Inside The Mountain

Apparently hiking on the mountains wasn't good enough.

I'm on my way out to Mount Evans, on a winding road through valleys at about 7000 feet. I'm enjoying the scenery, and its a relaxing drive. On my right, up about 20 feet on the side of the mountain I notice something. On a small terrace, barely visible and out of the corner of my eye, I think I see a hole in the side of this particular mountain. I tell myself it can't be anything great, as I see small holes and very shallow caves plenty in the mountains. The thing that drew me the most is that I thought I saw timbers framing the side of this cave.

Of course I had to stop. You never know, it just might be a deeper cave, or maybe even a mine!

I always have high hopes, but I expect the worst. Even if it were a mine, it would have been sealed when exhausted, and what I saw was just the beginning. Surely it was blasted shut decades ago.

I park my car on the side of the road, near a fast moving stream, grab my hiking poles and a small flashlight and head up the side of the mountain. There is a path to the terrace.

I was correct in what I saw, definitely a mine, supported on the sides and top by large timbers. I notice inside that there is strewn rock, wood planks, and a small opening going deeper. Of course this opening is covered by a gray metal grate.

I carefully make my way to the back of the 30 foot cave, making sure that I wasn't stepping above a mine shaft that could lead to my untimely demise with a fall of who-knows-how far, if the wood planks were to break.

Upon close inspection of the grate, I discover that it is actually a hatch of sorts with hinges on the right side and a nice Master lock on the left. The entire opening is about 2 feet square, pretty small.

I tug on the hatch, and it opens easily.

The hinges are broken on the right side, the only thing holding it in place is the lock.

It swings open just enough for a person of my size to slip through.
I can see for about 20 feet beyond the opening, but nothing beyond. It seems like it goes fairly deep. I fail to hear an echo.

A normal person at this point would probably think hey this is pretty cool, but who knows what's in there, or if there are any vertical shafts to fall into, and simply walk away. Well, I walked away, but only because I had other goals for that day, playtime on Mount Evans, and I figured it would be smart to get a partner to wait at the opening while I explore, so that if I don't come back out they can tell my friends and family.

My common sense was short lived. On my second trip to Evans the snow was still high and it started to rain. I couldn't help my self this time.

Stopping on the side of the road again, I grab a mini-mag lite flashlight, finger light, digital camera, hat, and headlamp. I notice a Jeep Cherokee pull up behind me and three adults and 2 children get out and walk up to the mouth of the cave. I check the brightness of my numerous flashlights to make sure they have fresh batteries and head up.

The family is up there taking pics at the mouth of the cave and enjoying themselves. They are nice and we talk for awhile about the mine. The two male adults are looking through the hatch and kidding to each other about going in. I mention that it would be cool, and they start talking about the mouth of the cave, and how the roof looks like it is broken up, ready to cave in. It seems like they spooked themselves, because they are less inclined to be inside after that. One of them says he likes panning for gold and shows me a stone with shiny stuff in it. He says this is mixed with quartz and gold ore, which they melt down to get the gold out of, or something along those lines. He takes a rock to send to his mining friend in Georgia. They bid me farewell, and tell me to have fun. I don't think they had any idea that I was actually going in.

After they leave, I take my headlamp out of my pocket and put it on. I probably looked rather amusing. I bid my farewell to the world of light and slip through the small opening in the grate. In retrospect, it seems that my instinct for self preservation may be broken.

Even I will have to admit being a bit nervous on the other side of that threshold. I was acutely aware of the thousands of tons of rock over my head at first.

The main passageway is approximately 20 feet wide, and between 8 and 10 feet high at this point. All sides are unevenly cut. I see the same broken wood planks on the floor of the cave, about 3 or 4 feet wide, running along the center. I see a few old pipes under these, and some running water. The pipes are mostly broken and the trough has become a small stream flowing out. I can only assume that it goes beneath the the entrance, as the small hatch is about 4 feet above the floor of the cave, set in rock.

I'm 50 feet in and the sound of the stream outside fades into the silence. The main corridor seems to be the only part of the cave at this point, continuing straight for the entirety of the mine. Only after a good 10 minutes of walking do I find any offshoots. The main corridor was straight as an arrow, and I could always see the entrance, even when it was only a pinprick in the distance.

I wasn't walking fast, but I was traveling deeper into the mine for a good 20 minutes. I passed up 3 or 4 side corridors at first, meaning to see them on the way out. I didn't want to get confused as to where the exit was. I didn't have a compass on me, nor was a drawing a map. My concern turned out to be unfounded when I saw the arrows painted on the walls of the side caves, pointing the direction to the entrance. I was amazed at how new the paint looked, but it was flecking a little with age. Then I remembered that almost no erosion happens there. There is no wind, no rain, no sunlight. Those arrows could have been there for decades.

OK so how deep is he going to go? What stops me? Not fear of a cave in, and not concern about my batteries running out, or the strange sounds you hear when there is no other sound.

Water is what stopped me. I was wearing shoes that had large vents in them, top and bottom. I wasn't going to get that nasty muck in my shoes.

It was only moist for most of the mine, but when I got to the point when the main cave was getting narrow, only about 3 or 4 feet wide, it dropped a bit, and the drainage system stopped working. I was blocked by about 3 or 4 inches of water. I needed boots. On the way back there were a few rooms on the left side, and narrow corridors on the right. The one corridor that looked promising was flooded as well.

There was also an opening that went up about 15 or 20 feet on one side that was another extension, another reason to get better shoes or boots with good tread so I can climb that slick rock.

As I leave the cave I am assaulted by the bright sunlight near the beginning. What previously seemed very dark was now quite bright to my night adjusted eyes.

All in all, it was a good experience. Sadly no old machinery or skeletons, but then again I didn't see the entire thing. Luckily no toxic gasses, deadly snakes or spiders. Otherwise someone would have been finding my skeleton in there.