That last mine with all the huge timbering was pretty impressive! That certainly was a lot of sturdy timbering. Excellent self-portrait at 17:52! And nice footage of that lizard at the end of the video! And Pickles, too! In a very wet mine in Utah, we experienced the same thing - a packrat kept leading us deeper into the mine and would wait until we caught up to it before it would scamper further ahead in the tunnel. That made for some great footage! It’s almost as if the animals are showing us the way. LOL
I've never seen a sturdier portal than that one with the tree trunks for timbers. Once in a while I get a cameo apperance on camera but usually it's Julie who is the "star". The lizard was cool...he kept leading us on. I was hoping he wouldn't launch at me and attach to my nose when I was so close. Pickles is the best pal ever. She's been all around the country a few times and is 18 years old. We got her when she was 5 weeks old. Thanks again for watching, it means a lot to us!
I don't know how big the dog was but there had to be a years worth of empty chow bags. It was quite cold in the adit which makes it even harder to figure how someone, or a dog, could stay there. Thanks for the comment, Mike!
Hey Frank. These are not very hard to get to but there weren't a lot of signs of people exploring them. The dog kennel and living quarters were a bit strange. There are some others in the White Mountains that we have our sights on for next spring. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Tom Wigren Yes, I have only explored mines in the northern part of those mountains north of where you were. There are more substantial ones up that way. That road up the canyon did look pretty decent - something my Corolla could probably make, no? LOL Yes, that dog kennel was interesting and a bit creepy, as you said. Somebody was probably living there at one point. Looks like they no longer are, though. It look like there was a tunnel leading out of that dog kennel further into the mountain but you chose not to explore that, right? Or was it just a dead end in there? Was hard to tell from the video.
We have some closer to Boundry Peak that we want to visit next spring. Your Corolla could probably make it up most of the way, at least close enough for you to hike in. We didn't go in the dog kennel, and good eye for catching what looked like it might be another drift going to the right through the kennel. There are more places to explore in that one, both up and down, as well. I'm sure we'll be back there again. I like to revisit mines more than once as it takes a couple visits to get to the workings.
She usually did. Poor Pickles, we had to euthanize her on September 8th after she was suddenly unable to walk or eat. She had a great life and lived to be 21 years and 5 weeks old. Thanks for the comment, Jon! 😻
Reminds me of long meanders down miles of dirt roads in Nevada when I was a lad. Ever been to Manhattan, NV? There's a 70 mile dirt road from there east to a place called Diana's Punch Bowl and then beyond to the state highway. Some interesting mines along there, but mostly just a beautiful ride along roads like that. I had a Honda 350 and I carried a gas can so I could make it that far. It was an unremarkable trip, except that it was my first taste of rockhounding in the desert and exploring underground. But Owens Valley, OMG. So many adventures there....dolomite, talc, lead/zinc mines....the strontium hills! Darwin, Cerro Gordo, Pine Creek, and the gateway to the Saline Valley, Panamints, Death Valley and a hop, skip and a jump to Nevada....one could stay busy exploring around there for many moons!
That's a great story. We have not been to Manhattan yet. We go through Tonopah every year but usually go northwest from there to Mina. I'm sure most of us have done things like that and when you look back think how did I survive? Thanks for the fun comment, Steven!
Good one Tom & Julie! I haven't been up that canyon since I was a kid! Now I don't have to make the trip! I don't need anymore mines to work on! We got the boat hauled out and ready to go. See you in the spring!
Thanks, Max. This was a fun one and also a little creepy with the dog kennel and living quarters in there. I don't see how someone could stay in that adit as it was very cold inside when we were there. You're selling your boat if I remember correctly. Did you ever run across the maps you had from the Sacramento Mine? I would love to see them or even a photo would work. You're welcome to stop by on your way back down to Bishop or anytime you're in LaPine.
Quite the adventure into the unknown. It is creepy to imagine what motivated staying there while hiding an obviously large dog. Smh. The large portal sure does look like an operation where their truck would back in to be filled. The various leaning timbers with blocking wedges looked like vandalism. Perhaps to keep others out? The riding and hiking was very nice. The funny lizard 🦎, the flowers 🌻 and other views made this really nice. 🤘🏻😎👍🏻
Some mines definitely have a creepy feeling to them for one reason or another. Large animals, humans on the wrong side of the law hiding out or running meth labs and the ever present danger of cave-ins all cause this. Plus, you are almost always in a remote location when exploring mines. This one was creepier than usual with the dog and human apparently living there. We used a motorcycle for one season but it's too difficult to ride two up while carrying all the necessary gear. Thanks for the comment, Rick!
Yeah, they were a little creepy, Max. I was half expecting to run across someone living there. I guess my curiosity gets the best of me... I'm always thinking there is going to be something special if I squeeze through a hole in an adit. Thanks for watching!
It is pretty amazing how the desert dryness preserves things. Some of the timbering looks 1/10 of it's age. Steel parts last forever, too. Thanks, Jeff.
Haha, we try. Many times we have spent the whole day hiking to a mine only to find that there is not enough interesting workings to make a video of there. I won't put that out. Thanks, Kevin!
neat area, had never given much thought to the lower parts of the Whites thanks for this excellent video. Maybe that rope stick thing was a chew toy? but weird because it was not used./// wondering if the person with dog was a hermit who lived there after the mining or during or what? crazy... / cant believe you crawled over that sand SCary wow !! FAt lizard, neat cat... GREAT video thanks for taking us out there
Thanks for the great comment, Thorn! The White Mts. definitely get overshadowed by the mighty Sierra. They are really cool though in my opinion. White Mtn. Peak is one of California's highest points and on the north end of the range sits Boundary Peak, Nevada's highest point. Have you been to the Champion spark plug mine or camp? There is a well preserved mining camp maintained by a group of volunteers where you can hike up and stay in one of several cabins. The actual mine is further up the mountain and had another camp but it was burned down. It is a bit north of where Gunter and this mine is. I have a video of it. I think the person living in this mine was homeless but not sure. It really adds a creepy factor to the exploring. I think the logs were some kind of alarm or booby trap. They were in a different area from the dog pen. Climbing past that collapse was a little tight and would give some people claustrophobia. Hope all is well with you and Roxy.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring yeah but had not known about those mines.. we go up the whites to both Bristlecone groves occasionally, the drive to the farther Patriarch grove is rough! Ill have to look into them more .. i got claustrophobia just watching you in that one spot... crazy! /thanks for the videos..
Yes that mine was creepy almost like a cage for a person… Seen stuff like that in my adventures as well. Really enjoy the footage above ground Felt like I was there. Thanks again guys this is one of my favorites. Be safe out there.
It's always a bit creepy when you find animals and people liv8bg in a mine. Depending on the mine, I like to show part of the trip ggetting there. Thanks for the comment, John!
Hey guys, I visited those mines in the 70's with my dad. Found a few guys up there working the mines. They were using the "Drive-in" mine as a garage for a jeep and a little trailer. Was a spring day and they had just set up camp to work a mine, kinda up and across from the "drive in". They were friendly and said their grandpa still owned the claims - they lived in Bishop, my dad did not believe them and we left when it started pouring rain. BTW, Julie doesn't age a bit...ha
That's an interesting little story, David. You can tell that someone was spending a lot of time up there with their dog. There must have been 20 empty large dog food bags in the mine across from the drive in adit. It had kind of a high creepy factor when we were there. Thanks for your input. Julie says "thanks", too.
I have always enjoyed exploring old mines and caves here in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately most of the mines here are old coal mines and are extremely unsafe due to the rotted Timbers. But there are some Bluestone Mines that are absolutely incredible. Near Connellsville PA there used to be a blue stone mine that went back over 12 miles and it was large enough to drive a truck in the whole way in fact they used to bring tractor trailers in there and there was a huge void where they could turn them around. I never got back far enough in to see it though before they Dynamite it shut due to Partiers. Once I was riding my quad in the area with some friends and it started to rain so we decided to ride our quads in the mine since they were at least 30 ft high and 30 ft wide I wanted to finally get to the turnaround area. Well the other people in the area didn't want to get rained on either so they started hanging out in the entrance and they built a bonfire all of the Smoke Filled in the mine it was a rather harrowing experience trying to get out because the mine was like a maze. A very memorable experience
Thanks for sharing your story, Rob. You are correct that you have to be careful about the air quality in mines, especially wet coal mines with rotting timbers. I'm guessing that you've heard of black damp. We carry air quality monitoring equipment even though in the dry desert mines the air is almost always good. The part of your story about the smoke sounds harrowing to say the least. Thanks for watching and commenting! 👍
Love the videos of you two I have family in bishop and lone pine we frequently explore those mines looks like a Vietnamese war draft dodger was the second occupant of the dog adit just a guesstimate would love to know where that canal at the end is I haven’t fished that one.
That could be a good guess. I should have looked for some dates on the dog food packages. The canal is just south of the mouth of Gunter Canyon if I remember correctly. Thanks, Robert!
Hi Scott. Thanks for the comment. Pickles passed away about a year and a half ago at 21 years old. Thanks for asking about her. The song is an old blues song named 'Who's Been Talkin'.👍😁🎸
Thanks for filling me in about the song and Pickles. Im sure you miss her. I got to the point that it hurts to badly when I lose a pet so I'm taking a pet break for a while.@@TomandJulieMineExploring
If you changed the name of your channel to 'Mine exploration and hiking with Tom Wigren' your subscription numbers would expload! You have great content I love your stuff!😝
I'm glad that you like my content. I know you keep wanting me to change my channel name, but I'm hesitant to do that again, as I just changed it a couple months ago. Do you think it makes that much difference if the words 'mine exploration' comes before or after my name? I know that the TH-cam search engine algorithms are a big mystery to most of us. I appreciate the suggestion and maybe will try it.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring phew I thought maybe you had blocked me for spamming haha! I just noticed how big the other mine exploring channels have gotten and you have put at least as much content on as some of them, The reason I would assume is because people search for 'Mines' or ' Mine exploring' or 'Abandoned mines' ect.
That ought to do it! I do hope it works because you and Julie are consistent creators of really decent content and as long as you can be found by the right audience that's what counts. 👌😁
@@zerofox7347 Thanks! We'll see how it goes. It is a little discouraging to see other channels that don't seem to have any better content grow much faster. I wanted to get my last name off of my channel anyway. I'm getting big enough that the nut cases start appearing and they don't need to know my full name.
Pretty cool, all those adits in such a short distance in the canyon. On that last view with the white tailings I'd bet they had some sort of concentrator to try to remove as much country-rock as they could to cut shipping costs. That's what happens with ore that's too rich to leave but not rich enough to toil over. Have you done exploration videos before either under another name or with another group? Your voice sounds really familiar. Thanks for sharing these adits.
This is a fun area with a high concentration of mines. There were a couple places there that looked like they had a mill because of the tailings. One mill house was still standing. I have not done any videos with any group or under another name. Thanks for watching and commenting, Dave!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Your voice just sounded very familiar. What never ceases to amaze me is the fact that someone, a century and a half ago had to walk those mountains in search of the source of some small piece of float that found it's way down the mountain and into a ravine to be picked up by an observant soul hoping for riches to appear beneath his feet. Most all of my exploration is in Colorado and even now with what's left of a road making it easier to get to the source of the float I still can't believe someone huffed and puffed up there above tree line to first, find the quartz they hoped would hold gold but then had to return with lumber, a compressor, ore carts, track, and all the other trappings necessary to pull wealth from the rock. They were tougher men than I.
@@davebeckley2584 Yes, they were tough, hardworking men. One thing that often strikes me are the roads that were built to get to the mines. They usually go up the side of a mountain and many have long rock retaining walls. Then, like you say, to hump all the lumber and heavy iron up to the mine is amazing. Now you can start to work the mine and haul all the heavy ore back down the mountain. Hopefully you don't get killed in the process.
Maps, both online and paper. Websites with trip reports, word of mouth with friends, driving around known mining areas and looking for waste rock piles. TH-cam videos, although many don't use the real mine names. This video is the real name of the canyon in the White Mountains of California where there are several mine workings. That should get you started, Henry.
Could be, but I still don't see why there was such a huge loading type area that you could drive in, with just that small drift I was in for workings. There must have been a chute or something coming in from higher up. Thanks for the comment!
It hauled us both okay, but they are not overly powerful. Together we are about 320 lbs. We don't use it anymore because riding two up with all the gear we use became impossible. They are pretty good little bikes. I would do some comparing of other bikes before buying one if it were me.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring I have been looking for something. I just traded my KLR 650 for a some roof repairs badly needed on my home. It was a real Beast I'm looking for something I can pick my way through the woods where there are no trails at all. I think the Fat Tire would be good for that. It would be just me on it.
What about Exploring old Abandoned Uranium Mines ????? Uranium Mines are Radioactive ☢️ But Awesome And I think there are old Abandoned Uranium Mines in the Mojave Desert of California Awesome TH-cam Channel 🙂🙂💯💯💯💯💯🤘🤘🤘🤘
You might want to take some extra precautions around uranium mines. I think you're correct that there are uranium mines in the Mojave. Thanks for watching!👌
The dog cages brought to mind a puppy mill. Lots of dog food brought in but the dogs kept in isolation. But why would that type of operation be set up so far from civilization? Alternatively, If someone was living in the cave you'd think they'd want to have the dogs close to them...but maybe the cages were there for when they went away for a while. Lots of unanswered questions. Strange find!
I got the feeling someone was living there with at least one dog. I think you are probably correct that the kennel would be for when the person, or persons, left the mine. Thanks for watching and commenting!
think about those miners trying to get that engine running, maybe they did and that's why those are the only parts left. That is cool. From the parts I see they really took that engine apart.
No, we dont do any detecting or collecting of gold bearing ore. We are not usually in placer mining areas where you could actually find a nugget. I couldn't haul enough ore from a hardrock mine to make it worthwhile. Thanks for the comment, Chris!
Well, there is just about always danger in every mine. You could easily fall while climbing a ladder or slip down into a deep stope or shaft. I don't recall any close calls as far as getting hurt although the threat of collapse is always there. Getting to some of these mines sometimes feels more dangerous than being in them. The Scallywag Mine is one of several with a challenging hike to get there that sits on a steep and dangerous mountain. Thanks for the great question!
Going to guess that the ropes and log thing were ad hoc toys for a pet, and the platform was so the animal could climb up and play/sleep on something other than the ground. Might’ve been more than one dog...
Could be, although the platform seemed to me more a bed for a human and that the dog was kept in the area behind the fence like door. There was other evidence of a human living in there, that's why I think the platform was for a human. Who knows for sure. Thanks for the comment, David!
Mine Exploration and Hiking with Tom and Julie, oh, didn’t realize it was large enough for that. Scale is very hard to determine as a viewer and I know it’s hard as a videographer - especially where there isn’t always something there to provide the context. BTW, also from/live in MN. Love your mine exploration videos. Great production. Thank you both for sharing your adventures with the world!
@@deekay3064 Thanks for the Minnesota nice comments, David. We both grew up in the cities. Me in south Mpls. Tough times in the old hood now with the riots. We moved out to the Big Lake area for several years. Julie worked in St. Cloud for a while.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring It was a bit scary around here for a couple of weeks - hard to fathom the ripple effect this has had nationally and even globally. Things are cleaned up, but still far from back to normal there today. I grew up pretty much right across the river from you near the Ford plant in St. Paul. Both sets of grandparents had cabins on Eagle Lake. Big planet, small world. :-)
No, we don't, John. Sometimes we will return to a mine for a second or third time, especially our favorites. Only a couple times have we scrapped a first visit video and used another take. Thanks for watching and commenting!
I hadn't until I read your comment and did a little research. Sure enough, there are dogs that are trained and used to search out specific mineral deposits. Just like there are dogs trained to sniff out drugs, explosives and even diseases and a lot of other things. I can't say that I believe that's what was going on here. Who knows for sure though. Thanks for the interesting comment, Al.
Hey all Ren here, have you two been over to see the Pupfish in Death Valley. Back in the day we took a ride out there before they fence it off, but that was good of them to do that. Because Pupfish lives matter, I'm Ren and I approve this meeage. here is a video about the fish
@R.E. Nunez -- When I worked for American Borate Co. in Death Valley back in the early 1980's , my co-worker who lived out in Ash Meadows told a News crew who were doing a story about the Pupfish that "if they aren't big enough to put in a frying pan , then they aren't worth keeping" . They actually filmed him saying that in the News story . -- < Doc > .
You and me both. It's obvious that someone had spent some time living here with their dog. It gets a little creepy in these old mines sometimes, and for more than one reason. Thanks for the comment, John. I like your last name by the way.
Perhaps someone was re-working the mine, looks like back in the 70's or 80's, and probably kept their dog there to protect the mine and/or keep guard while they worked in the mine. Why so scared to go in? Nothing's been in there for decades from the looks of things. Also, dont you carry a gun? Are there not mountain loins?
Yes, could be. I think someone was living there with a dog though. There were signs of someone staying there and no sign of the mine being worked. Who knows? Thanks, Ronnie!
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Geeeeez, do you suppose that you guys may have found the dog nappers hide out in the old mine? Have there been any cases of rich people in California having their dogs taken and held for ransom?
It doesn't matter to me, but not sure how the BLM feels about it. You could be correct although someone was spending a lot on dog food. Thanks for your input!
8:38 You mine alone so you don't have to share the gold. When you mine for gold, finding gold can be obsessive. You live in the cave because its where you spend most of the your time already and its free. Instead human company you have pet company. This miner made a place for his animal inside the cave so he could somewhat control where his animal shat. isn't this your 100th+ mine exploration, what gives?
That all sounds like it makes good sense except I didn’t see any evidence of recent mining activity. There was some evidence of recent work on vehicles going on there. Who knows for sure, maybe you're correct.
We've never seen evidence like this of a person and their dog living inside of a mine. It had a very creepy vibe to it. It looked like they were there for a fairly long time.
That last mine with all the huge timbering was pretty impressive! That certainly was a lot of sturdy timbering. Excellent self-portrait at 17:52! And nice footage of that lizard at the end of the video! And Pickles, too! In a very wet mine in Utah, we experienced the same thing - a packrat kept leading us deeper into the mine and would wait until we caught up to it before it would scamper further ahead in the tunnel. That made for some great footage! It’s almost as if the animals are showing us the way. LOL
I've never seen a sturdier portal than that one with the tree trunks for timbers. Once in a while I get a cameo apperance on camera but usually it's Julie who is the "star". The lizard was cool...he kept leading us on. I was hoping he wouldn't launch at me and attach to my nose when I was so close. Pickles is the best pal ever. She's been all around the country a few times and is 18 years old. We got her when she was 5 weeks old. Thanks again for watching, it means a lot to us!
Cool story about the rat btw.
i guess Im quite off topic but does anybody know of a good place to stream newly released tv shows online?
@Russell Cairo Flixportal :P
@Fox Braydon thanks, signed up and it seems like they got a lot of movies there :D I appreciate it !
I grew up in Bishop and my Dad and Brothers I spent a lot of weekend climbing all over the white mountains . thanks for sharing
That's cool, Ted. We love the White Mountains. The Sierra, too. Good that you've had the chance to enjoy that area. 🏔👍
That was strange seeing all that dog food in the first place, it looked to be months worth of chow! Interesting share for sure! 👍
I don't know how big the dog was but there had to be a years worth of empty chow bags. It was quite cold in the adit which makes it even harder to figure how someone, or a dog, could stay there. Thanks for the comment, Mike!
That was fun. The dog pen was bizarre , but still good entertainment. Thanks for sharing.
Definitely a little strange up there. Glad you had fun, Pethoviejo!
Lots of interesting old mines in those White Mountains. Looks like you found some rather obscure ones that are off the beaten path.
Hey Frank. These are not very hard to get to but there weren't a lot of signs of people exploring them. The dog kennel and living quarters were a bit strange. There are some others in the White Mountains that we have our sights on for next spring. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Tom Wigren Yes, I have only explored mines in the northern part of those mountains north of where you were. There are more substantial ones up that way. That road up the canyon did look pretty decent - something my Corolla could probably make, no? LOL Yes, that dog kennel was interesting and a bit creepy, as you said. Somebody was probably living there at one point. Looks like they no longer are, though. It look like there was a tunnel leading out of that dog kennel further into the mountain but you chose not to explore that, right? Or was it just a dead end in there? Was hard to tell from the video.
We have some closer to Boundry Peak that we want to visit next spring. Your Corolla could probably make it up most of the way, at least close enough for you to hike in. We didn't go in the dog kennel, and good eye for catching what looked like it might be another drift going to the right through the kennel. There are more places to explore in that one, both up and down, as well. I'm sure we'll be back there again. I like to revisit mines more than once as it takes a couple visits to get to the workings.
What's in the baggie @ 1:20+
Hi Dan. Looks like a change of GPS batteries. Sorry it wasn't something more exciting. Thanks for watching!👍😁
Pickles Stoll the show. Thanks for sharing
She usually did. Poor Pickles, we had to euthanize her on September 8th after she was suddenly unable to walk or eat. She had a great life and lived to be 21 years and 5 weeks old. Thanks for the comment, Jon! 😻
Reminds me of long meanders down miles of dirt roads in Nevada when I was a lad. Ever been to Manhattan, NV? There's a 70 mile dirt road from there east to a place called Diana's Punch Bowl and then beyond to the state highway. Some interesting mines along there, but mostly just a beautiful ride along roads like that. I had a Honda 350 and I carried a gas can so I could make it that far. It was an unremarkable trip, except that it was my first taste of rockhounding in the desert and exploring underground.
But Owens Valley, OMG. So many adventures there....dolomite, talc, lead/zinc mines....the strontium hills! Darwin, Cerro Gordo, Pine Creek, and the gateway to the Saline Valley, Panamints, Death Valley and a hop, skip and a jump to Nevada....one could stay busy exploring around there for many moons!
That's a great story. We have not been to Manhattan yet. We go through Tonopah every year but usually go northwest from there to Mina. I'm sure most of us have done things like that and when you look back think how did I survive? Thanks for the fun comment, Steven!
Good one Tom & Julie! I haven't been up that canyon since I was a kid! Now I don't have to make the trip! I don't need anymore mines to work on!
We got the boat hauled out and ready to go.
See you in the spring!
Thanks, Max. This was a fun one and also a little creepy with the dog kennel and living quarters in there. I don't see how someone could stay in that adit as it was very cold inside when we were there. You're selling your boat if I remember correctly. Did you ever run across the maps you had from the Sacramento Mine? I would love to see them or even a photo would work. You're welcome to stop by on your way back down to Bishop or anytime you're in LaPine.
Thanks for the great content! That's a 1951 Ford car at the end...what's left of it AKA "the shoebox ford"
Thanks for adding that information. Much appreciated!👍👍
Quite the adventure into the unknown. It is creepy to imagine what motivated staying there while hiding an obviously large dog. Smh.
The large portal sure does look like an operation where their truck would back in to be filled.
The various leaning timbers with blocking wedges looked like vandalism. Perhaps to keep others out?
The riding and hiking was very nice. The funny lizard 🦎, the flowers 🌻 and other views made this really nice. 🤘🏻😎👍🏻
Some mines definitely have a creepy feeling to them for one reason or another. Large animals, humans on the wrong side of the law hiding out or running meth labs and the ever present danger of cave-ins all cause this. Plus, you are almost always in a remote location when exploring mines. This one was creepier than usual with the dog and human apparently living there. We used a motorcycle for one season but it's too difficult to ride two up while carrying all the necessary gear. Thanks for the comment, Rick!
That whole bunch of mines had a very creepy feel.. Pretty gutsy crawling around in there Tom... 😳
Yeah, they were a little creepy, Max. I was half expecting to run across someone living there. I guess my curiosity gets the best of me... I'm always thinking there is going to be something special if I squeeze through a hole in an adit. Thanks for watching!
I love these desert mines. It's like time stopped when there's not any water aging everything to rot👍
It is pretty amazing how the desert dryness preserves things. Some of the timbering looks 1/10 of it's age. Steel parts last forever, too. Thanks, Jeff.
You guys always deliver.
Haha, we try. Many times we have spent the whole day hiking to a mine only to find that there is not enough interesting workings to make a video of there. I won't put that out. Thanks, Kevin!
neat area, had never given much thought to the lower parts of the Whites thanks for this excellent video. Maybe that rope stick thing was a chew toy? but weird because it was not used./// wondering if the person with dog was a hermit who lived there after the mining or during or what? crazy... / cant believe you crawled over that sand SCary wow !! FAt lizard, neat cat... GREAT video thanks for taking us out there
Thanks for the great comment, Thorn! The White Mts. definitely get overshadowed by the mighty Sierra. They are really cool though in my opinion. White Mtn. Peak is one of California's highest points and on the north end of the range sits Boundary Peak, Nevada's highest point. Have you been to the Champion spark plug mine or camp? There is a well preserved mining camp maintained by a group of volunteers where you can hike up and stay in one of several cabins. The actual mine is further up the mountain and had another camp but it was burned down. It is a bit north of where Gunter and this mine is. I have a video of it.
I think the person living in this mine was homeless but not sure. It really adds a creepy factor to the exploring. I think the logs were some kind of alarm or booby trap. They were in a different area from the dog pen. Climbing past that collapse was a little tight and would give some people claustrophobia. Hope all is well with you and Roxy.
You of course already knew what I said about the Whites, Thorn. That was also for others who are following the comments.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring yeah but had not known about those mines.. we go up the whites to both Bristlecone groves occasionally, the drive to the farther Patriarch grove is rough! Ill have to look into them more .. i got claustrophobia just watching you in that one spot... crazy! /thanks for the videos..
Yes that mine was creepy almost like a cage for a person… Seen stuff like that in my adventures as well. Really enjoy the footage above ground Felt like I was there. Thanks again guys this is one of my favorites. Be safe out there.
It's always a bit creepy when you find animals and people liv8bg in a mine. Depending on the mine, I like to show part of the trip ggetting there. Thanks for the comment, John!
Hey guys, I visited those mines in the 70's with my dad. Found a few guys up there working the mines. They were using the "Drive-in" mine as a garage for a jeep and a little trailer. Was a spring day and they had just set up camp to work a mine, kinda up and across from the "drive in". They were friendly and said their grandpa still owned the claims - they lived in Bishop, my dad did not believe them and we left when it started pouring rain. BTW, Julie doesn't age a bit...ha
That's an interesting little story, David. You can tell that someone was spending a lot of time up there with their dog. There must have been 20 empty large dog food bags in the mine across from the drive in adit. It had kind of a high creepy factor when we were there. Thanks for your input. Julie says "thanks", too.
I liked the mines but the o e with the huge timber was really something to see then the rusty cars also was good but i loved the cat 🐈 ❤ at the end
Those timbers were huge! That's our old cat Pickles at the end. She's almost 19 years old and sitting on my lap right now. Thanks, Ronnie!
I have always enjoyed exploring old mines and caves here in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately most of the mines here are old coal mines and are extremely unsafe due to the rotted Timbers. But there are some Bluestone Mines that are absolutely incredible. Near Connellsville PA there used to be a blue stone mine that went back over 12 miles and it was large enough to drive a truck in the whole way in fact they used to bring tractor trailers in there and there was a huge void where they could turn them around. I never got back far enough in to see it though before they Dynamite it shut due to Partiers. Once I was riding my quad in the area with some friends and it started to rain so we decided to ride our quads in the mine since they were at least 30 ft high and 30 ft wide I wanted to finally get to the turnaround area. Well the other people in the area didn't want to get rained on either so they started hanging out in the entrance and they built a bonfire all of the Smoke Filled in the mine it was a rather harrowing experience trying to get out because the mine was like a maze. A very memorable experience
Thanks for sharing your story, Rob. You are correct that you have to be careful about the air quality in mines, especially wet coal mines with rotting timbers. I'm guessing that you've heard of black damp. We carry air quality monitoring equipment even though in the dry desert mines the air is almost always good. The part of your story about the smoke sounds harrowing to say the least. Thanks for watching and commenting! 👍
Love the videos of you two I have family in bishop and lone pine we frequently explore those mines looks like a Vietnamese war draft dodger was the second occupant of the dog adit just a guesstimate would love to know where that canal at the end is I haven’t fished that one.
That could be a good guess. I should have looked for some dates on the dog food packages. The canal is just south of the mouth of Gunter Canyon if I remember correctly. Thanks, Robert!
It's pretty cool that you take Pickles.
She's a real cool cat. 20 years and 8 months old right now.
Great job be safe
Thanks for the comment, John.
Nice video! Is Pickles still with you? Regards from Ody SLim
BTW that sounds like an old Fleetwood Mac song ?
Hi Scott. Thanks for the comment. Pickles passed away about a year and a half ago at 21 years old. Thanks for asking about her. The song is an old blues song named 'Who's Been Talkin'.👍😁🎸
Thanks for filling me in about the song and Pickles. Im sure you miss her. I got to the point that it hurts to badly when I lose a pet so I'm taking a pet break for a while.@@TomandJulieMineExploring
Oh Wow! Nuggets come in a box?
20:50 sitting there contemplating the workings of the internal combustion engine....
Being the possesser of a curious mind I'm always contemplating the workings of one thing or another. Thanks for watching, Charlie!👍👌
If you changed the name of your channel to 'Mine exploration and hiking with Tom Wigren' your subscription numbers would expload! You have great content I love your stuff!😝
I'm glad that you like my content. I know you keep wanting me to change my channel name, but I'm hesitant to do that again, as I just changed it a couple months ago. Do you think it makes that much difference if the words 'mine exploration' comes before or after my name? I know that the TH-cam search engine algorithms are a big mystery to most of us. I appreciate the suggestion and maybe will try it.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring phew I thought maybe you had blocked me for spamming haha!
I just noticed how big the other mine exploring channels have gotten and you have put at least as much content on as some of them, The reason I would assume is because people search for 'Mines' or ' Mine exploring' or 'Abandoned mines' ect.
That does make sense. Thanks for your ideas.
That ought to do it! I do hope it works because you and Julie are consistent creators of really decent content and as long as you can be found by the right audience that's what counts. 👌😁
@@zerofox7347 Thanks! We'll see how it goes. It is a little discouraging to see other channels that don't seem to have any better content grow much faster. I wanted to get my last name off of my channel anyway. I'm getting big enough that the nut cases start appearing and they don't need to know my full name.
Pretty cool, all those adits in such a short distance in the canyon. On that last view with the white tailings I'd bet they had some sort of concentrator to try to remove as much country-rock as they could to cut shipping costs. That's what happens with ore that's too rich to leave but not rich enough to toil over. Have you done exploration videos before either under another name or with another group? Your voice sounds really familiar. Thanks for sharing these adits.
This is a fun area with a high concentration of mines. There were a couple places there that looked like they had a mill because of the tailings. One mill house was still standing. I have not done any videos with any group or under another name. Thanks for watching and commenting, Dave!
Sorry, I got my canyons mixed up. No mill house here.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Your voice just sounded very familiar. What never ceases to amaze me is the fact that someone, a century and a half ago had to walk those mountains in search of the source of some small piece of float that found it's way down the mountain and into a ravine to be picked up by an observant soul hoping for riches to appear beneath his feet. Most all of my exploration is in Colorado and even now with what's left of a road making it easier to get to the source of the float I still can't believe someone huffed and puffed up there above tree line to first, find the quartz they hoped would hold gold but then had to return with lumber, a compressor, ore carts, track, and all the other trappings necessary to pull wealth from the rock. They were tougher men than I.
@@davebeckley2584 Yes, they were tough, hardworking men. One thing that often strikes me are the roads that were built to get to the mines. They usually go up the side of a mountain and many have long rock retaining walls. Then, like you say, to hump all the lumber and heavy iron up to the mine is amazing. Now you can start to work the mine and haul all the heavy ore back down the mountain. Hopefully you don't get killed in the process.
What map are you using to find these mines?
When your in those mine shafts, do you ever find any rattle snakes in those mines?
We see snakes near the portals occasionally. We don't see any very far inside the mine. Thanks for commenting, Michael!
I have always wanted to visit old abandoned mines .....how do you find them?
Maps, both online and paper. Websites with trip reports, word of mouth with friends, driving around known mining areas and looking for waste rock piles. TH-cam videos, although many don't use the real mine names. This video is the real name of the canyon in the White Mountains of California where there are several mine workings. That should get you started, Henry.
That large portal was back filled for a reason.....probably still some value beyond....some one took the time to excavate it to get past...
Could be, but I still don't see why there was such a huge loading type area that you could drive in, with just that small drift I was in for workings. There must have been a chute or something coming in from higher up. Thanks for the comment!
So that tw200 hauls both of you okay? I've been thinking about getting one for a while but I'm kind of big.
It hauled us both okay, but they are not overly powerful. Together we are about 320 lbs. We don't use it anymore because riding two up with all the gear we use became impossible. They are pretty good little bikes. I would do some comparing of other bikes before buying one if it were me.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring I have been looking for something. I just traded my KLR 650 for a some roof repairs badly needed on my home. It was a real Beast I'm looking for something I can pick my way through the woods where there are no trails at all. I think the Fat Tire would be good for that. It would be just me on it.
How far up the road is that
I think it's about 3-4 miles from Hwy 6. If I remember correctly the road ends at the mines. Thanks for the comment, Joseph!
I might head up on my dirt bike
Have fun, Joseph.
Thank you
You're welcome, Roy! Thanks for the comment.
What about Exploring old Abandoned Uranium Mines ????? Uranium Mines are Radioactive ☢️ But Awesome And I think there are old Abandoned Uranium Mines in the Mojave Desert of California
Awesome TH-cam Channel
🙂🙂💯💯💯💯💯🤘🤘🤘🤘
You might want to take some extra precautions around uranium mines. I think you're correct that there are uranium mines in the Mojave. Thanks for watching!👌
The dog cages brought to mind a puppy mill. Lots of dog food brought in but the dogs kept in isolation. But why would that type of operation be set up so far from civilization? Alternatively, If someone was living in the cave you'd think they'd want to have the dogs close to them...but maybe the cages were there for when they went away for a while. Lots of unanswered questions. Strange find!
I got the feeling someone was living there with at least one dog. I think you are probably correct that the kennel would be for when the person, or persons, left the mine. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Maybe those cages weren't for DOGS ! Human captives, feeding them dog food to keep them alive . Where's the dog poop ?
@@rickobrien4025 yep! That’s exactly what I was thinking.
They dog fight and cock fight in the desert so one theory would be a place to keep fighting dogs
That a possiblity. It seemed to me that someone was living there with their dog. Who knows as lots of crazy and weird stuff goes on these days.
think about those miners trying to get that engine running, maybe they did and that's why those are the only parts left. That is cool. From the parts I see they really took that engine apart.
I think someone that was staying there took an engine apart for some reason.
Do you ever carry and use a metal detector on your exploration trips?
No, we dont do any detecting or collecting of gold bearing ore. We are not usually in placer mining areas where you could actually find a nugget. I couldn't haul enough ore from a hardrock mine to make it worthwhile. Thanks for the comment, Chris!
What an adventure. Have you ever experienced any danger or close calls while exploring mines?
Well, there is just about always danger in every mine. You could easily fall while climbing a ladder or slip down into a deep stope or shaft. I don't recall any close calls as far as getting hurt although the threat of collapse is always there. Getting to some of these mines sometimes feels more dangerous than being in them. The Scallywag Mine is one of several with a challenging hike to get there that sits on a steep and dangerous mountain. Thanks for the great question!
Going to guess that the ropes and log thing were ad hoc toys for a pet, and the platform was so the animal could climb up and play/sleep on something other than the ground. Might’ve been more than one dog...
Could be, although the platform seemed to me more a bed for a human and that the dog was kept in the area behind the fence like door. There was other evidence of a human living in there, that's why I think the platform was for a human. Who knows for sure. Thanks for the comment, David!
Mine Exploration and Hiking with Tom and Julie, oh, didn’t realize it was large enough for that. Scale is very hard to determine as a viewer and I know it’s hard as a videographer - especially where there isn’t always something there to provide the context. BTW, also from/live in MN. Love your mine exploration videos. Great production. Thank you both for sharing your adventures with the world!
@@deekay3064 Thanks for the Minnesota nice comments, David. We both grew up in the cities. Me in south Mpls. Tough times in the old hood now with the riots. We moved out to the Big Lake area for several years. Julie worked in St. Cloud for a while.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring It was a bit scary around here for a couple of weeks - hard to fathom the ripple effect this has had nationally and even globally. Things are cleaned up, but still far from back to normal there today. I grew up pretty much right across the river from you near the Ford plant in St. Paul. Both sets of grandparents had cabins on Eagle Lake. Big planet, small world. :-)
@@deekay3064 I'm very familiar with Eagle Lake. Keep in touch!
Old mine as well...
What's your best guess on how old?
It looks like you found the second hideout for the Calif kid and his dog killer once again Tom.
Haha it wouldn't surprise me one bit. Thanks, Glenn.
I'm curious do you explore the mines before you make the TH-cam video?
No, we don't, John. Sometimes we will return to a mine for a second or third time, especially our favorites. Only a couple times have we scrapped a first visit video and used another take. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Just think what it was like in it's day
Have you not heard of ore dogs?
I hadn't until I read your comment and did a little research. Sure enough, there are dogs that are trained and used to search out specific mineral deposits. Just like there are dogs trained to sniff out drugs, explosives and even diseases and a lot of other things. I can't say that I believe that's what was going on here. Who knows for sure though. Thanks for the interesting comment, Al.
Hey all Ren here, have you two been over to see the Pupfish in Death Valley. Back in the day we took a ride out there before they fence it off, but that was good of them to do that. Because Pupfish lives matter, I'm Ren and I approve this meeage. here is a video about the fish
@R.E. Nunez -- When I worked for American Borate Co. in Death Valley back in the early 1980's , my co-worker who lived out in Ash Meadows told a News crew who were doing a story about the Pupfish that "if they aren't big enough to put in a frying pan , then they aren't worth keeping" . They actually filmed him saying that in the News story .
-- < Doc > .
I'm waiting for an animal or a human to pop around the corner when you're walking down in those mines. Lol
You and me both. It's obvious that someone had spent some time living here with their dog. It gets a little creepy in these old mines sometimes, and for more than one reason. Thanks for the comment, John. I like your last name by the way.
Check out my TH-cam videos on Emigrant wilderness. I just came back from a 60 mile backpacking trip.
Tom, if you never been to Emigrant wilderness you should go it's awesome!! The Head trail is Kennedy Meadows.
Wigren is a cool Swedish last name. My dad was a hundred percent Swedish my mom was half Dutch and half English.
I tell people how to pronounce my last name by saying it's the wig you wear and the grin on your face. Lol
Nothing but salt mines down here in south Louisiana. But, hey...any crawfish in those ditches at the end of the vid? Lol! Jk!
I don't know if there are crawfish in there, but there might be trout. Never been in a salt mine myself. Thanks, Jonny!
Perhaps someone was re-working the mine, looks like back in the 70's or 80's, and probably kept their dog there to protect the mine and/or keep guard while they worked in the mine. Why so scared to go in? Nothing's been in there for decades from the looks of things. Also, dont you carry a gun? Are there not mountain loins?
It looked like someone had been living there with a dog at some point. There was no sign of the mine being worked. I didn't see any lions.
If someone lived in their .I'm sure the spirits tormented them. Lol
The place was definitely a little spooky.
They could of had a dog are 2 and didn't want them to fall down a shaft wile they worked in the mine
Yes, could be. I think someone was living there with a dog though. There were signs of someone staying there and no sign of the mine being worked. Who knows? Thanks, Ronnie!
Hey! No rent in old mines! Soon we can have You Tubers moving up from "Slab City" to bombard us with free living "Mine city" videos!
Oh I hope not. I'm not a big Slab City fan.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring On second thought I think the old mine neighborhood is safe. There's no liquor stores within stumbling distance. 🤪
@@celticman1909 Haha good one.
@@TomandJulieMineExploring Geeeeez, do you suppose that you guys may have found the dog nappers hide out in the old mine? Have there been any cases of rich people in California having their dogs taken and held for ransom?
@@TomandJulieMineExploring why?
Does it matter if someone was living there or not? Maybe they were going through a hard time.
It doesn't matter to me, but not sure how the BLM feels about it. You could be correct although someone was spending a lot on dog food. Thanks for your input!
8:38
You mine alone so you don't have to share the gold.
When you mine for gold, finding gold can be obsessive.
You live in the cave because its where you spend most of the your time already and its free.
Instead human company you have pet company.
This miner made a place for his animal inside the cave so he could somewhat control where his animal shat.
isn't this your 100th+ mine exploration, what gives?
That all sounds like it makes good sense except I didn’t see any evidence of recent mining activity. There was some evidence of recent work on vehicles going on there. Who knows for sure, maybe you're correct.
Ok Tom, I call this click bait, LOL, i will watch and not read the comments. Better be good, LOL
We've never seen evidence like this of a person and their dog living inside of a mine. It had a very creepy vibe to it. It looked like they were there for a fairly long time.
Wow, yeah, was definitely strange for sure, i have seen what looked like a demon room, where someone got sacrificed, that was scary
@@kenjohnson4423 Umm yeah, that would be scary.
Weird but it is California.
Yes, there's definitely a weird vibe at this one. Thanks for commenting!👍😁