loanshark
Active member
My son Rob graduated from undergrad last May with a degree in Geology. He was fortunate to find work right away. It was however in Denver. He works 20 days straight then is off for 10. Liz and I have been trying to work out a trip to see our son and get in some hiking. Over Labor Day it finally happened. I had done some research into some hikes that I felt would be appropriate for us. Coming from sea level I didn't know what to expect from the altitude. I received some nice sugestions from friends on this forum. I felt confident I had a good progressive hike itinerary. When arriving in Denver, Liz contacted her brother Stan. He has lived out west for nearly 30 years. Stan is VP in charge of exploration for Texas Rare Earth Resources. Needless to say my feeble hiking plans changed right then and there. Stan and Rob came up with a hike into Geneva City Townsite. It is a mining ghost town from the late 1870's. The hike starts out simple enough. The trail is actually an old wagon path that is gated, but there were tire tracks so someone must have a key. After a half mile or so we started to get views
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Mountains and Meadows
It wasn't long before we started to see the remnants of the long ago mining operation. We could clearly see at least 6 old mines. Some were half way to the mountain tops on some really steep slopes. I followed Rob and Stan up to what they called a mine dump. It was actually the tailings from a mine that had caved in. We were now up at about 12 thousand feet and I thought my head was going to explode. AMS was taking hold in a hurry. It felt like someone was standing on my chest. I was dizzy and felt like I would vomit. Liz and I started to drop back down a few hundred feet and I felt a bit better. At the Canyon floor we found an old bunkhouse.
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Wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush
We pushed on to the Gulch Headwall. We later learned it was appropriately called Smelter Gulch.
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At the base of the headwall we found more mining artifacts and buildings and an open mine.
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Rob and Stan ventured into the mine and came out with some great looking rocks, which they packed out. AMS was starting to grab me again. Time to go. The walk out was beautiful and uneventful. The stats on the hike don't blow you away. About 8 miles and maybe 2500 elevation gain. Certainly a hike within our New Hampshire comfort range. But the thin air for us flatlanders is a handful. Day two went better story to follow.
Here is a link to the rest of the photos.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580833554inrCVt?vhost=outdoors
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580832350mHYpLX?vhost=outdoors
Mountains and Meadows
It wasn't long before we started to see the remnants of the long ago mining operation. We could clearly see at least 6 old mines. Some were half way to the mountain tops on some really steep slopes. I followed Rob and Stan up to what they called a mine dump. It was actually the tailings from a mine that had caved in. We were now up at about 12 thousand feet and I thought my head was going to explode. AMS was taking hold in a hurry. It felt like someone was standing on my chest. I was dizzy and felt like I would vomit. Liz and I started to drop back down a few hundred feet and I felt a bit better. At the Canyon floor we found an old bunkhouse.
Wildflowers, Indian Paintbrush
We pushed on to the Gulch Headwall. We later learned it was appropriately called Smelter Gulch.
At the base of the headwall we found more mining artifacts and buildings and an open mine.
Rob and Stan ventured into the mine and came out with some great looking rocks, which they packed out. AMS was starting to grab me again. Time to go. The walk out was beautiful and uneventful. The stats on the hike don't blow you away. About 8 miles and maybe 2500 elevation gain. Certainly a hike within our New Hampshire comfort range. But the thin air for us flatlanders is a handful. Day two went better story to follow.
Here is a link to the rest of the photos.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580833554inrCVt?vhost=outdoors
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/580832350mHYpLX?vhost=outdoors
