#72: The Final Images from Pine Creek
Here is the last of three posts from our Pine Creek adventure with Lynn Goodfellow. It was 7pm before we returned back to the mill, so the light as the end was great. The colors in the trees and mineral-rich rocks was awesome going up, but much more vivid on the trip back. Read the captions above each picture for details.
Also-Lee, Mark and Jim, I responded to your comments down below. Thanks a lot for continuing to check out what we’re doing. It’s because of you guys that we keep this up! If you guys keep stopping by to look at the pictures, we’ll keep putting them online.
-Dave
This is the highest mine, right on the backside of Wheeler Crest. It is one of the highest mines in North America.
This is looking back towards Goodfellow’s mines and Pine Creek. If you look closely at the hillside on the left, you can see many of the main tungsten mines.
This sure looks like a Bristlecone, but I don’t think it is. Anybody know?
The white patch in the upper left is The Shirley Temple Mine. It was bought by the Shirley Temple’s family after she made a lot money as a child actor in the 1930s. It looks like there’s a rabbit waiting on the road to the mine.
This is one of the towers for the ore tram that carried ore from the mines down to the mill.
Finally, here is the mill right before we pulled back in. What a great trip. That was one I will never forget.
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by DMC Photo
What great photos! Thank you for posting them with the descriptive prose. (I got here via a rabbit trail from the WhitneyZone message boards!)
Fantastic read; the whole series. Amazes me how much history is in the Sierras. Beyond the obvious beauty and awe they generate, there is much to learn about the region!
It’s great to see everyone enjoying all these pictures. It takes a lot of time and effort to get to the point of taking them. Then you have to sort out the ones to put on the site and add all of the info about them. I’m deeply grateful for all your work. You inspire us all!
Dave,
I just discovered your photoblog on the Pine Creek tungsten mines – I hiked into the Pine Creek trail system, and saw the tungsten mines across the canyon to the north – until I read your blog, I had no idea the mining operation was so extensive, or operated until 12 years ago. The history in the area is astounding, and your photos showed us so much more than we see on the south trail system – thanks again for posting!
Hi Dave, Really enjoyed your pictures,when I lived in the area I liked hiking to the old mines.I worked for Gary with Sierra Pacific Airlines in 1976, I really enjoyed living in the Bishop area and getting to know Gary and hear his stories about the area. I went on to fly for United Airlines. I believe you knew my aunt Jean Parker from many years ago, my grandfather started the Mt.Whitney fish hatchery in 1917…….Keep the pictures coming, I love the area…….regards, Tom McCloud
Dave, thank you for sharing so many great photos of this amazing area. And Lynn, thanks for making it possible. I have been up through these same places once, for a spring skiing adventure. The mine you marked as the highest one in the area is the Adamson Mine. A couple hundred more feet up and over the ridge from there is the infamous Scheelite Chute where a skier can descend six thousand feet to the Pine Creek road, and you can even see your car parked down at the bottom over the course of that entire run. Unfortunately it very rarely is in good snow condition so it’s mostly just a crazy thing to do.
That Adamson Mine has structures all the way up on the ridge where it hits 13,000′, in addition to the lower one you photographed. At the top, there are still ore cars on a section of rail which used to cross a trestle down to the structure shown in your photo, where the cars would dump into a hopper, which then fed the ore into the buckets of a mini-tramway (of which the cables are down now but still there under rock and scree).
I hope I wasn’t trespassing when I went that way as a skier in 2005. We didn’t know much about the area, just took our maps and went for it. If there were any signs they were under ten feet of snow! The mine road and upper valley turned out to be the hardest way to reach the Scheelite Chute! It took us until early afternoon to reach that upper basin on foot and skis, and then it took a whole two hours more to post-hole steeply up past the Adamson Mine to the crest, through spring snow that was slushy to knee deep. Anyone in their right mind would just go up the chute itself in the wee hours and not try to reach it from around the back!
Thanks again for all the photos.
- Eric
Dave,
Thank you so much for continuing to share your adventures. It was your vision that became my introduction to the Eastern Sierra, and now I’ve moved my focus from Mammoth mountain to Snowboarding the Backcountry!
Your life has been, and continues to be an inspiration. I stumbled across this post doing some legwork for a snowboard trip to Feather Peak, can’t wait to get up there. In March I was up riding in the bowls on the opposite side of the canyon, and I love seeing the view from the other direction via your photo essay! Thanks again.
Thanks for the memories. Worked Carbide 69 thru 1985. They were still using the towers to haul ore from the 9200 Portal when I started. we went up the switch backs for about 6 months till they opened Easy Go. It was a learning experiecne and ran a few guys off going up that moutain side. Ran front loaders most of my years. Did a little jumbo but not much of miner but did it all anyway. Miss a lot of the men. Can’t remember namees now. Thats sad. But still see the faces. Best years of my working life. Have to use oxygen now. I have to admit the air wasnt always the best. But I wouldnt change my life for anything to have worked and lived in the history of the Pine Creek Tungsten Mine.
That was just a few weeks ago so yes, they are still standing!
Dave:
What year was your hike up above the mill in Pine Creek Canyon? Wonder if those tram towers are still standing.
Doc
Wow. I haven’t checked your photos in a while, and what a surprise!
I love Pine Canyon. And I’ve always wanted to see what was up there out of sight from the canyon floor. Now I know.
You’ll enjoy “Mine in the Sky.” There are lots of photos, and it is well written and indexed. A great read.
Thanks again!
Sure thing Dave. I’ll take a look at the picture and see what I can see.
Hey Jim! It goes up to another mine that is in the actual Pine Creek Canyon. You can see the walking trail switchbacks right next to it. Maybe we’ll go out that road next time.
In the last photo where does the road at the upper left go ? Sure looks like a lot of fun ! Thanks, Jim
Thanks Steven. I think you are right on the Juniper. I always thought that Bristlecones don’t grow in the Sierra, so that verifies that. Thanks Steven. We are going to email you another photo of a tree on the Mono Lake shoreline to see if you have any ideas about it. Check it out and let us know. Thanks again.
-Dave
Dave,
My guess on your tree is either a Limber Pine, White-bark Pine or Juniper. All three grow in that area and can take on that look. Judging by the trees growing around it, I’m leaning towards White-bark, but can’t say for sure without seeing them up close. I can tell that some of your other pictures contain Limber Pine and Junipers.
Bristlecones don’t grow in the Sierra, though they say the Foxtail Pine is related to them. I don’t think Foxtails grow that far north though. They’re more of a Southern Sierra tree.
Thanks again for the great photo tour. Brings back a lot of memories.