Twin Lakes Pass and above Cardiff Pass July 22, 2011

Beautiful Penstemon in the Wasatch

After hiking up Maybird Gulch and seeing how much snow there was; I decided to pick a south facing spot for my second hike. I chose to hike out of Alta towards Twin Lakes Pass and Brighton Ski Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon. I started out hiking towards Cardiff Pass at the base off Little Superior; however, after 2 miles the trail peetered out before it reached the ridge between Little Cottonwood and Big Cottonwood Canyons. I then hiked back down towards the town of Alta before finding the trail to Twin Lakes Pass and Brighton. This particular trail was very steep gaining elevation quickly towards Twin Lakes Pass. I wanted to get high in elevation to see awesome views; so I veered off the trail and climbed to the top of the ridge above Twin Lakes Pass. The hike gave me great views of Snowbird and Alta and into Big Cottonwood Canyon but the abundance of wildflowers was not the same from a year ago. To the east I could see Sunset Peak and Mt. Wolverine and to the west I could see the Pfeifferhorn, Twin Peaks and Mt. Baldy at Alta. Warning! This area has many illegal hiking trails which causes confusion. The Forest Service needs to do some trail reclamation in this part of the Wasatch.
Penstemon and Paintbrush

Infusion of Penstemon

Looking toward Big Cottonwood Canyon

The beautiful view to the west; showing the high peaks around Snowbird.


Cool tree in the high country

Lone tree with blue sky.

High country of the Wasatch.

Maybird Gulch "Is it Spring or Summer" 7/21/2011

The Pfeifferhorn from up in Maybird

On July 21st I hiked into Maybird Gulch from the Whitepine Trailhead in Little Cottonwood Canyon. This trailhead is located about six miles up Little Cottonwood Canyon on the right side of the road. It is a very popular trailhead for Salt Lake City residents and will fill up early on the weekends. The trailhead gives access to three different lakes basins- Whitepine, Redpine and Maybird- all about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. Last year I hiked up to Redpine lake and Pfeifferhorn and loved it (chronicled on this blog). Today I will hike into Maybird Gulch which is 3.75 miles one way and approximately 2,000 feet of elevation gain.

The hike: Leaving the canyon the trail climbs steadily out of the canyon passing the trail junctions for Whitepine first ( aprroximately 1.5 miles from trailhead) and Maybird Gulch second at 2.5 miles. Each junction is clearly marked with trail signs. The trail to Maybird leaves the Redpine trail and crosses the creek before climbing into Maybird Gulch. Snowbird received a record 780 inches of snow so their was still extensive snow in Maybird Gulch making it necessary for some route finding skills. However, the hike offered great views of Little Cottonwood Canyon and the Pfeifferhorn. This year the wildflowers in the Wasatch were pushed back because of high snow levels in the Wasatch.

Penstemon up in the canyon

Columbine off the trail

Cottonwood Canyon from the trails

One of the avalanche shoots on the northern side of the road

Extensive snow in the gulch

A tree well in the gulch

Tonopah Historic Mining Park 7/15/2011

The mining park

Coming back from Southern California I visited the Tonopah Historic Mining Park. The Park is 110 acres in size and has many of the original silver mines in the area including the Silver Top, Mizpah, Desert Queen and Grizzly. The hoist works at the Silver Top and Mizpah were pariculary interesting. The park has been voted one of Nevada's Top Rural Museums and is well worth a visit. If you stay in town the entry fee is $4. The Mining Park is open 7 days a week April thru September from 9 to 5.


History: The silver rush in Tonopah started in the spring of 1900 when prospector Jim Butler, traveling to the mining camp of Southern Klondike, decided to have samples of rock tested for minerals in the San Antonio Range. When the ore was analyzed the assayer in Belmont found each ton of ore had 640 ounces of silver and $206 in gold. Butler would not return to Tonopah springs until six months later to stake claims. The first claim Butler and his wife made was the Desert Queen. Butler's wife made a claim at the Mizpah (it was a rarity in the west for women to stake claims at mines). However, at first it cost an extraordinary amount of money to transport the ore to smelters so production remained small. Butler began to lease out his claims in December of 1900 for a year. All he asked was 25 percent of the gross output. Ore piled up because of the poor transportation infrastructure.

In January of 1902 Butler sold his mining rights to a group from Philadelphia who organized the Tonopah Mining Company. At about the same time a long epidemic plagued Tonopah causing about 1300 people to leave. After the 30 day epidemic, Tonopah entered a period of stability with few robberies and little violence. In 1902 town had 32 saloons, hotels and stores bolstered by rich ore strikes at the Desert Queen, Montana- Tonopah and North Star. However, the town was still plagued by transportation issues keeping its production down.

The completion of the narrow-gauge railroad in July 1904 helped to increase production at the mines and the town's importance. The railroad was named the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad. In 1904 the County seat was moved from Belmont. In 1906 and 1907 total production surpassed $10 million. In 1908 the expensive Mizpah Hotel opened helping to put Tonopah on the map with wealthy east coast citizens. Through 1921 total silver production was $120 million. Production stayed at around one million through World War II. (Information from Tonopah: Silver Camp of Nevada By: Stanley Paher)

The Desert Queen mine headframe

The trestle on Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad

The steel headframe at the Mizpah Mine.
This would also be known as the Belle's Mine.




The hoist works at the Mizpah

The headframe of the Grizzly peaking out behing tailings

The shallow shafts made by the leasers

The loader at the Grizzly Mine

Hoist works at the Grizzly Mine




One of the stamps from the nearby 10 stamp mill.

7/15/2011 Tonopah Cemetery 1901-1911

The entrance into the cemetery

Down the road from the Mizpah and next to the Clown Hotel is the original Tonopah Cemetery. It has graves of men and women who pioneered Tonopah and who worked inside the mines. After walking around the cemetery taking pictures I formulated a number of observations. First, many of the graves showed men who migrated from Italy and Ireland. Second, it shows how many citizens died from diseases which are rare today such as Pneumonia, Yellow Jaundice, Diptheria and Typhoid. Third, a section of the cemetery has 10 plus graves devoted to babies which shows the harsh realities of the eary 1900s. Last, it shows how dangerous mining could be. This is one of the most interesting cemeteries I have been to in the west and should be on anyone's list of places to see.



Inside the cemetery


One of the many graves for babies

Irish immigrant who died from Typhoid

If you look closely this man burned to death

One of the 17 victims of the Belmont Mine fire

Another victim of the fire. The following men died from a run away ore care in the mines

July 7, 2011 B-39 Russian Submarine San Diego Maritime Park

Tara inside the submarine looking through an opening

While in San Diego, Tara and I visited the Maritime Museum downtown. It is big with approximately eight ships that you can board. The ships you can see include: Star of India, Berkeley, Medea, Californian, HMS Surprise, Dolphin and Foxtrot B-39. Each ship has displays about its history complete with historical maps. For this blog I am going to talk about the B-39 attack Submarine because of my fascination with Russian history.

History: The Russian B-39 is a long-range Foxtrot Class attack sub. This ship was built in Leningrad, Russia, in 1974. This class of submarine was charged with surveillance and attacking shipping during the Coldwar.

Specifications: i. 299 feet in length

ii. Capable of diving to 985 feet

iii. Powered by three diesel engines each with 2000 horsepower; the ship has three propellers.

iiii. Crew of 74 highly trained sailors.

iv. Armed with torpedos and mines.

Some of the quarters for the enlisted men. They slept wherever.

One of the huge doors which could be used to seal off a part of the sub in case of emergency. Looking out of the Torpedo room.

Button controls inside sub with russian writing.

Inside the control room

Another pic inside the control room showing its complexity.

The Captain's quarters. The pic below shows the outside of the ship.

Osceola, Nevada July 1, 2011

Beat up truck in the old part of town

Tara and I continued driving south on 93/50 towards Pioche, Nevada. We wanted to stop at a ghost town called Osceola in the base of the Snake Mountains. To get to Osceola follow 93 until 50 turns off to go toward Great Basin National Park. Follow US 50 until the turnoff for the ghost town. The cemetery of the town is very interesting well worth a visit. Likewise, there are some historic building in what was the townsite. Watch for private property in the area.

History: Osceola produced gold from 1872 when it was discovered and off and on until 1952. The mining district had the distinction of producing the largest nugget in the state of Nevada valued at $6,000. Osceola also had electricity and the first telephone in White Pine County. Total production of the area mines was $3.3 million of which $1.9 million came from Placer Mining. The area had some of the longest running placer mines in the state.

Osceola had two major discoveries. The first one occured in September of 1872. The Osceola Mining District formed in October and soon 11 mines were working the area. In 1877 a new company called the Osceola Placer mining Company began to placer mine in the area. Because of the lack of water production remained small; however, the company built two water ditches to increase placer mining. With an increase in production, three mills of 5, 10, and 20 stamps began to operate.

Major mining activity declined for three reasons. A fire in April of 1890 destroyed buildings on mainstreet. The Placer Mining Company folded because of lower deposits and deterioration of water. A revival did occur in 1925 with seventeen claims being worked until 1952 but, the town's heyday had come and gone. (Info from Romancing Nevada's Past By: Shawn Hall).

Skeleton of original building on private property

Flower at cemetery
Headstone in cemetery

View from the cemetery. Headstone of young child in the cemetery.

7/1/2011 Ward Charcoal Ovens State Park Nevada

On our way down to southern California, Tara and I stopped at the Ward Charcoal Ovens south of Ely, Nevada, on route 93 south. The weather was beautiful with clear blue skies and cooler morning temperatures; however, by the afternoon the temps would be well into the 90s. A day use fee of $7 is charged because it is a state park. This park is very interesting and well worth your time. A visitor can also take a short three mile nature trail.

History: The charcoal ovens were constructed in the 1870s to create charcoal which would be used in the smelters to the north. Each kiln had a capacity for 35 cords of wood which burned for 12 days. Workers used the kilns until the charcoal was replaced by coke brought in by rail.

Lime kilns in the park

The charcoal ovens. There are four together.

The photo below shows Tara standing in the doorway of one of the ovens.