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Right?! Lol!

I saw the ring with my own eyes! I didn't realize the helmet mounted camera caught it until after I looked over the footage. My friend's son didn't catch it, I don't think. It was a crazy experience to say the least.

That door was a watertight door either from a ship or a submarine inside of an abandoned mine! Behind it was an array of seismometers used to measure nuclear blasts on a military base nearby back in the 1950s!

The mountains out there hold many secrets! Many places people have heard about, but don't know their locations. That's part of the fun - trying to figure out where places are at!

Hey Woo! Awesome to hear from you! Thanks for checking it out!

The petroglyphs were a pretty cool find! It's just a shame that they were somewhat defaced. Those mountains are a tilted fault block of limestone, uplifted by all of the volcanic activity and the Rio Grande rift. I'm carbonic acid from water, and carbon dioxide formed the caves along the jointed areas of the limestone. There are more caves up there, just harder to get to. That area is so close to the border, and will all of the activity going on around here, camping might not be the most prudent decision. It would be a cool spot otherwise. I love Mark's enthusiasm for exploring! He just needs to throttle back a lil, lol! Thanks, Frank!

Thank you, I really appreciate it! I've been to all of the maar volcanoes in that area. It's really cool scenery and geology. Rappelling down the fumerole at Aden Crater has been on my bucket list for a while. The giant ground sloth that was mummified by the bat guano was discovered by guano miners, I believe, either in the 1920s or 1940s.

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much!

Thanks, Todd! Precious cargo when it comes to my kids! I gotta hold him back sometimes because he's all Gung ho! Lol. Who knows what this place looked like prior to modern visitors 60 years ago?

I initially went to this mine in 2019. From what I recall, not too much has changed. The winze is still there, but it most likely won't be worth it to rappel. Many fluorite mines were mined by a method called "shrink stoping." Essentially, what is left after the fluorite has been extracted is just a rubble-filled gash in the ground. Most equipment and infrastructure would have been removed, although in some cases, there may be some remnants of rail or timber work left behind. Silver-lead mines are far more interesting, in my opinion, as the workings tend to branch out into different directions in many of them rather than follow a single vein. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much!

Hey, thanks for the comment! Yeah, tin isn't really sought after that much in comparison to precious metals. Drilling in the Black Range, huh? I've been up in that area a while back. Are they ever going to open the Copper Flat like they were planning years back? I've read Mogollon has been drilled extensively by Summa Silver, and mining is expected to resume soon.

If you have access to an ATV, you could get up there that way. Otherwise, it does take some effort to get to those mines. There are A LOT of bats that roost in those mines. One of them has a guano pile that's over 3 feet high! The smell is rather intense. The only cave that I'm aware of in that area around La Mesa is a fumerole on the southeast rim of Aden Crater. Guano miners in the early 20th century found a mummified giant ground sloth down there. The only way to access that one is to rappel 160 feet vertically. There are the possibilities of small caves in the lava flow itself. There are what appear to be collapsed lava tubes throughout the Aden lava flow. I just haven't thoroughly explored that area as of yet. Thanks for the comment, and thank you for watching!

Thank you very much! It's one of my favorite places to visit!

Thank you very much for watching and commenting!

Yeah, that would have been something to pop out of the other side of the mountain. Thank you, Todd! We gotta start planning a trip soon!

Thank you again for stopping by and checking it out! I appreciate it!

Hey, Frank! Thank you so much! I've been sitting on this one for a while now. It took like 3 edits before I published it, lol! I really got a sense of where we ventured in this one while editing. We barely experienced a fraction of it! I put that safety verbiage in a few videos back after I had said "how to" in one of my videos. Kept it ever since. Gotta protect my neck! Lol! I hope to get out there soon with you and the rest of our little clan!

His face has appeared in a few of his older videos, along with a couple of my older videos. He just values his privacy because there are some internet creeps out there!

Frank is a CIA operative, he doesn’t even allow his mirror to see his face!!

Hahaha!

Thank you so much! I do my best to make my videos with some extra context to help convey the actual experience. Some of the most time-consuming tasks are the animations with the maps and graphics. I'm not aware that anyone else is doing that in this genre because it's just easier not to, lol. Just trying to differentiate a bit!

This one had been a personal goal to explore. The only problem was accessibility. Rappelling IS currently the only way to access it.. There were originally 7 portals that previous explorers could just walk into. They are all either barricaded or destroyed now. There are potential other ways in... but it would require moving probably several tons of rock (not impossible, but labor-intensive) after seeing the other sides of the destroyed portals. Tunnel 4 is the "P" shape one you mentioned. You can still enter that one (obviously) either by crawling in or rappelling from the open stope. I have done both. That level is not nearly as interesting as the sections highlighted in this video. I met up with that other TH-camr and took him out on several trips years ago. He was supposed to change the name of those videos, but never had. To my knowledge, he still hasn't gotten that rope he was mentioning in his video "if I had a rope, believe you- me, I'd be down there!" That level of exploring isn't for most people, honestly. You have to be very mindful on your descent down the stope in that one. One misstep in the wrong place will send you on a trip you won't come back from! We aren't finished with this place. We are trying to get to the fabled Crystal Cavern, which we believe is down the "Chasm of Doom," we nicknamed in the videos. I believe we found a suitable place to drop down that... More to come soon! Thanks again for being discreet on the location, commenting, and watching!

On another note, finding the mines I often visit through Maps and correlating to names here is a bit hard. I've had my eyes on a series of mines smack next to the southern border, where the international line runs parallel to the north, on Hidalgo county, lets call them Sam Frankfurt mines. Have you had a chancee to check them out? @@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND

Where the border runs north to south? I have not been to those yet. Lot's of activity there. I have been to several others in that area.

I hope you guys explore some cool places! Can't wait to see what you find!

​@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUNDThanks! Oh man it was a great day! We just got back to camp now. We found the largest mine we've come across yet. There were many tunnels, winzes, and stopes. We tracked about 2 miles all underground! I'll be posting soon!

Awesome! Was it the one with the bunkers?

It did have a bunker off of main tunnel. The main tunnel was flooded with sketchy looking water that stained the pool white. Beyond, the tunnel continued to a metal tunnel, but to the right it opened up to large stopes and numerous mined out areas. The mine tracks branched in multiple places and went DEEP underground. We were actually concerned about getting lost so took extra caution.@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND

Yep, that's the one! It took us a couple of visits to finish the main level. There is an upper drift and adit we have been searching for, but haven't found yet.... Maybe another trip is in order

Thank you, Wild Joe! The computering stuff is just pushing the right buttons, lol. You are already off to a great start. You'll be producing the next action series in no time!

Yeah, definitely Pancake City in there! Copper mines always seem to have the most vibrant colors. Those gypsum crystals did sparkle like snow! The gypsum from inside of this mountain most likely helped form White Sands. Crazy, huh? The historic graffiti is always a treat. It kind of gives you a perspective on time. I'm almost certain that those miners who made that graffiti are no longer with us.

Thank you very much! I really appreciate it!

Hey, Frank! I'm glad you liked it! I encountered several technical glitches editing this one, as I was hoping to have this one out several weeks ago. That's interesting the likeness of this mine and the California one. Are there any existing photographs of that crystal cavern in CA? The history of this mine is rather colorful than most. That false floor situation was hair-raising, especially with the amount of weight that probably shock-loaded it. That water down there is reported to be poisonous due to the mineralization. The lead and arsenic levels are high enough to kill cattle when the drainage tunnel was functioning. Even a decade ago, the groundwater in my area was still affected by this mine's mineral deposit, and that's 50 miles away!

Well, fun fact- we did find some old Levi's in an abandoned mine (probably not worth $100k) and left them behind only to go back later to find that particular mine had been ravaged by artifact hunters. In hindsight, maybe the decision would have been different, but I know of an individual who was visited by a land management agency to search his home and reclaim artifacts only to be put back where they were found! No joke.

That hole going down in between the tracks. The collar around it collapsed. After that, I really didn't have any interest at that time to go back. Zia Mountain Adventure's video has some footage of the collapse.

@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND cool thanks i thought maybe one of them other two may have filmed it. i wonder how many youtubers do that but to scared to show?

@@getreal1702 mishaps do seem to attract negative attention from armchair "professionals" with a "holier than thou" attitude. I don't have a problem sharing mishaps. It goes to show you the reality of the situation.

Hey thanks, Todd! After scrubbing through the footage making this video, I think we need to get back there... the north end of the "chasm of doom" is our drop point...

We've been here several times over the years. The water levels seem to fluctuate with the seasons. Rocks are still falling from the mine above. I came to the conclusion that that creepy boom in the distance was rock fall.

It is an awesome mine! I saw a lot of familiar places in your video when you were out here. Thanks for checking out my video!

Thank you very much! This is one of those rare places that is simply amazing because it is a place that's frozen in time. You're right about the aliens, lol! An eerie thought: every person who made their mark inside that mine is probably not around anymore. It kind of puts into perspective how short life really is!

@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND It looked as if all of the miners put everything down and walked away. We're on the same wavelength about that! These mines and the relics within are stark reminders of the fleeting nature of life. I feel as if 100 lifetimes are too short to discover all the mysteries that the mountains hide!

I couldn't agree more!

Thank you very much! This mine has some unique geology to it. It wasn't always required to enter this mine vertically. Many in the past could just walk in, so it's pretty barren when it comes to historical items.

Hey, thank you so much! Video production has been an interest and hobby of mine for a minute now. Always trying to improve! We've been to that area many times and have explored a lot of underground there (including some areas that probably should not have been explored due to danger). Some places can take days to explore, like the place you mentioned in your comment!

@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND No problem! I can definitely tell you have a knack for video production. I'm still figuring out this whole TH-cam thing, it's a hobby for a disabled friend that lives vicariously through me. I'm working on improving my videos, but my professional background is completely unrelated. I'll be watching more of your videos soon! You have some great content! The workings that take days to explore must have some rare and amazing finds. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything but, just be safe out there.

@dmanoutdoorlife that's an admirable reason for doing this type of thing! I'm sorry to hear about your friend passing. Video production has always been outside of my scope of professional work as well. It's just a hobby. There are some amazing finds in these larger mines whether they're related to history, geology, or just the size! My email is under the description tab if you have any questions. Thank you for the compliment!

@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND Agreed, the geology is amazing to see. We don't typically find a whole lot in terms of artifacts, but when we do it's highly interesting. There's a mine in the Magdalena area that has a huge tailings pile but the portal was covered with debris. A buddy and I are thinking about digging it out some time in the coming weeks to see if we find anything unique hidden inside. Most of the mines near kelly/Magdalena have been picked through. This summer I want to spend more time backpacking looking for the remote mines deep in the wilderness. I'll definitely be in touch, I have a few questions for sure. For a hobby, you do video editing quite well! Cheers!

When you find and explore "New Mexico's Largest Abandoned Mine," that will give you a whole new meaning to "huge!" Lol

Thank you sir!

Oh, we've been in some tight ones!

It may be the one you recognize! A lot of places that we visit are within a tank of gas from Las Cruces (I'm sorry for being obtuse, but that's unfortunately how it has to be on the open net).

That door will always amaze me. It's so out of place!

Hey, thank you so much! I've been kind of binging on them lately!

@@ABANDONED_UNDERGROUND yeah that's the rabbit's hole u are going into lol the more u listen the more you dig into 🤘no shit love the videos that's the life I'm missing by working everyday of my life I dont have no time but least u are doing it right

@CLEMIN3M you're right about that! Sucks you work every day, man! Gotta have some time for yourself, too! I appreciate the positive feedback! Thanks again!

‘Tired’ by Stone Sour

​@@jeffreydavis2578thank you

I 100% agree! It definitely makes it so much easier to move around and see everything!