AFC Canyon Mines - 9/6/08

[ExpUt]

Didn't have a chance to check out the mine I wanted, but I did have a chance to check out two others I had been wanting to explore for quite some time. I need to do some more research on the names, but the mines were two of the 6-8 mines that made up the mining claims along that ridge The lower mine was approx. 200 yards deep, several side tunnels and a shaft dropping down ~20ft to a flooded state, hard to say how deep it is?

Mine #2 was ~100 yards above the lower tunnel opening, I assumed it was going to be a chase shaft that broken through to the surface from one of the lower mines, however to my surprise it was a horizontal tunnel, ~50 yards deep, several chases and a shaft that is partially caved or just a shallow working.

While the mines don't look often entered, especially the upper entrance, there is little/nothing of historic value in either mine that I was able to see. One of the guys I was up there with pointed out two other mine openings that would require a decent hike. Supposedly one of them has(had) a intact ore car in side? Another day's adventure. That and getting into the bigger mine up there

[Mike]

Sounds pretty cool. I'm interested in the mine with the ore car in it. Might be worth the hike. Where abouts in the Canyon were these?

I'm heading up to Mary Ellen Gulch area this Tuesday, Wednesday to do a little camping before it gets too cold. I plan on visiting the mine sites in the back of the gulch. Anybody is welcome to join me on the excursion.

[ExpUt]

Silver Lake Flat Reservoir Area. There are at least 25 openings in the area, at least 7 of which are or could be open (I've been in 3 of them thus far), the rest are either caved or unknown. I spotted two smaller openings on the other side of the canyon and below us, they too looked open but given the associated mine dumps they are not very big at all. There are several others in the area I would really like to get over to check out. I'd live to hike to the ore car mine before snow flies. I'll be in the Price area this weekend, Mona Pole the following (starting a new thread on that trip), and the Maze/Swell the following, at this point I don't have a free weekend to get back up there until October sometime.

[Mike]

Kurt, if you want to post the coords or send them to me in a PM, I'll go out and check them out and get photos of everything for ya. Stu, you interested in joining?

[Stuart]

Tuesday-Wednesday? Unfortunately I will be knee deep in a grand opening for both of those days. Maybe Wednesday afternoon I can meet you somewhere up there.

[ExpUt]

Kurt, if you want to post the coords or send them to me in a PM, I'll go out and check them out and get photos of everything for ya. Stu, you interested in joining?

I bet you would

How about this, you get me in touch with Harley so I can chat with him about buying some old AF mine stock and I'll give you the coordinates to all the mines

[Mike]

Haha deal. Stu will PM you Harley's number as soon as he jumps back on.

[ExpUt]

Here you go guys, I think your both members of ExpeditionUtah, I'd prefer keep it someplace that isn't viewable to non-registered members. On that, I've never logged into MU as a guest... can guests view all this info? I'm happy to share most my info but I do prefer its only viewable to registered members. Make sense?

My website on the subject:

http://www.expeditionutah.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2450#post2450

The mines I visited on Saturday are AFSL-16 & AFSL-17, they are both accessible and you can drive within 200 yards of both of them in a decent 4x4. I still don't know which other mines are still open, the notes I have on my website for the most part reflect their condition when the closures first took place in the mid-90's.

I "believe" the AFSL-12 & AFSL-13 are open too. All the others I have no clue with the exception of AFSL-11 which I've driven right past and am pretty confident is no-accessible. Supposedly AFSL-12 has the ore car, but despite being right close to it several times I've never had the chance to hike over.

[ExpUt]

Sad news regarding the Earl-Eagle Mine in Major Evans Gulch:

"I spent the weekend up on our property and found that my family has closed the front of the Earl Eagle mine shaft. They used a backhoe to fill the entrance with mine tailings. I'm assuming their reasoning is to protect the water source for use at the cabin, with the side benefit of eliminating the potential for injury. Sorry we didn't get to go in last weekend, we should have taken advantage of being there."

Its a bummer, but it wasn't a very large mine, ~2200 ft in with a shaft at the end, tracks down the middle. Woulda, shoulda, coulda... all these years I've put it off.

[Stuart]

Too bad, I hate to see another mine be destroyed. Its unfortunate that they didn't put up a gate instead of a backfill.

[ExpUt]

Too bad, I hate to see another mine be destroyed. Its unfortunate that they didn't put up a gate instead of a backfill.

It had a gate, it was continually compromised. Add to the fact that they get culinary water from the mine and I can understand why they didn't want anybody in there. Sucks but understandable.

The mines I was speaking of in this thread are closely monitored and under lock and key. At least a couple of the ones closest to the road now have cameras on their entrance, with culinary water and all the terrorism scares, they are not playing around with the security of water sources. For example the Wasatch Drain Tunnel sits in the parking lot of Snowbird. Its got a giant garage door over the front of it and a highly visible camera pointed at it 24/7.

[Crystal]

Wow, yeah if they are using it for culinary and the gate was constantly being compromised, no wonder they chose to backfill. With the snowbird mines it makes sense that they would have such high security, a lot of people are all over those hills all year round. It is very cool that you were able to visit some of those sites last week. Any chance you can get some pictures up?

[ExpUt]

...Any chance you can get some pictures up?

I'm uploading some in the other threads right now

[ExpUt]

This is AFSL-12:

[Derek]

Kurt I tried registering for your forum, but after following the activation steps in the email I recieved I am still not able to get into any of the forums. Is there something on your end that needs to be done?