I'm back...

Tillaway · November 22, 2002, 07:06:00 PM

I was out of town for the past week working in the North Fork of the Feather River canyon near Belden, CA. A rather steep, rocky, nasty place.

There was a couple of times I found myself up on cliffs trying to figure out how to get down. It's much easier to climb up than come down.

I found some neat things there but, I ran out of film in the camera so no pictures. I found numerous old miners trails built by Chinese labor. These trails were constucted on ledges across the cliff faces, some had intricate rock work where rocks were stacked like bricks to create a ledge on some of rock faces. They were still holding after about 150 years. I found an antique road grader at an old homestead. It is 1920"s vintage and complete, it looks like you could almost drive it out if the road still existed.

Looks like I missed a bit while I was out. It's hard to keep up with the posts anymore.

ADfields · November 23, 2002, 04:28:26 AM

I love that old stuff! When I was a kid about 10 or so I was with my Dad deer hunting neer the old Tip Top Mine in Arizona and it's like your talking about, not a flat spot noplace to rest on for miles around. We came to a bit of 100 year old road in the middle of noplace stacked from rocks by Chinese labor and a old shaft opening onto it. We moved some old pine planks and looked in the shaft to find an old stage coach parked in the mouth like thay just walked away and never made it back to get it. There was 2 old saddles rotting on the floor and all kinds of cool stuff about so we picked around looking at it for a good 2 hours befor we left for camp. It was a 4 hour long hike back to camp and the neerest road, we got ther well after dark. In the years after I have been all over that place and cant find it. I draged my Dad up there a hundred times I bet and it's like we were in the twilight zone that day, we could never find it. I know that stuff is still there and I have been in rock chucking range more than once but never spoted it but we had a lot of fun looking. I take a GPS every place I go now and you can bet if I ever find somthing cool now I wont misplace it! ;)
Andy

Brian_Bailey · November 23, 2002, 05:58:11 AM

Andy,

What ya probably found was that mine everyones been looking for, for years. I think it was call the ol Dutchmen mine were supposedly all that gold is buried. Legend has it that it moves on you once you have found it and try to find it again.

Tillaway,

My hands were sweating, while reading your account. I'm scared of heights

. I don't know how you folks can do it?

RavioliKid · November 23, 2002, 08:29:44 AM

Welcome back, Tillaway!

You're back just in time for Thanksgiving. So, what will it be after the feast? Hunting, football or the after-Thanksgiving sales? ;)

Tillaway · November 23, 2002, 03:35:18 PM

Rav, I wish... no, no and no :( it's off to work I go. The nature of the beast here is you work yourself to death when works available, then you might get a week or month or two off. Currently I have work in front of me until January so I have to make as much as I can until then.

I am supposed to be heading back that way in a couple weeks right after a finish cruising a local management block. The place I'm going next is even steeper, not exactly sure how I'm going to work this one. :

AD, I'll bet I could find that place again... I sort of have a knack for it. ;D I've found all kinds of interesting stuff, prehistoric sites, stolen cars, a little more on that one when I get the film back.

ADfields · November 24, 2002, 05:19:55 AM

Brian it's the lost Dutchmen mine or as Arizona folks say "the tall tale" thay told that story back in the day to get some eastern money people to come and look for it about WW2. Little did thay know how well it would work, it's been the fastest booming state for 20 years now. The true story of the Dutchmen as best as thay know is he robed a shipment of Confederet gold down in Mexico and hid it neer Wickenberg Arizona. He would shoot the gold from a shotgun so he could say he had a mine when he came to Wickenberg to sell it a bit at a time. He did have a clame in the Superstichon Mountians but that is 70 very hard miles from Wickenberg and he was in town once a week or so with lots of gold. The last time he was in town 2 bad men left town just after he did and none of them have ever been found after that day so thay think the 2 men (Mexicans) killed him and took the gold south.

Tillaway, who knows. ??? I know I have been close but it's so thick overgrone with Manzanita, Saguaro and Teddy Bear Cholla it's not as EZ as it sounds. I have been in that stuff with javalina (pigs) all around within 30 foot of me grunting and I could not see one to shoot at when hunting. I always find something neet that was there last time but I never saw it and you cant find it the next time, 30 feet is a long long way around there. It's the meanest place I have ever set foot in around there and you will come out all scrached and cut up.
Andy