Trail Report: Death Valley/Tecopa Mines

[mkjeepers]

[COLOR="Blue"]I did another "whistle stop tour" of the Mojave desert looking for some of the turn of the century mines - and find them we did. This is one of the best selections of mines we have discovered to date.

One mine dates back to 1864, and a few of the others right around the same time. The tunnels to these mines were so long and had so many branches it would have taken a week to trace them all.

The area is a little more deserty than the Mojave National Preserve, but well worth the visit. They are all located in the Tecopa/Dumont area. There are still several more out there....but we ran out of daylight...maybe another trip.

Slide links[/COLOR]

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http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/n...view=slideshow

#2
http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/n...view=slideshow

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http://s304.photobucket.com/albums/n...view=slideshow

A few pix.

Salt Creek Mine




Saratoga Springs


Sheep Springs talc mine








Sheep Creek Cabin


War Eagle Mine












Noonday Mine








Ore Cart winch


Cool Mine


China Ranch Date Farm


Ibex Springs talc mines

[rcubed]

Looks like a great trip. We are going to be in DV for 4 days this weekend. I love the southern areas, but we may hit some of the more northern spots. I love Ibex Springs, Saratoga Springs, some great history there.
Thanks for the trip reports. It keeps me going till I get a chance to get out too.
Ron

[jpflat2a]

very nice pictures, thanks for sharing.
When you see the old machinery and mountings for them, you can almost imagine the chitty-chitty-bang-bang noises that would have been coming from them.
It would be neat to hear all the equipment running like the stamp mills, compressors and such. I'd love to hear that just once.

[flatpoint]

Amazing.....Did you do the "Peace Dove"?

[Mitch]

Mike,

Thanks for sharing the pictures. Looks like a fun time.

Mitch

[FishPOET]

We will be in the same area from tomorrow until Sunday. I'm looking forward to the trip thanks to your pics!

[headhunter]

Another outstanding trip report!

A lot of these look like the wood is in really good shape. Those ladders actually look sturdy. Is that true or is that an illusion?

Christian

[dirtman13]

Great pictures Mike. I really enjoy Death Valley. The talc mines are amazing. I still got a few clumps from our last trip. The wife took the rest for her kids at school.

[mkjeepers]

Another outstanding trip report!

A lot of these look like the wood is in really good shape. Those ladders actually look sturdy. Is that true or is that an illusion?

Christian

[COLOR="Blue"]Christian the wood in the mines are in good shape. The ladders were in good condition and could still be used....but not by me. I just look and don't touch...at least for now.

Some of the mines looked like a Disneyland tour, with all the wood and rooms etc. Tunnels going different directions on different levels. Rail tracks turning corners. Really cool. We could have spent a lot of time in each one.

Most of the mines looked very safe, though a couple of the talc mines were unstable in a few places. So we took a few pix and moved on, you just need to use common cents$.

As far as the names of each mine, I found a few names, but some I'm not sure. I'll pass that over to our mine expert Mitch.

There were the
Anaconda
War Eagle
Noonday
Ibex Talc ??
Sheep Creek Talc ??
Salt Creek

And a few others we didn't get to. And one set of structures that the BLM closed the road to. A couple of very large structures you could see from 3-4 miles away.

Anyway in the winter this is a great place to explore. The temps were in the mid 40's with no wind. It sure felt good to go into those warm mines.

mk[/COLOR]

[mkjeepers]

Amazing.....Did you do the "Peace Dove"?

[COLOR="Blue"]We were in one that said "Pray for Peace".??[/COLOR]

[kirkandsylvia]

Wow, I am impressed with the pictures. That looks likes a great weekend adventure that me and my wife might have to do come early spring if time allows. Everything seems to be very well preserved for being over 140 plus years old. I would have to say, by the pictures, I would definitely harness up and decend down the ladders to explore the remote tunels and rooms. You never know what you might find in the areas that most wont go to. Those areas are usually where we find the things left behind that truely describe the history of the mine.
Thanks for the great pictures.

[mkjeepers]

Amazing.....Did you do the "Peace Dove"?

[COLOR="blue"]After a little research, I think we went into the PeaceDove mine.[/COLOR]