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Gee, here's a familiar scene. My soon-to-be son-in-law, Joe, exploring the entrance to the DeSoto Mine. The following series was taken on the 12th of March, 2000. |
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We turned around and started up the
mountain to explore the other mine entrances and trails above the main shaft. The area in
the background is one of the new National Monuments that was recently created by
'executive order' of our Dictator in Chief. Somehow, I can't get a warm feeling about
having MY (public) land 'preserved' for me by making it impossible for me to use it. The
only people who get any benefit from it are hikers. I don't hike. Partially by choice,
but, face it folks, we ain't as young as we used to be. This is RUGGED territory. To
survive, you must carry several gallons of water per person, per day while hiking, to
avoid dehydration. Sorry, I can't tote that kind of load any more. Closing the land to
vehicles, even on well-used roads (the only place I'll ride) is not doing me any favors.
I'm waiting for someone to sue the Feds via the Americans With Disabilities Act because
they can't enter some of these 'preserved' areas. No wheels allowed, y'know, not even
wheelchairs. If I can't enjoy the land, it might as well not exist. Thanks, Sierra
Club. Now I have one less place to enjoy the outdoors in this increasingly overcrowded
State. Don't be fooled. 'Sierra Club' is an acronym. See below. Society Insisting on Eliminating Recreation in Rural Areas
Closed Land, Unwanted Bureaurocracies |
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At the top of the mountain, Joe found some unmelted snow in a shady spot. We were at nearly 6,000 feet elevation and there had been a Winter storm about a week earlier. |
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As we descended the mountain we were greeted with this view. We could see several miles of the trail that we used to get to the mine. Behind the green-capped hill on the left, and down another several hundred feet in elevation is where I parked the truck. You'll see it from the road on the left of the green-capped mountain a couple of frames from now. |
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The road seen at the lower left has a series of switch-backs just to the right of center in this view. I regret that they don't show up well in these photos. The switch-backs are part of a railroad grade that once existed here. The railroad ran from Mayer, AZ to Crown King, AZ. Crown King was a mining town at nearly 7,000 feet elevation. The ore processing plant was in Mayer. The railroad also served the DeSoto Mine complex. The railroad was very expensive to build, due to terrain and due to the time when it was built (late 1800's), due to the amount of manual labor involved. Part of this ride on the quads was intended to find the old railroad bed and follow it as far as possible, retracing the route of a 100 year old railroad through the Old West. The tracks, ties and trestles are long gone, but the grading work is easily visible, once you find part of it. The missing trestles make it hard to follow the old grade because of dry washes (dry creeks) that frequently cut across the grade. One such cut, about 40 feet deep and 150 feet across finally stopped us several miles north of Cleator, AZ. I must find a way across. |
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As promised, the view down to where the truck is parked. It's the white speck at the tip of the arrow. That's at least 300 feet down in elevation and pretty close to a mile away, straight line. |
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We rode on past where we had parked the truck, out onto the main road (ex-railroad) and up to Cleator, kind of a ghost town that didn't quite die. As we rode north out of town after getting some directions from the lady who runs the saloon, we found the first of the missing trestles. Well, we didn't find the trestle, but we found where it used to be, between the hill on the left and the one just to the right of center. As I said, once you get a taste of what to look for, it's easy to follow the old grade. The current road runs down into the dry wash and around to the left, then up the other side and follows the grade again. |
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Normally, this crossing would be dry, but we had had a storm a week earlier, so we had to ford the creek (another reason I don't hike). One person crosses while the other waits on dry land. That way, if the first crosser gets stuck, the other one can tow him out. This was an easy crossing, less than two feet deep and no current, with a rock bottom. Piece o' Cake! |
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Here you can see how the small hills were cut to level the road grade. Keep in mind that this was all done with hand tools. Pick 'n shovel. No power tools or heavy equipment. In the center, in the distance, you can see the grade as it heads for the pass between the hills and into Cleator, then off to the right and up to Crown King. During the railroad construction, one of the miners found gold, so half the rail crew quit the railroad and took up mining. This is another reason the railroad cost big $$. They had to hire another crew. |
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Joe is holding some artifacts we found. We don't know how they got sheared in half, but the lower ends of all three are missing. On the left, two spikes, on the right, part of a rail bolt. Just keep your eyes open, they're all over the place. Remember to leave them where you found them, though. There is hard prison time and heavy fines awaiting anyone caught removing such items from public land. |
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