Forbidden Universe
Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyCosmos on April 23, 2018, 09:00:11 AM
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Our Eastern Mountains Lost History Expedition April 15th 2018....
I have to say 2018 has been quite the busy year as far as traversing the Eastern and Humboldt Mountains of Nevada. The Humboldt River basin is a jewel of Nevada but the mountains are so scenic and within them are quite a few really nice ghost towns if your able to get to them. Generally in the Spring is a hit and miss the roads are not always in great condition and with hundreds of miles of dirt roads its a bit of a maze back here.
I am sad to say that we wont be returning to this region of Nevada soon the weather is going to be to hot, deadly and rattlers will be out. I try to split my year up ghost towns of Nevada then the high sierras in the summer months that way we get to enjoy the best of both worlds and climates. But these past few months I been doing so many ghost towns and eventually they will get indicted onto our site for all to enjoy which is the part I love most.
This expedition would be part of a trilogy surrounding Barbersville Nevada. This is a ghost town that burnt a year ago down however let me just say you can find some rural parts of the town just a few miles away if you know where to go and what to look for. Sad to say the fire that struck part of the Eastern Mountains burned down quite a few national forested canyons with that it took Barbersville so it was important that I find anything substantial that we could collect for our site and add along with something great to talk about for this report.
I would leave in the middle of the night there is always those coffee stops sometimes even breakfast. But I love getting to ghost towns at sunup. I do not like to arrive late in the day and I wont mention names but I know someone who does that I cant stand and he lacks the skills necessary to be a safe ghost towner. But you get to these places early that gives you time to explore, hike, picnic, play football, find some mines and be more thorough. I generally try to tell everyone will be done by evening but this trip was not the case it was a sunup till sundown adventure and I seen more then enough believe me.
This trip would be an expedition with miles of hiking, climbing, offroading etc a no joke ghost town trip. I never ask anyone to go anymore because I am not sure to many people can handle it really. This trip would include a hike over the Eastern Mountains and into multiple rugged canyons eventually traversing through a vast expanse/desert so while it was fun it was a very long difficult day ahead of us and so our third expedition into Barbersville's lost history begin here.
Barbersville Nevada
Expedition 3
I am not sure why I am so obsessed with this location but I will say that the Eastern Mountains are a mix of forest and high desert. Also their is a sister ghost town just on the other side of Barbersville known as Dun Glen. The two can be reached within minutes apart if you can access the dirt roads through the canyons surrounding the very mountain that gold was taken from.
As you cross this giant expanse its all cattle country or open range. It is Spring so their are tons of calves out they are so adorable. Some of the cattle and calves like to hang out on the roads so you have to be careful to go around them while others might move over and just stare at you. I actually took a time out to photograph and film some of the cattle on the dirt roads. Some of them I can reach out my vehicle window and pet them if I wanted to but generally they are kind of skiddish of vehicles even people especially when guarding there young. The other pain in the ass thing is you have to get out and open these barbed wire makeshift gates. They are on very tight and very secure it sometimes takes the strength of two people to un loop them from the post but that is to keep them from escaping the range.
I brought my dogs with me on this trip its been awhile but the only time I bring them out is when I am in the wilderness away from highways or traffic since they love to run around and explore. Of course the cattle were not far from where we were going to park and my concern is my dog would chase them since that is what he does. Problem is if he chased them here he would vanish because you have miles of open expanse and there is nothing to stop him from disappearing into the desert so I was a bit worried.
Last time I tried exploring here I hit a bunch of mud, snow and the roads were not that great. This time around there was some mud but at least the snow was gone. I love offroading out here sometimes there are herds of antelope and deer you can just ride along side of them like its some safari so awesome. I did not see much wildlife but the cattle were everywhere probably a thousand of them spread out as I journeying into this canyon that cuts through the Eastern Mountains.
I am getting real sick of my GPS it should have taken me down this road to the mouth of some canyon I wanted to see some cabin remnants at. But instead it took me on the back side of the range three canyons over of course at the time I did not know that and it makes no sense why it would not take me down the right road rather then point me in the direction of having to climb over an entire mountain into this canyon to it but whatever. I did not think much about it figured id just grab the backpacks throw some food and drinks into it then hit the wilderness with no trail nor really destination.
I was a bit worried about my American Bulldog he has joint problems even a small hike puts him in agony. But I been buying joint supplement and boy it was not a disappointment. He had no pain, fatigue and was an energizer bunny on this trip. As a matter in fact he was chasing rabbits the first few minutes we got out of the truck grabbed our stuff then made our ascension. The problem is on GPS it just points a single line to the destination their is no way to know the obstacles like canyons, cliffs or elevations so we were in for a big treat.
We begin to hike up this hill below it is this old stone foundation perhaps not many know about it but it probably was a miner cabin. We started off with hiking on these grassy hills some of the trees around us were burnt but see this area is already recovering from fire. I mean the trees were burnt but fresh grass and foliage is growing again. The view of the Humboldt Basin up here is amazing and just across from us is the snowcapped Humboldt Mountains which contain Star and Thunder Peaks both of which I almost been at the summit while visiting other mines and ghost towns. Hell we were almost at the top of Star Peak a couple months ago maybe a couple hundred feet at the old Black Canyon Mine Camp so when I see such a view I can tell others hey I stood there or was there lol.
My GPS was not acting right it was frozen on .7 miles for two hours and showed the line over the mountains down into this wooded canyon. All I can do is follow it does not matter where you take it from there is hiking involved if you want to see this stone cabin which has a really nice fireplace and behind it a mine worth checking out. I could not wait to get here I consider it part of Barbersville since its not far away but its the outskirts of this old boom town. Some miners just preferred to live more rural outside of the town alone mining their own mine.
We climbed nearly the top of the Eastern Mountains the higher we went the more woodsy it had gotten. Their was other peaks nearby full of forest its very nice here. We had a nice day out it was fairly sunny 50 degrees and now and then a mild breeze to cool you off so primitive hiking was in here for this time of year since there are no trails. A few times I thought I seen foundations when they turned out to be just rocks in the distance. Nothing is ever what it seems when you hike in the frontier and its really easy to miss things.
Jarrod and I summated the top of the range then we descended down into this woodsy canyon. In the middle of nowhere was this old kettle it was not from this time period. It makes you wonder if some miners were searching for gold and cooked beans over an open fire. The canyon we descended down into did not reveal to much but we did find a few large pieces of glass perhaps a metal canister or two. But for the most part there was very little signs anyone has been here in years. The animal trails are overgrown and it was very steep so we had to be careful descending on the north end of the range.
You could barely see where you were going as there are woods here and there are some ankle breaker falls believe. We had to weave in and out of the trees finding the paths of least resistance only because the canyon is so rugged. Tammy mainly followed the wash I thought that was time consuming just having to meander along it thus I found some old mining road it was overgrown but it took me almost halfway down into the canyon then ended oddly.
The fire skipped around we found a few burnt trees also and we thought we found a bone which turned out to be a piece of wood. Were very thorough on these expeditions we will search as much as we can because who knows we might find some coins taken from a stage or some hidden cave with paintings in it. This is why I like the west these mountains all hold secrets and well we were on a path less taken.
Towards the very bottom of the canyon I seen white stakes in the ground there were a few my assumption is these are mining claims or more recent ones. You can buy claims out here cheap as dirt the problem is hauling in equipment to do the mining on site. People buy claims then have no clue what to do with them so you often find wood stakes in the desert where someone may have made a claim. Their is gold in these hills my son and I found a few pieces of ore on the canyon floor. It would appear that during flash floods things get washed right down the canyon the problem is finding it.
I ended up getting separated right beforehand I told Tammy it does not look good the GPS was pointing a quarter mile back up the canyon and I gave up almost. I was livid but nearly in tears to have wasted three hours hiking for nothing almost. Because for me yeah I love to hike but I love to bring you guys some historic sites of the old west to this is what I do. I am a good old fashioned explorer and nothing comes easy we do. I wanted to find this and I ended up leaving Tammy and Jarrod behind.
Tammy had her pistol on her and they would be fine. But I had to make up for lost time and when I am alone I can travel three to four times faster I wont do that in the company of others because ill slide down banks, leap over logs, climb up cliffs that sort of thing to cut my journey time down. I do not recommend doing this rushing can lead to ankle breaks and I already need ankle reconstruction but nothing and I mean nothing stands in the way from my goals I been doing this shit for two decades now its in my veins.
I was on the lest side of the wash cruising fast my family was still half way up the canyon following this wash. I jumped over the wash and seen my gps kind of recalculating to the east it was still off big time not sure why but there was at least five parallel canyons with the one I was heading down in. I nearly made it to the mouth of this canyon when I decided screw it I begin instead cutting across the canyon went over this hill descending down into the next canyon then I went about a quarter mile across this canyon and went into another canyon.
Low and behold I descending on the ruins of an old miner cabin it is hidden really good not many people probably will ever find it and hell maybe nobody has. Their was pieces of rusty metal all over scattered and someone apparently was mining some rock face nearby. This is the type of stuff I enjoy finding this was something I found on my own busting ass it was not anything I could drive to. Hell at this point I was miles away from my truck I dreaded going back without finding at least something but it gets better.
I found what appeared to be a stone table well it was a makeshift one anyhow and I ended up taking a break here. My son and I we do bigfoot calls to communicate he heard mine then followed the direction of it which took him about a half hour to get to me because he made it to the bottom of that wash. He probably only meant to find me yet I took him on another hour journey. Lucky for me I had a cell phone signal so I called Tammy told her to break for awhile since I was closing in on this stone cabin. My GPS was reading it a half mile away we may have ended up hiking extra mileage just because we went down the canyon then went over a couple canyons then back up this canyon so yeah!
Jarrod and I found an old mining road it was overgrown grass growing on it the creek was flooding the area so we got our feet wet more then once and some of the land was marshy. We came across an old orchard even this grassy meadow my dog was loving it diving in the wetlands running through grass. I am not sure but those vitamins helped him out to much he was climbing steep hills and a few times I thought I lost my boy. Their was one point where I was on this peak and he was five hundred feet below it in some ravine and with the way brush grows intense out here you cant see him. So eventually through this area we leashed him which makes it hard for us to get footing and control a big muscular American bulldog lol.
We turn this bend and right up built into the hillside sure enough was this fairly large stone cabin nearly two stories in height. It had a fairly large fireplace and was made completely of stone. I did notice some wood wedges places between the stone interesting feature I mean whoever built this built this with their hands and they knew what they were doing because this cabin still stands however the roof is long gone. The roof probably had aluminum or sheet metal placed over the top then again maybe they had wood beams at one time and it just all blew away.
It had two entranced but the side entrance looked as if someone sealed it because it was filled with rocks not sure why maybe they no longer wanted two entrances because of cold drafts or someone else took it over and did not like its grand design. The fireplace was filled with dirt and yes rodent droppings up on the mantle and in the fireplace itself. You could tell they made a nice little nest in the fireplace and my son kept trying to get me to put my hand inside to look around ummm no thanks lol. Him and I tend to play quite a few pranks on one another outdoors and his thing is trying to scare me like sneaking off then jumping at me from behind.
We took a nice lunch break at the cabin put the dog on a leash at the tree and I ran some EVP here. Took some photos did some filming and just relaxed. This is a nice shady cabin in the woods right along a creek its kind of surreal and its a nice place to spend quality time at. The miner who lived here built a cabin much larger then most in the region and he probably had money because his mine was quite the operation nearby.
Speaking of the mine we decided to go further into this lush canyon we took the wrong way though its so overgrown we hiked a half mile along the creek finding nothing. We had to retrace our steps where we found a overgrown walking trail which took us to the mine site. The mine is just this small hole maybe six feet across in the side of this small hill. In front of it was a few foundations maybe they processed there own ore and had some milling equipment here or a loading area. Then the ore could be hauled off to Dun Glen or even Barbersville nearby which had a couple small mills for ore processing and getting that gold separated.
I knew we were at the mine because through the trees you could see a big dump pile with debris scattered everywhere like TNT blasting canisters, buckets, bean cans etc. Its very easy to miss its not labeled on sites you cant see it on google really and like I said its just a small hole in the side of a hill surrounded by dense forest all around you. My son and I had some obstacles before we went in. For one my flashlight was not working so I had to use a dimmer spare one. My son left his two high powered tactical lights back with Tammy because he left his backpack a mile away so all we had was a crank light and that dim flashlight.
I was okay with it I had a night vision camera but I left it in my pack at the mines entrance should have brought it because it could have illuminated the path better. This is not a safe mine and anyone thinking about going into it you can yes but know the risk and understand that the wood stopes that hold up the ceiling inside are weak so if you fall and bump one the whole mine could collapse just a forewarning. I been doing this a long time so I do more risky stuff because I know what I can get away with.
The mine entrance is bad the worst part really because its just a hole no beams holding it up and you have to slide almost straight down. Once your inside though you can stand up its a rocky very long tunnel. But the entrance for the first 10' in is eroding if you bump it rock starts to fall and it could collapse so do not bump the ceiling or the entrance to the mine. Once you get in its more stable because now your dealing with hard rock tunnel which is safer and more secure since they had to blast through this. I could see areas where they drilled holes in the mine and put these iron shanks in the wall maybe to hang lanterns or perhaps they served some other purpose.
The further we went in the less light we begin to see from the entrance and after hundreds of feet the light from the outside completely vanished. What that spells is total darkness and darker then night itself. Every hundred feet we came across an area that had collapsed or may have just been a pile of ore left behind. So inside the mine we had to climb these piles of rocks to advance further into the mine and that is where the ceiling had gotten low. Their was areas with collapsed stopes and wood beams barely holding up parts of the mine. Again do not grab or touch them if you do the mine could collapse just saying. I had to be sharp in the dark and I had sun glasses on at the time but I wont touch anything because the ceilings are fragile but for the most part most areas you could stand up and not hit your head.
Eventually we found a set of ore cart tracks but most of them were not very visible because the entire mine is muddy and wet. We trudged through mud and water almost the entire journey till the mine came to an end. I also recorded EVPs the entire time and was so worried I might drop my recorder in a pool of water rendering it useless but I never dropped anything. I slipped a few times on some mud and rocks but totally regained my balance. Even my dog came with us he stayed behind me and he slid a little. But he was an asset to have with us because if something is not safe he wont go so that tells me to use caution so its good having him along with us.
We thought we heard something in the mine could have been a ghost many mines I investigate the paranormal at turn up to be haunted. We heard something it was a mans voice kind of spooky. We were so deep in this mine that their was no way to get out of here quickly I mean you have rocks you have to climb over, weak beams that you have to slowly maneuver around and low ceilings in some areas. The walls have water dripping and for all I know a mountain lion could be living inside we come across that too in some mines so yeah you have to be vigilante. I could not even fire my gun if I wanted to it would bring the mine down so lucky for us no mountain lions but ghosts yes!
Their kind of is some form of relief once we got out of here but we had to climb our way out without touching the rim of the mines entrance because again its weak and eroded. While most of the mine is solid there are parts that are about to go if their was a quake we would be at the wrong time and place. But I can vouch that this is a decent mine but probably in a few years its going to go. Some of the beams were laying on the ground other ones were barely holding up the rocky ceiling and parts of it are just collapsed. We still seen every inch of that mine and this is the second big mine I have done in the past couple months which will be great additions on our website.
We packed up the gear then hiked out of this place by then my feet were so muddy and wet. It was a nice hike because we descended all the way out of this canyon through the forest and into the Humboldt Basin which from a distance looks like this giant sandy desert that seems like it goes on forever with mountains overshadowing it in every direction. This canyon kind of had a creepy feel to it I do not know but their was something there we heard some noises we could not explain not just in the mine but we heard something in the woods to. Who knows maybe a hermit lives out here and was watching us.
When we reached the mouth of the canyon we then begin to head west into the desert weaving in and out of sagebrush. When we went about three canyons west Tammy met us at the mouth of the one she was breaking at with her dog. But from afar she looked so small were lucky we seen one another because a half of mile away someone in the desert looks just like a pin drop and with sage brush growing a few feet her black shirt stood out among the greenery. Speaking of greenery we actually found about five different types of flowers blooming in the eastern range another great reason to hike in the Spring up here because nature thrives then summer comes and the heat is unforgiving.
We ended up hiking all the way along the bottom of the Eastern Mountains at the very bottom of them through the expanse. We actually had to go round the range then go over three or four hills and climb over four washes eventually hitting this dirt road where I was parked on. Then we could just walk the road for about a mile which made things easier. But going through the sage brush up and down rolling hills into these steep washes was not easy but we managed. This time of year no snakes out really but if you were to do this in the summer there might be five or six snakes every hundred feet ready to lunge at your legs so you have to be careful.
When we came onto the road and hiked in this canyon we followed this creek so my dog enjoyed the cool water and eventually we seen the truck boy was that an adventure. I conquered these mountains but I also came across in total three separate stone ruins and a decent large mine so this trip was a huge win for us. But for me I suffered I had major groin spasms and collapsed for a half hour could not stand. I had to many issues the last hour of this hike and had to take things super slow. Unfortunately having a blown out ankle, knee, chronic pain, muscle spasms, bone spurs and disc out in my back its getting harder for me to keep doing this and its very depressing for me. I have a hard time coping with it because I like to still think I am 20 lol but I have real issues and I try to put them on the back burner because I love being an explorer.
We eventually drove to another location its called the Nick Mill its old at one time the Chinese operated it here. Some say this mill processed as much as a million dollars in gold so its not just any mill. Its historic as it is relevant to the region. Their is a new mining claim a caretaker lives on site and yes you do need permission to be here unless you want to get shot just saying. Lucky for me I wrote the person who mines here and I had the honor of touring the mill. But this mill is in bad shape it has a water tank next to it then inside its all merely a shell. To a point that foliage grows inside the mill but the old cogs, gears and iron machinery.
The back of the mill has a small trestle where an ore car could travel at the top of a hill dropping the ore at the top while it came down a chute to be processed through a crusher or perhaps some stamps. The mill was a bit creepy I could not get to the second floor the wood stairs and integrity was in disrepair. However, it still is a fine piece of history dating back to around the 1880's and still standing. I did not spend much time here but I took some EVP and readings. Also on site is an older rusty tank and some other scattered remnants. It was not a very long stop as the sun was starting to go down and I still had to get out to Barbersville so it was time to hit the road.
When I arrived in Barbersville the sun was nearly down bats were flying everyone I know this because I went back to the old smelter and when I walked into the entrance a large bat nearly hit me flat in the face. Your not going to read much or see photos of Barbersville it was more or less a suburb of nearby Dun Glen just over the ridge. But also had a series of wooden homes, mills, stores and saloons. It was not a large mining town and while it resided in the woods for decades a fire last year ago burnt down the town as well as forest in this canyon.
My goal was to find any remnants we may have missed when were here a couple months ago. There is a road with a very old intact miners cabin and if you study maps there was three other structures just like it further down the road. Sadly google maps does not update often so when I drove along this ravine I came out to an area the road switchbacked up a hill where I found a couple burnt down cabins. So the new area did not play out as I had hoped. All that was left is piles of metal roofing, twisted rusty remnants and just burnt wood. One foundation was completely white a mere pile of cinders and ash.
Its kind of weird the fire went right around the only standing structure in town but I had hoped to find some new stuff. The first time I was here we had minutes of light and well the same thing happened. By the time I explored the smelter, took the side road to see if these three other structures stood and then eventually made my way to downtown Barbersville it was dark out. I never can make it here early enough to see anything but after a couple trips its obvious there is not much to see. The forest is now composed of black burnt bare trees, metal is everywhere and nothing stands hardly. My son and I had to clear the road once again someone has taken the roofing from the mill throwing it onto the road which is very sharp and not good for tires. So that also took time having to clear the road.
Their appears to be steep ravines around town and in one of them my son showed me a dam. I have never seen many dams right in a ghost town except in Boca California. But the dam is no longer operable it had a huge hole in it and I thought man if that hole broke through decades ago it would have wiped out this town far before the fire hit last year ago. But my son and I walked a mile in the dark down the canyon road all the way up to these stone ruins on a hill. To the west the sky was lighter because the sun was setting but where we were at was as dark as night. I could not wait to get off my shoes when I got out of the truck I stepped on grass which turned out to be mud and muck. Both my shoes went six inches under second time this happened to me here its like some string of muddy shoe bad luck lol.
Barbersville was not that exciting but I thought I heard something while we were out wandering around. Its hard to dissect every sound you hear I mean their are mountain lions out at night and other animals. But like the mine I thought I heard something out here less animal like and more human sounding. Lets face it nobody was out here you have to open the gate to get into this ghost town then you lock it behind you so really there is one way in other roads were to muddy and in bad shape to move forward but in the summer you can take them to Dun Glen which is a more touristy type of ghost town nearby as it gets dozens of visitors a day but Barbersville gets maybe one person a week if that.
This place is pretty eerie at night but what a way to spend a final journey here I mean we took on stone ruins, canyons, crossed the eastern mountains, explored a haunted mine, old historic mill and finished off the evening here. I did not get done as early as I wanted and for us it was a few hours drive home so it was time to wrap it up. But glad I got to see the dam and that smelter is probably the most awesome site you can see here. Getting out of this place at night is a pain though your up on a ravine where the road is washed out your vehicle tilts sideways in the dark its pretty intense. Then you have to find your way out across the expanse with dirt roads everywhere, cattle standing in the roads and multiple gates which have to be opened so we could make our way back to the expressway.
The ride was a rough one home about two hours into it we hit a snowstorm so that last hour was intense almost whiteout conditions. So goes life in the mountains you could hike in short sleeves all day and then at night your in subzero temperatures and its snowing. It was like a ghost town nobody was out on the roads. I could not wait to just get home make the London broil, parmesan julienne with a nice side of asiago rice to go with it all. I just wanted to relax watch the season finale of The Walking Dead and Premier of Fear The Walking Dead.
This was one hell of an adventure and one I can say that I definitely conquered the Eastern Mountains. Only a few ghost town adventures left before we revert to some bigfoot research and cryptid monster chasing in the high sierras so we definitely are going to relish this wild western adventure for awhile. Whether these places are haunted by their ghost of the past remains to be seen but I can imagine some pioneers came here and truly never left even though most of Barbersville burned down.
Peace,
Lord Rick