Red Cloud Mine and Great Western Mine - 2.19.2018
We took Exit 182 off of I-10 and drove 7.3 miles on the Red Cloud Mine Road... then parked on the side of the road.
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Hiking the Red Cloud Mine Road after parking on the side of the road... we could have driven the road more than 7.3 miles, but the road was getting very rugged when we parked.
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Hiking on the road as it goes into the Chuckwalla Mountains... lots of cholla cacti... the high point (3770') in the Chuckwalla Mountains is on the far left horizon where there are radio towers.
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Lots of interesting rock formations in Red Cloud Canyon.
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An interesting structure after hiking less than a mile.
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Another interesting structure in Red Cloud Canyon.
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The canyon is very rugged in places... but some vehicles can deal with it.
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Exploring a leaching pit across the canyon from the Red Cloud Mine.
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Gail checks out the mailbox at the leaching pit.
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Looking across Red Cloud Canyon from the leaching pit... we can see mining activity up the tributary canyon in the center of the photo.
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Gail following a path that will take us up to Red Cloud Mine.
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Nearing one of the mine shafts at Red Cloud Mine.
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Looking down one of the mine shafts.
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Exploring the Red Cloud Mine.
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Looking down on the Red Cloud Mine.
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Interesting terrain at the Red Cloud Mine.
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Checking out one of the mine shafts.
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This shaft is a deep one.
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It was at least 75 feet in length... and high enough to stand up.
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Looks like more activity higher up beyond the ocotillo plants.
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Looking at the mining area from above.
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Heading back down to the canyon and looking back up at the Red Cloud Mine area.
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We continued up the main canyon and found this gate... across the canyon from the gate there is a path (abandoned road) that leads up to the Great Western Mine.
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Above the canyon and following the path that will take us to the Great Western Mine.
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Gail gaining elevation above Red Cloud Canyon on the path leading to the Great Western Mine.
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Still following the path up the tributary canyon leading to the Great Western Mine.
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The Great Western Mine is located on top of the large tailings pile in the center of the photo.
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The shaft on top of the tailings pile was very deep... we were unable to explore it due to the angle of the shaft... would have needed a rope... and someone who knew how to use the rope.
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Looking back down the tributary canyon that we used to reach the Great Western Mine... more than a 4 mile hike to get back to the car.
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Nearing our car on the return trip... the hike was 8.7 miles roundtrip, gaining 1070 feet of elevation.
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