Extreme Location For An Abandoned Mine
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- Опубликовано: 14 ноя 2023
- It would be an understatement to say that this was not an easy abandoned mine to get to - and that is a reference to both the drive in as well as the grueling hike up to the mine itself… As we learned on the way out, there was an easier way that we could have driven out. However, on an initial journey, such things are usually not obvious. Likewise, we were literally scaling sheer rock cliffs at times in order to reach the workings highlighted in this video. However, on the way down, we discovered the trail used by the miners, which, naturally, was in the perfect location to make the best use of the features of the mountain. To be fair, it was still steep and still required some work to get to from the workings we explored. However, it was the best route the miners could have achieved on that steep mountain. And, of course, it was one of those things that we did not discover until starting to make our way down.
Long-suffering viewers will know that I am a big fan of rail in (and around) the abandoned mines. Miners’ trails have a similar appeal to me. I like the aesthetics of them. I like the fact that they are often difficult to locate, but are usually quite rewarding when they are found. I like the fact that they seem obvious once they have been located. I like the historic bottles and other treasures that one often sees along the old trails. I like walking the same route and seeing the same scenery that the old timers did long before me. Well, you’re probably getting the idea…
The earliest records I found relating to this mine stretch back to 1909, but you should always take that with a grain of salt because records were incomplete, non-existent or often lost in the early days. So, many mines are older than what is suggested by the availability of written records. This was listed as a zinc mine with some gold, lead, silver and copper.
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You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: goo.gl/TEKq9L
You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: bit.ly/2wqcBDD and here: bit.ly/2p6Jip6
Several kind viewers have asked about donating to help cover some of the many expenses associated with exploring these abandoned mines. Inspired by their generosity, I set up a Patreon account. So, if anyone would care to chip in, I’m under TVR Exploring on Patreon.
Thanks for watching!
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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them - nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.
These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever.
I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!
#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring
It just goes to show you that when it came to getting the ore out. There was no such word as impossible. Just imagine building the infrastructure in order to make it easier to work.
Those guys had rocks all right.
Thanks for taking us on this one. You really earned a lot of respect for one hell of a tough hike. Outstanding video guys.
Goes.to.show how insanely rich the ore must have been...
Out of all the abandoned mine explorer's, you are by far the best. Definitely wish I could go out and explore with you. But stay safe and keep showing us the amazing and forgotten about mines.
I really appreciate the kind words and high praise... We'll do our best to keep bringing places like this to you for as long as we can.
I own a few mines in the Whitlock mining district of California. The 1957 bureau of mines report devoted a seperate map to this small area because of the density of claims and workings. I live on Spencers mill, which is distinguished by being originally claimed in 1848 as the second entry in book one for Mariposa county at the now gone site of Agua Fria and the then courthouse.
Here was a water mill, 40 feet in diameter at the junction of 2 creeks, driving several arrastra's and later major operations by the Paris/London company with a large steam stamp mill. Notably this was claimed by LH Bunnell whose book -still in print- "Discovery of the Yosemite" mentions his time here with CH Spencer, another educated character whose father published several medical books. The water mill went downstream in a flood in 1852, and would have done so again in the wild rains of 2022 and 2023.
Mr. Spencer was fluent in French and travelled to Paris about 1854 to sue said company in the courts there for non payment of mortgage and royalties. History does not record the result, but if ever I have time in Paris, I suppose the records exist. This exploration reminds again of the immense strength and perseverance of those early day miners. We should all tip our hats to them.
That's fascinating that you were able to track the history of the activity on your property. Thank you for sharing that. I can see the remains of a fair amount of mining activity on my property as well, but it is from the very earliest days of the Gold Rush and I have been able to find absolutely nothing in the way of information on it.
I start at the county hall of records. Usually there is a book of leases and mining claims dating to the first moments of mining. then with a claim name you can go to the BLM if in the USA and find the original maps and claims, especially if later patented. ROS - Records of surveys are fascinating and in the case of my once town of Whitlock - even had a post office - the surveyor platted the barns, chicken coops and named the house and cabin owners. The mine supers house was moved to Mariposa town and is owned by a friend. Every board is numbered. I was able to locate the front step to this house buried in brush and trees at the old townsite using the original patent map. Ebay brought up a few postmarked letters from the town @ 1895@@TVRExploring
@@RRaucina Thank you. I've never actually explored my county's hall of records and it is one of those things that I have been meaning to do for ages.
The miners that hollowed out that mountain were some bad asses. That's some serious ropes, ladders, platforms and acrobatics that built that mine. I wish I could've been there back then to watch it in person.
Me too!
So much effort 100+ years ago ...
And so much effort to document it today!
Thanks for the effort, Thanks for sharing 🇨🇦
10+ OPT, or more...
32:26 carved all seeing Eye Free Mason!
20:40 no human footprints? Look close, those are MY footprints lol. Glad to see someone else has been here - if you go back I'd recommend climbing straight up the gully to climbers right of the tram, might save you some E's. You missed a decent amount up there, at 23:28 there is a ladder that connects to another sublevel that intersects the main winze where that spooky ladder was hanging
37:35 is a good way to get down to the lower levels - cool stuff down there, worth the trip back. Hope you dont mind, heres a clip from the other side of the gate for proof if this sounds like BS: ruclips.net/video/80u59bMH7W8/видео.html
Sounds like things I miss when playing videogames
@@jotterson1156 time spent having fun is never wasted my guy
@@funafish2351 I meant missing pathways and such as I explore a game
What mine is that
@@jotterson1156 I know its annoying but i really cant give out thay kinda info, ive seen too many mines destroyed by vandalism and the internet is not to be trusted
Justin you and your buds are killin' it my brother! At my age it's not likely I'll ever be able to do anything remotely like the explores that you do, so BIG KUDOS for all your efforts! I will await the next visit to this awesome old mine.......
That was a hell of a climb and turnbuckle at the end.
“Gly”: It’s good to see you back out in that district again. I’ve had that site on my itinerary for years but this old man can’t do hikes like that anymore. It sure was awesome to finally get to see what’s up there, that old underground trestle was certainly a nice find. Theres allot more high altitude mines in that area that have never been documented and are much too hard for us “old farts” to get too. Keep up the good work, I’m looking forward to seeing what else you found when you guys were out there. Take care!
Thank you. Ha, yes, that was a rough climb. That area has been our "go to" for the past couple of seasons when we get snowed out of everywhere else... As you well know, one has to work to visit the mines in that area as they all seem to be on the top of mountains! There is more higher up the mountain on this one as well that I'd like to see, but we, unfortunately, ran out the clock.
Justin, that was a hell of a climb into mission impossible from the start, and later on a very broken mountain, you guys got my respect, a very interesting explore again thnx.
Hello.Justin. I can understand what you mean about miners trails. They can indeed defy being seen unless you're looking the right way at the right time. It's not unlike Indiana Jones crossing the final bridge to get to the Holy grail. It wasn't until he threw the sand on the bridge that he could even see that there was one there. It just blended in perfectly. Thanks for what must have been an exhausting effort to bring this video to us.
And for the audience who have not driven desert roads at night extremly easy to get lost, let alone all the obstacles you can’t see At night great video thank you
For once, mine interior trestles, tracks and galleries exceed what you see in video games!
Miners really did some interesting engineering.
The 4x4” inside the Portal with Tom’s name on it was more than likely a miner’s pick holder that you could put the pick up top & handle in between those two by fours hanging down . Maybe Tom was always misplacing his pick or something so his buddies decided to create a very secure place for it for him as possibly a prank or to rib him somewhat . Just a guess . 😆
Beautiful scenery from minute one and then snakes and ladders..
Ha, yes, snakes and ladders is a good description...
This one is intriguing, that failed box shaft (?) with the leftover ladder and the beautifully bent rail (they seem to have had quite the artist there!) just reminded me of that.
I stopped watching after a few minutes as I wanted to watch it on my TV. Makes quite a difference for me, you and your mate both run the cam smoothly and there is little vertigo 😅
Respect!
Not that I have any great knowledge of mines but that has to be the craziest mine entrance I've ever seen. I don't know why a miner would create such dangerous situations to work in.
Enjoyable video as usual, thank you for the share .... Howdy from the Gold Hill mining district of southwestern Oregon.⛏⚒⛏Cheers🍻
Phone does good bro! dude that first intersection was nuts.Looks like they used the ladder for a support.I hope you packed a lunch with some protien shakes lol.
If we do the right hand rule in Anthracite we will just keep walking around a work chamber.We always turn and drop a stick at gangways,slopes,manways and tunnels. Totally different engineering and terminology than this hard rock.
Ill enjoy this video man thx!Waving a hand from Anthracite region!
Ha, yeah, you Anthracite lads are on another level!
Lots of hard work doing the filming, but those old timer were some very tough SOB
Thanks for the video
It doesn't appear there was an easy part of this explore. Not the ride in or out. Not the climb up or down. Not the travels inside the mine. For me it was a great watch. You guys are very dedicated to say the least! Thanks so much to Justin and Company!
You should get a rope and rappel down. Did it myself in a mine here in Norway recently. It would be cool to see what's down there.
Love the journey man! Just an awesome view 🤩
another great video mate love the background footage of the drive in and out, worthwhile including that, gives us a real sense of the adventure! no wonder you were tired! stay safe! looking forward to the next one.
Outstanding job!
Great video. . .
Cool finds. Thank you.
Always awesome videos
True dat.
Hey there Buddy. This is one scetchie mine 06:25. What a crazy maze of tracks, rocks and crazyness!
Thank you for the awesome exploration. Regards from Ody Slim
Amazing workings!! Awesome vid👍👍
Great Video Guys !
Fascinating 😊
Must have been hell to work in the cold of winter, thanks for putting in the effort for the joy of others
Justin- Shell Oil Company used to ship their "Grease Cartridges" like that. That is a fairly large box, but my Grandfather had one in his garage for years. The one he had looked just like that box, only a little smaller, there were 10 Grease Cartridges per "case". That box looks like about the size to carry 8 of those smaller boxes, four stacked on four for a bulk case. The other way I have seen that box used is for a case of motor oil, (12 of the Paper/Foil cans with the metal top and bottom. If they had Gasoline Engine powered Compressors they needed engine oil.
very good will look at this again
Justin I just emailed you a bunch of hand-drawn maps of Death Valley mine locations. It had to be done in four emails due their size.
Cool! Thank you very much... I've been overseas and I'm way behind on my emails, but I'll try to jump over and check them out as soon as I can.
With all that rail supported by air when you first entered the mine... was I surprised to see more rail supported by air once you exited out from underneath all that sketchy rock? probably not... But that was quite the view; really enjoyed that... Looks like some billy-goat footing was required to stay up there...
Another awesome mine explore...
Nice!
Excellent video!! Appreciate your labors in allowing the rest of us to enjoy the old mines. My question is, where did those guys get their water? I didn't see anything across that barren landscape that even resembled a water source.
Haul it in with you
Awesome content!!! RockOn!
Fantastic tour! Thanks for the radical effort
Justin- Nice shot of the Ore Sample. This looks like Tungsten or Taconite, (Iron Ore), that sample was pretty high grade. If that Mine is where I think it is... There are more in that area. That ridge line was completely loaded with Iron Ore and Tungsten. Amazing what happens when you go plotting for Gold and find another source of valuable metals. Hence what happened in Benito County. Go looking for Gold and find Blue Crystals everywhere. FYI, the guy that owns that will take you up to the mine area itself for a nominal fee. I have done it, its pretty cool. They do it at night with a Black Light so you can see the Benitoite glow. You and your crew... stay safe out there, love what you guys are doing. Preserving Mining History one mine at a time. Great work guys!
It's amazing ..these old time miners must have been superhumans ..to even get to these locations and dig and lug all the wood etc up there is just beyond todays people I would think ..tough men ..very tough men ..
That thumbnail reminds me a lot of the Reward Mine (Brown Monster Mine). Great video, keep up the great work.
aaah yes we remember that mine ....what a hike it is to get up there ....still plenty of Galena up there to mine out ..... we filmed that one back in 1991 and again in early 2000 ....had my Pops climb it 4 times for the shot .... good times right there ruclips.net/video/5GSMOMXsPUM/видео.html
Jeff, that was an awesome video... I recognized more than a couple of those mines and it was great to see how they looked a couple of decades ago. Ha, yes, that was quite the trek to get up to that mine (we found the trail the miner's used on the way back down). We didn't have time to see all of the stuff higher up the mountain, but I'd sure like to.
thanks my brother ....took years to make it ..we got them all on VHS before BLM sealed them up @@TVRExploring
Those are gold now! I'm glad that you got out there before the BLM closure crews did... @@Askjeffwilliams
Thanks!
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Just wow!
Great explore 👍👍
Hi Justin, a cool look inside the mine but you guys sure had to work for it. A real shame idiots burned down the buildings though, it would have been cool to see them. Gosh those roads were bad, hopefully you all got home with the bottom of your vehicle intact. Thanks for sharing another cool adventure, much love. xx❤
Can we say the pinnacle of swiss… cheese, thats and hard to get to/ through. Wow… love that scrub desert sunsets.
Those suspended rails looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie! Wild.
thanks for sharing
The desert is an unforgiving environment but what a beautiful sky.
Pretty awesome and lots to see. I am very glad I am an armchair explorer only!
Notification squad cant wait to see this there ALWAYS bangers 👍
Glück auf ! From Germany
I'm surprised they built the tram - with all that gravity working for them, an ore slide might have been more cost effective. There is an incredible amount of stoping and twisty drifts and I wonder how much was natural passages they re purposed. I'm impressed with their ingenuity and work they put into this mine. Thanks for a great video tour !!
You're right about the efficiency of the ore slide, but a tram was probably the only realistic way of getting men and equipment up there.
Sketchy but fascinating! The old timers were industrious and inventive
They certainly were...
This mine is amazing .
The work and the Energie they spend to build all this stuff .
All gone and destroyed at the end.
I think these old mines Show that norhing human builds Last forever.
Nature take back everything slowly but staddy she took over.
Thank you for your work to bring the Video to the audience.
Glück Auf Frank Galetzka
Thank you, Frank. Yes, the trend is always toward decay and destruction - whether we're talking about civilizations or historic mines. I try to appreciate such things as much as possible for the short time that they are with us.
@@TVRExploring yes i do and you are absolute on the right way to Show and document all this great work the miners had done
Best wishes yours Frank Galetzka
You obviously love what you do. I wouldn't have made the climb with you!
"We already lost a friend along the way, the mountain goblins took him. We barely escaped. Now inside the portal we see that he was the lucky one as this trestle sways and mocks us."
The technical term for the board sticking out is a "tool rack." 👌
Great adventure, great photography and great effort. Thanks!
I’m staggered at just HOW (?) those early pioneer miners were able to get all that heavy, large sized material and equipment needed (inside and outside the main adit) in that very steep mountain location. Like the timber, air compressor, compressor fuel, air lines, water pipe work, ore car, track, tram station, tram cables, winch, ore bin materials, metalwork, etc. Just HOW did they manage that? I’d love to know? And how they transported the materials to the mine site from further afield? Lots of questions…and awe. 🚢🇬🇧🚂⛏
Some of that would have come up on the tram system, but getting the tram system built would have been almost unimaginably difficult...
This is a very "sporty" mine. 22:50 You missed the huge crack on the back of the adit, yikes!
No rats = Big cats 😹
Heck of a place. I would love to have seen all the above ground infrastructure in place and operating. It was quite the undertaking getting all of that built out. Sad there is so little left.
Well said. I frequently feel that way!
Good evening from Southeast South Dakota
What crazy stoping . The ore veins must have been wild.. mostly vertical?
Those rails on that ladder. Yeah, that looks Osha approved. Haha.
The trestle makes a nice photo
How in the heck do you find the time for all these explores?? I'm jealous. Pretty interesting mine. Thanks again!
If you guys ever get one of those little unimog things that's a 4x4 truck but has a flip down bucket in the front, no mine is safe 😂
29:51 - Bless you.
another great explorer, but you missed the ladder on the twin ore chute , when you looked up into it.
Man that's a wild mine to get too let alone pack the supplies needed up there. The old timers were definitely made of different stuff back then.
Indeed, the old timers were tough!
My thoughts on your travels throughout all the mines I have had the great pleasure of watching are the many, many stories that could have been told but are now lost. Back when I lived in Colorado, the tiny town of Louisville (now not so) had a bookstore that specialized in western lore and I purchased many books on "hard rock mining". If you ever want to release the general locations of the mines you have visited but not referencing which video, I might spend some time seeing if I could find some pertinent stories.
I'm actually out in that area of Colorado right now... There are a staggering number of mines out here, but the AML crews have done a very efficient job of closing them.
@@TVRExploring It may or in your case, may not, be comforting to know the local government allows pot, but not, mine exploration. I used to scour the piles the mines in search of discarded artifacts or crystal
The saddest part about filming... the cam never picks up the angles and distances in a manner that translates on the screen. I had to accept that reality after moving here to CO and filming. None the less, an excellent video!
Thank you. Yes, the camera gives an idea of what is there, but it's nothing like seeing it in person. I'm back out in Colorado right now and am reminded of that every day.
What were they mining? Thanks. Awesome tour!
Tap on the video description, it will give you some information about the video
I believe they call loads accumulators to get a volume of air built up to operate.
you had to be a goat to get up that little climb lol
For the ones who started this mine years ago: Determination knows no boundaries.
It's mines like this that hold opportunities. The harder to get to the better the chance
Exactly!
At the entrance i wonder why they didn't fill it all in to run the rail across firmly? I do like your exploration videos on a subject i know little about.
Thank you. They mined out from underneath the rails. The rails would have been there first...
The ladder you were fascinated with at the beginning looks like it was put there for moral support when walking on that plank. Listening to you complain about the road reminded me of the times when you had to come back from a mine explore on dirt bikes with no headlights. Didn’t you have car trouble one time when you had to spend the night? Anyways great video as always, I’m very curious where that shaft went that you threw the rock down.
Haha, you've been with us for a while! There have indeed been too many nighttime dirt bike rides without headlights! And, yes, we did spend the night out in the forest once after returning to our truck in the middle of nowhere and finding it had a dead battery. Memorable experiences, to be sure!
Is that a moon rock 4runner ?
Close. It was a Tacoma.
At 16:53 -16:54 there is what appears to be a bush, a green lush bush, to me it looks like a tray of grass, and it's even creating a shadow. Midway between the center and top right corner.
What is it?
All this is really awesome…however I need to make a mention that these open stopes like this are EXTREMELY dangerous, not to be taken lightly in any form. So word of caution to new would be cave/ mine explorers please respect your surroundings.
insanely precaeious
Very dangerous place indeed. I wonder why this is so well-gated with welded metal at 34:00 while everything else looks like it was abandoned over 50 years ago.
tbh i would of figured there was at least a haulage addit up there as well considering how much flatter that area was.
Have you come across any mines that couldn't be explored due to poisonous gas or lack of air?
Yes, I had to bail out on one in Kazakhstan that had bad air. Otherwise, just some mines with low air that have you breathing harder, but not enough to turn around.
You must have been a mountain goat in a past life.😀
Do you think they actually hauled out ALL of the things they needed to exist up there when they quit. You dont see any leftover supplies, tools, equipment, etc. Nothing but the odd junk, wood, and misc steel bits. Where did everything go considering it was such an extreme chore just to get up there. Maybe the tram helped in the move out
The only way that they could have gotten the heavy equipment in or out would have been via that tram system.
Briggs pipe mix was from the 1930 to 1940+
That trestle and ladder are just suspended!
The fact that you can drive out makes it an easy mine to get to 😂😂
Ha, fair point...
A precarious mine, with a precipitous drop.
That would have been a good title for the video!
I gotta know how that ladder got there !
That makes two of us!
It so sucks that it's back filled or collapsed because it might have went a long way back seeing as they built all the other stuff for a big mine!!!
Might be worth talking some shovels and see if it does go a lot further back!
It looks like a winged mule with a Saturn V rocket engine implanted in its rear would bust a lung going up there. Perhaps TVR Exploring should adopt a certain business model extant in certain areas of the Internet whereby they livestream and viewers tip them. Show us the stope! Yeah, baby! Seriously, it's interesting to see the weirdness that small-time mining got itself into in years past without the benefit of mining engineers with their fancy slide rules and college learnin'.