The old mine roads begin where back country camping sites exist. Where we were camping was a few miles from this point, but we just walked it along the established roads.
Along the way, one passes an Easter Island rock. Below that distinctive rock is an old picnic spot. We'd love to know the story of this picnic spot. It looks to be Civilian Conservation Corps era, but not of the usual CCC quality. Many years ago there was a settlement in this area, but why anyone would choose this spot to build a picnic area when they lived just a short distance away is curious. Nobody at the Ranger station had any idea. One of many mysteries that exist when people simply move out of an area and nobody moves in to replace them.
Then you pass by another distinctive rock--the foot rock. Looks like a foot for a comic book character.
About half a mile later the steep mine road begins, the one that leads to the Giant Ledge Mine.
We love these old mine roads. Huge efforts to create them, and many are still in remarkably good shape, even years later. Many could be repaired to the place where they could be used by vehicles with only minimal effort. Working with hand tools. Very impressive.
The mine was interesting in that it was the first one we had seen that still looked like the mines that we used to see in western movies of our youth. Wood across the front, timbers holding up the rocks.
Dan and Vicky's three rules of old mines: 1. don't go in them, 2. don't go in them, 3. don't go in them.
Then we walked back down the mine road and caught a spur up to the camp where the miners lived. Really more of a ghost town, in that there were probably a variety of structures there in addition to places to sleep and eat. But who knows.
The most interesting artifact was an old car. Why it was driven up there, and more interestingly, why it was just left there, are stories that we'll never hear. But it made sense to somebody at the time.
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