Another weekend, another run into the mountains. Smoke from the 416 fire north of Durango settles into the Animas valley at night and works it's way out to our place (about 10 miles SE of town). To get away from the smoke we loaded up the P500 yesterday and headed toward Silverton. Driving north through Durango up until Purgatory Ski Area was some pretty thick smoke. Once we started to climb Coal Bank Pass the smoke dissipated and we didn't have to deal with it until on our way back home.
Decided to run Arristra (Spanish for a type of ore mill) Gulch and a quick trip to the end of Cunningham Gulch. Mining in the Silverton area started in Arristra Gulch back in 1870 and continued until 1991.
At the bottom of the shot is the portal to the Mayflower mine.
Here's a close-up of the Mayflower mine portal - now sealed with concrete. The inscription reads "Mayflower Mine 1993 9/21" Elevation at this point is 11,200'.
Looking out from the portal of the Mayflower mine. Quite a scramble over loose rock to reach this point.
The view back down the valley towards the Mayflower Mill back down in the valley. Some of the aerial tram towers (lower center of photo), cables, and buckets are still still standing. Pretty impressive for something that was built in the 1920's.
The Little Giant Mine in the lower section of Little Giant Basin.
Climbing higher into Little Giant Basin.
Had a little time before we needed to head home so did a quick run up Cunningham Gulch. At the end of the gulch is the trail head leading to Highland Mark Lakes. The road over Stony Pass also branches off this gulch and we hope to make a full day out of that route soon. Here's a waterfall coming off of Mountaineer Creek at the end of Cunningham Gulch.
Decided to run Arristra (Spanish for a type of ore mill) Gulch and a quick trip to the end of Cunningham Gulch. Mining in the Silverton area started in Arristra Gulch back in 1870 and continued until 1991.
At the bottom of the shot is the portal to the Mayflower mine.
Here's a close-up of the Mayflower mine portal - now sealed with concrete. The inscription reads "Mayflower Mine 1993 9/21" Elevation at this point is 11,200'.
Looking out from the portal of the Mayflower mine. Quite a scramble over loose rock to reach this point.
The view back down the valley towards the Mayflower Mill back down in the valley. Some of the aerial tram towers (lower center of photo), cables, and buckets are still still standing. Pretty impressive for something that was built in the 1920's.
The Little Giant Mine in the lower section of Little Giant Basin.
Climbing higher into Little Giant Basin.
Had a little time before we needed to head home so did a quick run up Cunningham Gulch. At the end of the gulch is the trail head leading to Highland Mark Lakes. The road over Stony Pass also branches off this gulch and we hope to make a full day out of that route soon. Here's a waterfall coming off of Mountaineer Creek at the end of Cunningham Gulch.
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