cj54x 51 Posted October 11, 2014 After a lot of research and staring at Google Earth till my eyes bled, I took a quick ride out to Noble to try to find the "Tar Paper Shack" . It's an old abandoned gold mining cabin. With my hand sketched tracks in my GPS I took off for a nice little ride and found this... Cool bridge, I decided not to ride across it This a deep mine that goes down at a very steep angle... dangerous! The tailings pile. You can see these in satellite images on Google Earth. A great way to find lost mines this mine is almost collapsed after this pic my camera died and I didn't get to photograph the last 2 mines This was a fun little trip and I learned a lot about my GPS and Google Earth. Ken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ADV Bum 205 Posted October 11, 2014 Interesting destination with some adventure thrown in. Nice Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dress4Less 162 Posted October 11, 2014 Good stuff...thanks for posting! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honda90 0 Posted October 12, 2014 Congratulations! How 'bout that trail? My first time through a branch got me in the trottle hand and almost launched me into the ravine. Did you go inside the mine? It goes back about about 30-40 feet. Bats and mice and stuff that looks like gold! Love that whole area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cj54x 51 Posted October 13, 2014 I didn't want to go in the mines since I was by myself and nobody even knew I was out there. Imagine getting stuck or hurt in a mine and having to live off mice and bats for a couple weeks till someone found you. I think I have located my next "top secret" spot, but I need to buy a new camera before I go looking for it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cj54x 51 Posted April 22, 2015 I went out to Pine Creek on Sunday to do some more exploring someone is working the Lucky Chuck mine The Forest Service used foam to seal this mine. now that it's deteriorating it seams more dangerous I believe this is a ventilation shaft for the Lucky Chuck mine This mine was abandoned with sheet metal and rocks and it seems a lot more stable than foam spooky looking hole A dried up swimming hole after more hiking I found this mine lots of blasting holes, some with residents. more trips coming soon Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Honda90 0 Posted April 22, 2015 Very cool. Still one of my favorite stretches of road. I used to camp out there and ride/explore on my old Honda 90 in the mid-seventies. The commercial mining operation was still going. The entrance was right there where the spring water runs across the (now) paved road. I checked out every spur on that road. There was one road (now pipe-fenced off) that led back to an old homesite complete with an old rusted out 30's vintage pickup truck. There were cattle in those days (some longhorns) as well as goats at one point. Someone was running some kind of experiment using goats for fire protection I think. Right where you go left off the pavement and drop down into Deer Park it was like parting the red sea through a massive heard of mini-goats. Pretty cool. We used to peer into the windows of the old rock cabin in Deer Park and wonder who it belonged to and why it was abandoned. It's no longer there. Indian Potrero trail runs by the old cabin site. As a 15-year-old, I rode it up into Cuyamaca State Park and all the way to 79. Also rode the PCT through much of the Lagunas. Most times we (my buddy and I) had no idea where we were. We just knew how to get back to our base camp north of Pine Valley where our parents had dropped us off. Are these mines along the same drainage as the tar paper shack? Here is an old hole just off of the main road. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Uncle Champ 116 Posted April 22, 2015 Don't show that shack to the forest circus, they will tear it down and erase all traces. Opps , I mean they will return the site to its natural state for the betterment of the environment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
