can. Why isn't Joy on the MU map? There are still giant piles of black rock there, I would like to know what those piles are, you can see them just fine with Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=Joy+(Site),+U T+84083&sll=39.758408,-112.548065&sspn=0.282403,0.700378&ie=UTF8&split=0& ll=39.568349,-113.035004&spn=0.008849,0.021887&t=h&z=16
I grew up exploring mine sites that were with in walking distance of our house in Sandy UT. I grew up in a house just down the mountain by the "Le Caille" 2 kilometers sign on Wasatch Blvd (about 80th S). There were several mines up on the mountain right there in that area. I was 13-14 years old climbing all over those mountains and found a lot of mine shafts. You can can see the tailing piles from Wasatch Blvd, there used to be a 4x4 trail right off of Little Cottonwood Road just past where Wasatch Blvd splits off, that went to those mines. The trails are still there. The trail that went up to a higher mine is still there, you could probably make it up there with an ATV if you can get past the neighbors. Check out the trail going up the ridge lline:http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...21887&t=h&z=16 There was an open mine up that road and it might be high enough that it is still open.
A couple small canyons north from there is a road that ends labeled "Golden Hills Canyon Road". Up that canyon I don't remember which direction there was a good size mine with 3 big openings, braced with lumber, each side by side. You could enter those mines 16 years ago, probably not now.
Also, there was FCC camp up in the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon on the south Bonneville shoreline . There are some old tools and ditches still up there behind the houses on "Silver King Circle". There are tailings up that small Canyon (Ferguson Canyon). My grandparents live in that circle so I've been all over those mountains as well. There is an open shaft right in the middle of this link. http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=4...01368&t=h&z=20 . The shaft faces West, it's about 30 feet up from the small trail that runs from Silver King Circle to Ferguson Canyon trail. Follow the loose rock to find the hole, look for protruding roots above the hole that you can almost see from the trail. The shaft is in solid rock and only goes in for about 100 feet. The tunnel has some excellent translucent bugs in it.
I also found some mine shafts way up on the cliffs above the south side of Bell Canyon. Those shafts are narly, I have no idea how those were mined. The only reason we even found those was because we were looking for the engine from a crashed Cessna that hit up there.
One more, there was a section of railway with a railway car on it up on the north side of Little Cottonwood Canyon. It's probably the remains of the Alta line, it sure was awesome to find for a 14 year old kid.
If anyone knows the history of these mines I found as a kid I would greatly appreciate hearing what you know. I remember sitting in Elementary school and hearing about "Rag Town" that was a mining community just off Wasatch Blvd at about 80th S. Has anyone been in these mines recently?
Comment