This will be my 4th sojourn to Death Valley. I recently learned that the Keane Wonder mine was off limits now. (Nowhere near Panamint City) Go here for info:

http://www.nps.gov/deva/historyculture/ ... r-mine.htm

Here are a few pics of the KWM I took when I was out there in 2009:

these two towers were close together at about 7000 feet because of a large chasm that the tramway crossed just to the left



looking left across the chasm..... incredibly an ore cart was still hanging in mid-air hundreds of feet off the desert floor!



about halfway up on the trail there is this opening cut into solid rock..perhaps a respite from the heat? The door still functioned on its hinges




near the top was the self-propelled ore cart trolley works



giant water tank at the top



behind and to the right of that winch set up is a 4 foot high UNUSED roll of 3/4 to 1 inch cable



the mines looked like this at the top....I was alone....so all my pics are in the sun



As I mentioned in the title of the thread I am going to Panamint City around the 22d of April. Already have the plane tickets. Is anyone from around there or been there? I am going up Johnson Canyon across the Panamint Pass and down into the old mining town. May make a side trip to Sentinel Peak

WOW! Fantastic find Steve! That is amazing how one of the most hostile climates is so conducive to preserving mining history. How I would love to see what the view from the ore bucket would be like hundreds of feet in the air. The Shawangunk Mine in NY had an aerial tramway. In fact you can still follow the cable lying on the forest floor up the mountain. You are tempting me to visit Death Valley this summer...

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"

I failed to mention that since the mine operated 24/7 the miners would ride in the ore buckets. That's how they got to the top!

Unfortunately, I don't think the NPS will have funding available to stabilize the site in today's economy. It's good that you had an opportunity to visit when you did. I look forward to seeing pictures of your upcoming trip to Death Valley if you'd like to share.

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"If you thought old, abandoned mines were only in the west, then you haven't been to IronMiners.com!"

I was up there in the late 70's. We came in from the west side vicinity of the area north of Cuddeback gunnery range. As I recall the shafts and tunnels were a good drive / hike both north and south of town. The washed out 'road' was essentially a stony creek bed, brutal drive in a 4X4 Suburban. The only other vehicles were some high clearance dune buggy / sand rail lookin rigs headed up while we headed down. Lots of stuff to see, at least back then, spectacular views from the top.

How much of the mine is still accessible? I understand a lot of the historic structures are in danger of collapsing, how is the mine structurally? This certainly is a great find, I would love to see the site saved and restored to it's former glory..

Miner Greg

The mine is still accessible, the NPS has just closed the road in to vehicular traffic. Apparently the old miners just dug in willy-nilly following various gold veins through the mountain. I saw several adits on the way to the top, but I only had enough time to go up and come down. All the wooden structures would be fine, but there's always an idiot or two that think if the tower is at 7000 feet they can get a better picture if they climb it! It's too bad about the closing. It's a really spectacular site.

tomorrow the journey begins!

Hills Have Eyes 2

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Dunder Mifflin, the people persons paper people.