Forbidden Universe
Paranormal => The Paranormal & Ghost Society => Topic started by: AngelOfThyCosmos on February 12, 2018, 08:34:05 PM
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I spent the past five years maybe six thinking about Summit City which is an old silver mining boom town site lost to the wilderness. The Sierras tend to consume everything this is because of harsh winter storms, floods from snowmelt, avalanches, massive thunder storms and allot of underbrush. When you get into these canyons you will find that they are all like lost worlds full of nature, marshlands, meadows, massive old trees and rock formations it really is amazing.
For me this would be a special trip as Chris Geigle and I been friends for years. I also have known Mike Jones for awhile too. You wont find anyone as much as these two gentlemen including myself that love ghost towns the way we love them believe me when I say that. Chris and Mike live about an hour from me so perhaps that is why we never did many projects but since the guys are starting to work with ghost towns of the Sierras and SW Nevada they are able to swing by and get me.
Personally I was excited generally I spend all summer long backpacking in the sierras almost every trail has some kind of history whether its an old wagon road or some boom town once existed back in the woods you never know what you might find. I had a very lousy summer spent most of it living in hotels homeless trying to save for a place for my family so this is the first time in years that I missed a few months of adventuring. So when Chris told me he wants to work with Summit City I was enthralled because it has honestly been on my bucket list for a very long time.
What I normally do being that I run a paranormal adventure group is I spend the warmer months in the higher sierras seeking out cryptids like Bigfoot then the cooler months in the frontier of Nevada. I do a variety of locations but since I moved out here over six years ago ghost towns are at the top of the list believe me. Ghost towns offer it all history, haunts, adventure, scenery etc I love the west and Summit City reminds me of why I live where I live.
The guys picked me up and we made our journey up the 88 to the Blue Lakes area. Surprisingly some of the peaks still have a little snow in this area. Alpine County is the closest thing to the Alps my friends with only a 3 percent population the rest is wilderness so you may never see a single human while out exploring. I been to all sorts of locations in Alpine it really is one of my favorite counties that the sierras run through.
Their is nothing I love more then packing my backpack with beer, good food, my gear and just exploring the unknown. The nice thing about what we are doing here is I can offer the guys a paranormal aspect to what we do since I operate the Paranormal & Ghost Society. If you combine that with Ghost Towns and Mining Camps of Nevada and California which I moderate for Chris we have a very dynamic adventure team.
Really my goal is but not sure its possible to do a majority of ghost towns between Nevada and California so the project is ongoing. It is nice when you have help from other researchers and people to get your back. I been doing this kind of thing alone half of the time and its not as fun as being with others to make some good memories. Chris and Mike are more like brothers to me that I never had. Most of the time I take or go out adventuring with someone and my appearance freaks them out or that I openly carry my pipes etc. But with these guys I can toke up a storm or drink a beer in the woods without them judging me for having a relaxing good time.
I spent sometime camping and exploring this area. For example I have climbed Elephants Back, Round Top Peak, Hiked The Forestdale Divide and visited other numerous historic sites. So my heart and soul has been sacrificed working with this area for the past few years. I have even climbed high above Summit City but I never knew where it was or how to get to it. You really cant get a vehicle back here well you cant take one because its the Mokelumne Wilderness. But you can backpack to the upper and lower parts of town. This journey would focus on the upper part of this ghost town we would save the lower for another expedition of course.
Its a fascinating little area but if you do not know what to look for or where the town site is you will hike right past it. When I visited Blue Lakes once we hit a 30 wall of snow this was about seven years ago. Its an area that gets allot of snow so if you do not beat the winter you wont see this town believe me. It is good though to see how full lower and upper blue lake is compared to a few years ago where lakes were getting bone dry.
So we had arrived at Upper Blue Lake its an area that is remote great scenery not allot of people of course it was labor day weekend so you had plenty of campers. Strangely all campers and swimmers no backpackers. I like the way Chris thinks he pulls a beer out of the cooler and says this is my choice of drink lol. The best time to drink a beer is one you share with friends on top of the world so this is the place you want to do it.
This is an area also that has some major bigfoot activity even I have found strange tracks, heard vocalizations and had been chased by something bipedal above Summit City once which terrified my dog terrorizing us. So I did not know what I might find and even if I found nothing I am a man of history I love it never can get enough so if there is no ghosts or bigfoot no biggy as long as I can get a taste of some history be a part of it life is grand. So our adventure would begin here!
Upper Summit City California
Mike and Chris showed me a trail its rather hidden but rather then hike in the rugged canyon this path seems to take you over the lip of the canyon and right down into it. I tried to find this trail years ago ended up instead taking another trail that ascended and was full of rocks. So its really easy to miss and I never knew about it so it makes me glad to know that I was not imagining hearing rumors of a trail that cut up into the canyon where the ghost town resided.
The trail eventually crosses right into the Mokelumne Wilderness which is a small part of the Eldorado National Forest. Keep in mind folks this national forest has more bigfoot sightings and evidence found then almost anywhere in the country. This is a primitive little mountainous world with thousand foot cliffs, massive peaks, overgrown forest, marshland, ponds, streams etc.
The trail ascends its fairly steep but you follow this creek and along it are a ton of wild flowers. I am a nature lover so ill stop to photograph them. For me it was a hard hike to do I mean honestly I need surgery on my ankle I have torn tendons, chondromalcia of the knees my right being swollen and other ailments. So when you have not hiked at 8,600' in months it tends to beat the life out of you really. But I am not unhappy with my performance I mean I have summated many peaks in the sierras and climbed many cliffs this is probably why today I am so beat down if you take on this wilderness in the end it will win.
I believe that through the trees if you look hard enough you will see Round Top and Deadman's Peak. Their are some hidden lakes I found not far from Summit City I think the guys might want to hike to with me eventually. Some of these places no humans have been to let alone took a foothold at in years perhaps centuries or if any at all. These canyons and wilderness areas can be so hidden that a plane could crash and who would know?
One can see that life back in Summit City had to be intense, rugged, difficult etc. The settlers had to have everything imported or either that be self sustaining. If you wanted to build a homestead you used the granite rocks around you and timber from the trees. If you were hungry enough you hunted for your food. The life of a miner was simple but it was also a gamble because you either made it or you went bust.
I try to put myself in other pioneers shoes and I sympathize because this place will make or break you. The first hour of the hike I could see the difficulty in it and can imagine that if you were a miner you had to do these hikes daily. Their was also a saw mill at the back of Upper Blue Lake and if you search the woods nearby a few old homesteads and corrals. So at one time this was a booming little area with about 600 settlers who wandered these trails to hunt, pick up supplies and mine for new prospects.
Eventually you cross this creek and end up in Summit Canyon. You feel so small with the tall granite peaks around you but you can follow Deer Creek aka Summit Canyon Creek for some time eventually reaching upper Summit City. I have to say before we entered into the canyon I heard something snap a branch I thought to myself hey its nature maybe a animal but then we heard this strange woo type of sound off in the woods across a marsh. I also heard a branch break a second time so I am not sure what was out there or even watching us you have to be careful there are primitive hermits that can live in these parts.
I have to say that was our creepy moment during the trip perhaps a half of mile more and we were in Summit City at a place called the Williamson Cabin Site. This is where we would leave our packs then use the layout of the town map that Chris brought so we could try to locate what is left.
Honestly that was the hardest part is trying to find remnants of the town the map states that their are cast iron pieces left behind we never found one. I believe that Chris found some iron square nails though and we found some small pieces of glass perhaps even a rusty piece of metal maybe it came off some roofing to one of the cabins.
I honestly have to say that I can see why nobody has documented Summit City very well let alone found much of it. The truth is that its very scattered surrounded by brush, marshland, large trees and hill sides. You have to leave the trail to find certain relevant sites. At best most miner cabins are just a few piles of stones or a couple notched logs.
We did hike out in the meadow which is really marshland near Deer Creek. It is very open here we theorized this probably was the main town site or where the hotel was located. Chris told me a flood in the 1920's pretty much washed most of the town away besides a couple fires. If your expecting a ghost town like Bodie you wont find it here just a few rock fireplaces.
I found on my own the Woodey Cabin site which was just a pile of rocks but also there was the Fugit Cabin site which more or less was a huge pit lined with stones. It probably was dug into the hillside so that you could use the cellar to store foods. Their was also the Palmer Cabin Site too which is just a single level of rocks outlining where a homestead once stood. Most of what you find here are piles of rocks from fireplaces or single pile of rocks outlining a cabin. Most cabins were small the Williamson homestead was much large although all that remains is a few logs but you could tell when it stood it was one of the larger residential structures.
We spent a couple hours looking around trying to do some credible research. I would say out of the 15 to 16 relevant sites we found almost all of them. But it is apparent many notched logs are missing while some stones are just scattered throughout the woods like floodwaters dispersed cabin sites and now they have become part of the forest floor. The thing is that their should not be many rocks on the forest floor perhaps the hillsides so when you see a pile of rocks or a couple dozen under a tree chances are they were once part of a structure or cabin.
We found near one of the homesteads tied to a small tree someone's mat rolled up in some tarp. I see this kind of thing all the time and as I told the guys there are wild people that live in the sierras. It might seem a bit scary to think some person could be up in the trees or watching silently as your trampling through there hidden camp. Someone was sleeping or living out in the wild its evident they tied up the mat nicely within the tarp then used special knots to secure it.
Their is also a wagon trail in the meadow its overgrown but we tried to explore the meadow who knows what is hiding in it. But the meadow is more like a giant marsh so we got our feet wet but it was worthwhile. Mike pointed out areas where the brush was downed by something large. These plants only grow in the sierras where the ground is saturated its more of a marsh plant. But we found some areas as big as 12' where it had all been flattened as if something came trampling through here or was resting on these plants using it for a bedding.
I tried to follow the paths of downed brush but there were no tracks not human, bear or anything. I would think if something was really heavy back here it would leave some tracks even if it was a deer its all mud. But I did not see any tracks then again its marshy so tracks probably disappear real fast. Its easy to get turned around back here this is a canyon some canyons in the sierras are massive a mile across almost with forest and creeks within. It starts to all look the same because its so overgrown back here you really do not see many peaks therefore its hard to judge where your at.
I mean even the junctions are really gone the wagon road once took you to Yosemite while the other took you all the way to Tahoe. It was a rugged route any stage coach, carriage or wagon would definitely be in for the ride of their life and the hike was not that friendly either. I am sure back in the day it was more maintained when the town was here but being its gone nature is taking a foothold back here its so obvious and that is why people never can find the town.
As a matter in fact there was only a couple older hikers heading back when we first started our hike. So its really quiet here but the one thing that lacked was nature. Sure allot of flowers were growing but no deer, birds, butterflies etc which was a bit strange. Sometimes when I hike in the sierras I come across bear, deer, varieties of birds etc but the nature back here is really lacking not sure why their is plenty of water and foliage.
We did have dinner at the Williamson Cabin Site I always bring good food such as fruits, chocolate, subs, eggs, fruit snacks, granola etc of course lugging it around can suck my backpack weighs allot honestly though I always bring enough supplies to maybe last a few days because who knows what might happen your in the wilderness if you were stuck in it you would be glad to have extra food and drinks for whatever reason.
I took allot of EVP's during this expedition around the town also EMF readings. My meter kept spiking around one of the towns foundations. I generally never see a meter spike on and off like that something was triggering it and only at that given site other cabin sites the EMF was dead period. So I do believe that Summit City may have a haunting or two. Supposedly there is a gravesite here of a little girl as well so we know there is at least one person buried in the woods up here but generally where there is one there is many so id be willing to bet a few miners also passed away up here and were buried somewhere within the reaches of the town nearby.
Before sunset we would hike on back there is no breaks on this hike it goes up and it goes down. Some areas are steeper then others but its not a dangerous hike it will test you though. I remember seeing many years ago a trail junction near Fourth Of The July lake that said Summit City high above the canyon so its much different to be at the bottom of the canyon then thousands of feet above it. Two different worlds really and ecosystems. Allot of nice little creeks and waterfalls at the bottom of the canyon while on top you get the better views.
The guys and I hiked back to the vehicle taking the same way back which is the Evergreen Trail. We decided we would maybe go check out a place called Raymond City. Honestly, I camped out by Raymond City never found much remaining of the town maybe a few wood post, boards etc but Chris may have a better handle on finding remnants perhaps that I never seen or could not find. We had plans to go to Pleasant Valley which is an amazing scenic valley surrounded by volcanic peaks everywhere including Mount Raymond.
Honestly it had been so long since I been to Mount Raymond we did not make the turn off ending up over in Grover Hot Springs before nightfall in Markleeville. Which was okay because we got to see the Scossa Cabin which is a little homestead on the edge of Charity Valley and a trail that takes you up to Burnside Lake. Many years ago we had a bigfoot sighting up here on the other side of the valley but we also had gotten some good tracks and heard some vocalizations. The hot springs are generally packed but they were closing up the vehicles all left so we were the only ones up here wandering around the Scossa Cabin under a moonlit night it was nice.
I have to say we had a great time nothing like drinking some beers hiking around and just relaxing. The thing is guys like us do not get paid to do what we do. We go to these historic or rugged places so that we can bring our viewers photos, media etc because lets face it not everyone is going to journey to the places we go and some simply may have never known places like Summit City existed because it was not a well known town and it did not last very long. People would hike past it and never even realize allot of the piles of rocks are remnants of the town itself.
For me this was a six year dream come true I had my eyes set on Summit City years ago but could not find it had no idea what trail to take or what even to look for. When you can unite and work together you can accomplish so much more. We really did a thorough job but I have a feeling that the archeologist missed allot of sites and therefore with that in mind there might be allot more hidden remnants perhaps mines further back in the woods in areas that might be difficult to get to such as through marsh land or overgrown meadows. There is allot of little hills within the canyon where maybe more remnants could be found so we definitely will return here maybe one more time or a few more to see what else we can dig on up here.
Chris tries to excavate some of the sites for nails and glass too. If you find a square nail you can place a sure bet that a structure once stood at that location. This town had 600 people living back in this canyon no easy feat the elements were harsh, very remote, terrain was rugged etc. I mean to imagine 600 people living back in this canyon deep in the woods seems surreal when you think about it. You had wives, kids, miners, shop owners etc. Like any town it had a black smith, possible church, school, definitely saloons, multiple mines, hotel and I believe a newspaper that was short lived. All of it practically being erased from history.
Nothing I like more then coming home after a hard day to a hot meal after hiking at 8 thousand feet. I had mashed potatoes, Montreal chicken and tasty flavorful veggies. I wont lie I like to eat well more so drink a beer toke one and relax. It feels better to do those things when you spent an entire day busting your ass up in those mountains. I would say that our day in Summit City was full of surprises and we really got most of the upper part of this ghost town complete for the books.
Lord Rick
PGS Founder