“Sometimes Life Can Be An Uphill Battle!”😅
Springtime was yesterday😎……..today Silvertop awoke to a half inch of rain, and it showed no indication of stopping all day long !🙄
“Liz is today a Costco shopping day?”🥰
So it was to be ……. Shopping steps today my friends Lol!😇
I snapped so many photos on yesterday’s hike, I thought I would share some today, and touch on the History of this “Infamous” gold mine!😇
It all started in 1899…………….
Just like a modern day “Fishing Scheme”, this was an extremely elaborate “Gold Mine Fishing Scheme”!😳
Elaborate is really an understatement my friends! Just to pull heavy wagons up to the “Gold Mine” was quite the undertaking!
The first two photos, show how steep the climb was right from the beginning, down below, at the county Road!
I asked ChatGPT about the elevation rise from the beginning of the trail, to the first, very difficult, stream crossing!
“Silvertop, the trail to the Gold Mine, starts at Sealund drive at approximately 360 feet above sea level. The trail climbs steeply uphill to the first rough stream crossing, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 miles uphill, at 2,405 feet above sea level!
It has an average grade of 10.3° climb!
A maximum grade of 20.8° ……….
With short sections of trail over 30° climb!”
That’s where wagons loaded with heavy mining equipment stopped……. At “Hayden Creek”!
This was only the first stop, halfway to their destination, the Gold Mine was much further uphill!😅
Just look at the next three photos………….
Chat GPT tells me that stacks of logs were laid parallel with the stream, creating a very rough, very dangerous stream crossing for wagons!🙄
Tak a second look at these photos my friends, I cannot even imagine, trying to cross this stream with horses and wagons on a stack of logs!😬
All for Gold………………
As many of you already know, there wasn’t any Gold! The “Mines” were “Salted” with shotgun shells, filled with gold that was shot into the mine’s!🙄
Today, thousands hike these trails each year!
Precious metal….. not one ounce was ever found!
Gold…… every hike is golden my friend!☺️
Till tomorrow Silvertop Mike😊
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