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Exploring the Mile Long Estelle Tunnel
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- Опубликовано: 8 ноя 2020
- Did a solo explore of the Estelle Tunnel, which was started back in 1908 for the production of silver, zinc and lead ore. The tunnel was driven over 8,000 feet, but due to collapse one can only go about 5,000 feet before hitting a total collapse. Many amazing features outside of the mine including ore bins, ore chutes, stone structures and a few dugout structures built into the sides of the hills. Hope you enjoy!
Skip to 4:08 if you don't want to see the drive up and want to get straight to the explore!
Before 4:08 is interesting also. Lets those people that are going there find out what to expect, and to make plans for.
I was in there in 2016 and it looks exactly the same. I miss my mine exploring days. Couldn't count how many people said I was crazy for going alone, but I'm still here to talk about it. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
This was a beautiful place and you did a great job. Those flat areas where rocks form walls are where the miners camped and had their tents. I think they even had mules or donkeys inside. You need to put a large YELLOW tarp or towel down with rocks and a red x on it right outside where you go in for rescue purposes. Leave a backpack there also with water, bandaging, cleaning aids for first aid next to the yellow flag that you have held down with rocks. Have a note with you name and time you went in. Your family will appreciate this in case of an emergency.
That's a great idea, I don't do that but whenever going solo I definitely should. Just so people know where I'm at. Thanks for watching my videos, I greatly appreciate it!
@@WesternMineDetective Just do it, solo or not, in consideration for anyone tasked with the job of trying to find you, it saves one hell of a lot of time, effort and anxiety. You could have found someone in Keeler or gone up to Gerro Gordo. Oh well, someone has to feed the vultures, Eh?
The footage you took of it snowing were awesome, I have never seen snow in person. Thank-you so much!
also, don't ever worry about your voice being boring! Your voice is actually so relaxing! It's like an ASMR thing for me.
Hi, new subscriber here, your video caught my eye and because I love watching abandoned mine channels I thought I would give you a try. A brilliant bit of narration showing good knowledge of mining, awesome. Thank you for sharing, much love. xx
Another great video! Thank you.
Thanks alot for watching! Glad you found it entertaining.
You DO see the concrete pillars in mines! They are machine, compressor and steam engine foundations near the entrance to exhaust smoke.the Big water tanks fed the steam engine near the entrance.
Yeah I'm sure. This was actually the first and I think only mine I seen concrete footings inside of the mine, which I thought was very cool.
and probably supplied water for those people that worked there.
Breathtakingly beautiful country there. Sometimes it really is about the journey rather than the destination. Thanks for the little escape and also four wheeling your new car for the share! Namaste.....
Yeah man, really beautiful area up that way. Glad to have gotten the chance to go there. I'm glad you enjoyed this one!
I enjoyed your small video of zinc lead etc mine it sure was high up wooeee 6000 ft Sheesh nice one keep it up you'll be a mine expert before too long boy oh boy all my coal mines were in around Stoke city, Staffs, England, UK
This one looks incredible, great job on the video!
Thanks man! It is quite the mine, not many go straight for such a long stretch. Appreciate it
Beautiful images in this exploration . Give this boy 4 gold stars !!!!
Beautiful site isn't it! Glad you liked the scenes in this one.
Great job showing us the stuff outside!
Man you got me hooked. I don't know which I like more the mines or the scenery.
Great Video, Really Interesting Place
Thanks alot! It's a very cool mine site, quite unique in that they built those few structures into the hillside.
I know exactly where you are and I might be going up that way in a few weeks. Some of the wires were from an overhead tram that took the ore down the mountain.
Oh sick, if you do get up there hope you have a great time! Beautiful area all up in those mountains, and yeah that tram you could see it from the road. Really cool to see the cables so high up there. Thanks for watching!
For a Western Mine Detective, going over hill & dale , your choice of a Chevy Malibu is a bit strange . ???
Haha, I know it's not the typical explorer's rig but I really don't mind hiking in if the weather permits. I know I can't access those really remote mines, but it's always possible to ask a buddy with 4x4 to take me up if I give em some gas money. Thanks for checking my video out!
Cool video sir. Keep up the good work! You are very relaxing to watch, your demeanor and voice are just chill. That is one hell of a waste rock pile! Looking forward to more videos from you.
Thanks man! I appreciate you taking the time to watch a few of my videos it means alot. I'm glad you find my videos chill, I try to make them interesting and at the same time not boring to watch. It's a huge waste rock pile, and it really shows getting in there. Thanks for watching!
Well yah, it goes in over a mile with ore extraction when faults were encountered!
That was great thank you so much for sharing.
That was cool. So many remains of structures outside. Too bad about the collapse.
Yeah man, I was pleasantly surprised with all those stone and wooden structures. Yeah it used to be open up until a few years ago, although you probably had to crawl through many real sketchy sections. At least I got to walk in a mile, you can't do that in most mines haha. Thanks man.
I like your style and your knowledge....very professional!
That was a good one. Thank you. Stay safe.
Very cool exploration! Loved that drive
Thanks Nelson! The drive is just spectacular, kind of a white knuckle drive in the more narrow sections of road especially in my whip. Thanks for watching!
@ 9:36 Yep definitely a powder magazine. Shelving was to store dynamite boxes on to keep them off the ground and dry. You say the main commodities they mined here were Silver-Lead-Zinc, that makes sense because @ 16:06 is Zinc oxide. That white fluffy stuff. Very cool explore, new sub !
Yea after the Silver/Lead days(mid 1860s-1880s)of Cerro Gordo, the days of Zinc carbonate started(1900s-late 1930s) to become the next ore commodity to leave from Cerro Gordo to go throughout our nation especially(1914-1918) to industry in need of large amounts of Zinc carbonate .
During the mining for Zinc carbonate the hunt for Silver never stopped.
They even went back to all of the old smelting furnaces built there in Cerro Gordo and started exacting Silver and small amounts of Gold from the old tailings.
Great video. The views are amazing there. That was a really cool mine
Thanks Naomi! Aren't those views just gorgeous. I could spend so much time up there. One of the coolest mine sites I've been to. Thanks for checking it out 😊
@@WesternMineDetective I have never seen views like that before so thank you for sharing them. Ohio doesn't have good views
@@NaomisAdventures Oh yeah, I visit my grandparents in ND and it's pretty much flat at least on the east side of the state. That's what I love about the west, so many different and awesome views.
@@WesternMineDetective I need to travel west
"Narrow" ? Wide and well traveled. I staked claims east of Independence back around 1990. Several "aboriginal" mine sites in the area.
Great video! Nice camera work, the scenery looked stunning!
Just subscribed.
Thanks for the share.
Thanks alot! Glad you're enjoying my content. Gonna be having another video up on this Monday.
Very fractured rock in there. There were probably many many collapses. Nice video.
Yeah, I noticed the farther I went in the sketchier it got. I'm sure when you used to be able to get past that total collapse I saw it was real sketchy going down 6,000 and 7,000 feet in. Appreciate it, thanks for watching!
Just beautiful, I envy you to be able to do what you do ! Hate to get caught up there in the snow !!
There was some good stuff there... It is hard to find relatively intact sites in accessible areas of California like that. Nice views there as well - especially with the snow!
It looked like you are using a GoPro? Which model do you have?
No way! The one and only TVR Exploring commenting on my video, so awesome. Yeah that's true, one hell of a long drive for me since I'm based in San Diego. And yeah I'm using the GoPro Hero 7 Black, sure works great for the things I do. for now at least. Thanks for watching Justin!
@@WesternMineDetective Oh, man, you're way out there! Frank Hood lives down in that area though and it certainly hasn't slowed him down. Thanks for letting me know the GoPro model. I have the Hero 5 and the stabilization on it is terrible. Seriously, it means that one can only handle short segments of it or it is just completely unwatchable... By contrast, yours looks great. So, I'm thinking it is time for an upgrade for me!
Yeah that's right that man Frank sure gets around, would love to meet up with him and do some explorin. He's the main reason why I started, I seen his earlier videos of him exploring in the mines of San Diego and I thought it was so awesome. No problem, the stabilization is quite good with this one. Can't use it with 4k but 2.7k is just as good. Keep exploring my man, love your content.
@@WesternMineDetective Haha, Frank Hood is the "gateway drug" for mine explorers! He's the reason I started doing videos and posting them on RUclips. I've been on a couple of trips with Frank and Paul.
That's awesome! Bet that was alot of fun. Did you guys explore in CA or NV?
I can't believe you're driving out there in that
00:37 "I'm not doing anything unsafe." Besides exploring an abandoned mine, out in the middle of nowhere, by myself ;) Sorry, I had to. Even though it ended up being collapsed, that was still pretty cool to see :)
That is some scenery on the approach
Good quality on your video, I enjoyed it.
Some of the ore bins of these mines look like it would have been a struggle to get a truck in there to deliver supplies and collect the ore. $$$
Beautiful views out there. Good looking mine.
Truly amazing views, the mine was just icing on top. Really happy to know there's still mines that are intact and relatively easy to access. Thanks for watching Bonnie!
@@WesternMineDetective anytime.
Thanks for the video
That's a beautiful and historic area. Was that possibly a smelter that you saw? Too bad the adit is collapsed. You never know how far the collapse goes. Nice job on the video, Jerith.
Hey Tom and Julie, yeah it definitely is a historic spot with quite a view. I'd say that's a good possibility as any that it's a smelter. Yeah I was kinda bummed that it was collapsed but I had already headed a mile down which is already way farther than most mines go. Thanks for giving it a look!
I wouldn't be surprised if it was a forge, basically the mechanics shop for the mine, I don't see the fuel source it would need to keep up with a smelter, but you could bring in the bags of coal needed for a forge easily enough.
Can confirm, I took a rental Elantra pretty far into US Forest Service roads in Arizona. 😂
I hope you were able to get some stills. What a nice place to be! Regards from Ody Slim
Yes sir, I got quite a few stills. I posted them on my Instagram and on Facebook. Thanks for watching!
Pretty Cool!
great video
Thanks alot, glad you liked it!
It looks like you’re on another planet
Yeah man definitely! It's amazing being up there especially with the little bit of snow. No one else around. Thanks for checking it out Joel!
Just drove past the Estelle a few weeks ago but I didn't understand its significance to Cero Gordo at the time , I'll be back !
Caution, earthquake country.
@@lotharschiese8559 What's your point?
Great video!
I wondered about the one room living quarter someone had built there. Could have been a caretakers/guard place?
Too bad about the collapse tho, it would have been neat to see.
Your just off 395 near Death Valley in the Inyo mts, there must be Galena deposits if there is silver?
well preserved and highly dangerous.
Yeah definitely nicely preserved, not crazy dangerous if you don't mess around with the broke timbers or collapsed sections. Thanks for checking it out!
Have you driven up to Cerro Gordo in your Malibu? They said that higher clearance is needed.
6:05 Makes me think maybe it was a place that was meant for keeping the pack mules/burros in one place.
That would actually make alot of sense, thanks for the input! Never even thought of that.
That was my idea, a Corral
@@WesternMineDetective What? 100+ years ago they had wagons and mules.
Nothing like a hot bath…..
Notice most of the drifts, adits and shafts around Cerro Gordo are collapsed?
I wonder if those that owned Cerro Gordo twenty, thirty years ago or longer blew those openings to keep unwanted folk out.
I watched the episode of Ghost Town Living were Brent and Robert(with the help of Robert's dynamite) were trying to open the entrance to the Omega Mine.
Looked like to me with each explosion the Omega entrance was getting buried worse making it hard for Brent to enter. If no one can enter, no one can get injured or die.
How long would it take, to dig 10,000 miles of tunnels… my grandfather was a driller……..worked at every underground mine, butte had…….butte is a mile high.., mile high and a mile deep……
Just FYI, should not go in a cave or mine with a storm like that coming in. It cuts off the air supply in the mine and you could easily run out of air and not know. Other wise cool stuff and would love to explore with you. Come to Arizona and we will go explore
Tunnel is at 14:25.
Watching your video again and at the 2:35 mark you say that the mine you are going to is 6300' below sea level. lol
Watch again if you want I said above. I would've believed I said below cuz it's possible to mix up words when you're doing these videos impromptu
During frame 22:47 you must have stepped in a low spot because when you took another step the porthole light showed through again at 22:52
How do you get the locations of mines in your area?
Butte Montana, the richest hill on earth… there’s 10,000 miles of mining tunnels, under butte….. my home town……
wiring you saw is called nob and tube wiring.
Thanks for the info! Now I know.
You should've brought a bicycle !!!
I definitely should have!
They had a little war, in the tunnels.. war of the copper kings…. Wrote a book about it…. War of the copper kings… also a book called, a mile high , a mile deep….
Was it snowing in that desert????? 🤨🤨🤨🤨That place looks warm.
Yeah I'm sure in the summer it gets quite hot out there. Definitely a mountainous desert climate, especially with the type of plant life out there. Hope you enjoyed this one!
I hate to be negative about your great video but you broke the cardinal rule of mine exploring (I think):don't go in alone, especially in a mine you know has some collapsed portions. Other than that I enjoyed your adventure.
You're right about that, but for me to go up here it's a five hour drive. The dude that usually goes with me doesn't have a whip so that's why I went alone. Kinda hard to pick someone up and drop them back off again for a ten hour roundtrip drive. I took all the other precautions that's all I could do. Thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed this one!
Lot of snow?
They had to pack all the wood up there, by wagon…..
If you are traveling alone
In mines.
Please consider taking friends with you for safety and if neccessary people know where to find you if you have a problem(s).
What was the mining camp called? Good explore! Im in northern Nevada.
Hey Cindy, I wish I could head to NV. This is actually in central California, kind of close to the border with Nevada. Can't disclose that info here... haha. Thanks for watching!
@@WesternMineDetective oh, ok. The terrain looks a lot like Nevada. I would like to do some exploring in California next summer. IF we aren't all shut down again.
Yeah it does look alot like Nevada. Maybe we could meet up when ya get over this way.
@@WesternMineDetective That would be awesome! We'll see what the summer brings.
Had a steering wheel broke your thumbs or fingers before?
Hitting a rock or finding a depression will perform that trick.
Are you checking out Cerro Gordo while up in that area?
Sorry just realized this videos two months old
Nope, didn't make it up to the town. Since this is a five hour drive for me not much time left to take a look at the town as well as explore. Thanks for watching!
The collapse can be dug out to allow passage which would be worth it.
Not unless you're an experienced miner or it is your grave, and your OK with entombment.
@lothar schiese I'm sure they could figure it out Mr. Safety ... it could even be braced up which I've done and many others ARE doing to compete these explorations.
👍👍😎
The tanks are water tanks.
Thanks for clarifying!
When visiting any man-made mine what I call exploring
begins after Mother Nature had left a cave for miners
to discover by accident. Who might have been curious
enough ti stray from where the otre was bearing. So my
exploring underground beings where evidence of man-
kind ended. Which I've done for miles away from man=
made tunnels. Why? Maybe to rest again beside rwo
long dead Saber-tooth Tigers or a ledge nap beside an
unexployed abyss (after pulling up a big slab beside my
hips so once asleep I can't roll over into horror) Missy,
go put your big girl pants to follow this senior citizen. .
When copper was king…….
Tanks are for hot water, to bathe…..
keep your mask on
uh it's snowin you better go home your mom has some pipin hot chicky noodle 🍜 soup a waitin!!
Lol, after the one explore I just did a couple weeks ago this was really nothing. I was just worried it would snow more given the pretty high altitude. Glad it barely snowed not even an inch.
YOU need a Jeep
I sure do. Mind getting me one? Lol