Back to the Spark Plug Mine - June 2014 Part Two

 please remember you can click on a photo to see a larger version

 

We started our climb.

The trail climbs very quickly.

Sections of the original mule trail are also missing on this route.

Further on a large rock slide has carried the old and the current trail away. Care is required crossing very steep, exposed, loose rocky ground. This may unnerve some hikers. In places the trail is merely small indentations less than boot sole size, a series of stepping spots crossing the most dangerous terrain. Find your inner peace and continue up. We finally crossed over and around the steep rocky ridge that is crowned with the prominent spire seen from below. The trail switch backs up a steep gully on the other side. "I see holes! I see holes in the mountain!" the Lady said.

We had arrived.

Vistas opened around us.

A small bench had been carved out of the gully. Remains of foundations and equipment littered the small area. The treacherous drop off at the edge was always in our minds. The Mine Manager's building perched above us.

The view from our rest spot.

We snacked, hydrated, and prepared ourselves for exploring this remarkable place. It is mind boggling to grasp the amount of effort it took to toil up here, all the mule trains up and down. Every piece of equipment, groceries, cement, everything was carried up by mules, even the long power poles supporting the wires carrying power from the mine's hydroelectric plant in the Chalfant Valley below. Amazing to think that this almost forgotten place, suspended high in impossible terrain,  played a key role in the young automotive and aviation industries supplying material for spark plugs. This was one of the most amazing places associated with modern man we have ever visited.

edit: I have found this 20 mine video with archival footage of work at the Spark Plug Mine - Champion Spark Plug Mine, The Mines/Ranch 

This piece of equipment had a central place on the main concrete pad. My guess is the air supply to power the drills?

A strong word of caution. Although we visit many old mine sites, we do not run around and explore deep into tunnels. Bad air, cave ins, rotten timber, etc., are very real risks. This mountain is honeycombed with tunnels and shafts, a potentially very dangerous place.

The long balconies carved out between adits were tempting. The Lady spotted a rock climbing route we could maybe use to  reach this ledge. We did not do it.

Many tunnels showed connections to shafts, most pretty scary.

We found a series of short tunnels with windows we could access - not the one pictured above.

These led to a long balcony.

Another tunnel brought us to "The Window."

 

Almost straight down was the Black Eagle Camp.

Far down canyon was our tiny camp.

We did notice what looked like an alternate trail up on the north canyon wall. Next time!

This was a place you can easily get lost in thought as you try to take it all in.

 

What an amazing place. Now we had to make it back down. We relaxed, talked to one another through the difficult sections and were very careful not to knock anything loose. There were friends to meet along the way like this collared lizard.

We soon were back to Black Eagle Camp.

Mom and daughter and Ringo were relaxing the day away. We did not disturb them. We quietly wandered about the buildings - the previous photos - and took a break at the Champion Hilton.

We headed back down the trail.

Well, where should we head to? The world was ours. The Lady had spotted a high point with a possible camp up at Chidago Flats. We headed that direction but didn't make it. "Look at that road!" the Lady said as we traveled Benton Crossing Road. "Drive down that!" It certainly looked like this small double track led to the kind of spot the Lady likes. I'll just let the photos tell the story...................

We spent a perfect evening alone at this spot, perfect except for the no see ums. Our repellent did nothing to stop them. Their appetite was ravenous. We persevered.  It was worth it.

Early Monday morning we had the trip home ahead of us. We figured the Long Valley series of hot springs ought to be quiet right? Wrong, and we were, apparently, going to liven things up a bit.

Little Hot Creek was packed including a guy with a tent camped in the meadow right at the pool. A young European couple with their shipped over motorhome happily showed us their young baby. A group of young people with four vehicles had a large camp just to the north. Too crowded, way too crowded. We decided to head back out to Hot Creek Road, the shortest way to 395. At the intersection we decided to see if anyone was at the rock tub at the turn off by the tree, it was close.

The rock pool was filled. There was a man in an overloaded Toyota SUV with Oregon plates, the only one here. Two bikes, one a motorcycle, hung on a receiver hitch. The vehicle was packed full. I could not see the driver from my vantage point near the passenger window.  The loaded roof rack was covered with a tarp. The Lady went around the vehicle and politely asked if he was using the pool and would he mind if we soaked. She said he was pleasant. I only heard part of his response, "I'm working on something now!" We went down to the pool. The inflow was stopped, the water warm. The pool was dirty with scum and a layer of algae. no way would we climb in. We had filled the tub before and found it filled fast. I found the tennis ball plug on a rope, it had a brush tied to the other end. I suggested to the Lady we clean the tub up. It was nice and clean the only time before we had visited. I pulled the tennis ball up. It was caked with algae. The tub did not drain. The water level did not change. I found no outflow. I told the Lady the drain was broken, we could not clean the tub. Another couple drove in and I motioned to them that we were done and the pool was theirs. I expect they also did not stay long. The fellow in the Toyota never left his vehicle.

A few minutes later we were at the developed overlook at Hot Creek when the fellow drove up and threw a bunch of trash in the dumpster. He approached me and asked if I pulled the drain on the tub. I said yes, we wanted to clean it. I could get no further. The middle finger on both hands were in my face, an amazing and practiced display.  He was an artist at it. His hands and fingers pumped the air. It was wild. He screamed at us, his language filled, littered, with profanity. Our attempts at apology or explanation were worthless. We immediately figured that out. It was obvious, in my experience, from his body language, eye contact, etc., this was all just for display. But, I hoped to god he would not be stupid, charge, and force us into physically defending ourselves.  I was very confident he would not. We stayed calm. This seemed to piss him off more. He  told us, "we have a website," and he was posting our license number. We calmly told him to do whatever he thought was right and would help him. He made a show of squatting a foot away from the back of our truck and taking notes. He told us he was reporting us to the sheriff as vandals. He continued hollering and marched around the parking area. This all probably lasted no more than five minutes. I felt so sorry for the couple, within earshot, getting ready to flyfish, who witnessed this display. The Lady was starting to reach her breaking point. This poor fellow had not a clue what would happen if the mother bear was unleashed. I kept her calm. "He's about done. In a few seconds he will be in his car and leave."  He did.

So we could now be enjoying our 15 minutes of fame as evil incarnate on the hot springs soakers' forums. Mono County deputies still may be arriving at our doors. But we are happy. We know we have great friends who would post bail!

It was upsetting. How could it not be? In the big picture, in all our adventures we have met so many neat people. They far outnumber the bad. It is good to keep that perspective.

We journeyed forth toward home. Our moods improved as we stopped along Hot Creek again.

So that's the trip. That's the story. And, giving it further thought, being the simple people we are - if the need arises we'll take the file in the cake!