[Rockhounds] Abandoned mine exploration

[linda at middleearthminerals.com]

It's also a good idea to consider investing in a satellite text messenger.
Then a 30 km jog to a phone might not be needed.

-----Original Message-----
From: Rockhounds <rockhounds-bounces at rockhounds.drizzle.com> On Behalf Of
Paul van den Bergen
Sent: Monday, March 8, 2021 5:20 PM
To: Rockhounds at drizzle.com: A mailing list for rock and gem collectors
<rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com>
Subject: Re: [Rockhounds] Abandoned mine exploration

I am perhaps my own worst enemy when it comes to 'stupid things' like old
mines and natural hazzards.

I have to remind myself that I'm not the only one at risk - inevitably
someone will insist on putting themselves at risk to attempt to recover my
body - my wishes in that regard are moot since i'll be dead, but  that's not
what I want...

so...

always let someone know where you are going.

The rule of three is very sensible - two friends were on a hike when one of
them crushed his ankle - his friend had to abandon him for a 30km jog back
to a phone then helicopter trip back to the slope where he was left alone
waiting...


On Tue, 9 Mar 2021 at 10:01, J. R. Hodel <jr50wv at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I watched a couple more of his videos, it's pretty interesting to an 
> old rock-hound. My late rock-hounding buddy Danny Kebles would have 
> loved it, would have wanted to do it so bad!
> But the second video I watched he was solo, in a mine by himself, 
> going across 50-90 year old wooden floors around ore chutes, etc. So 
> very dangerous, if you hurt yourself, you're probably dead before they
find you.
> Because no one appears to know in advance where he's going underground.
> First thing they teach cavers is "never go underground alone!"
>
> The people I went caving with had a 3-person team rule, that way an 
> injured person would have someone with them while the third person 
> went for help. Maybe the tradition with abandoned mines is "you're on your
own?"
>
> Otherwise he seems like a guy who enjoys going into abandoned mines 
> more than he's a mineral collector. A collector would have a rock pick 
> with (and probably other rock-hounding tools like chisels etc), and 
> containers for any specimens they wanted to bring out, as opposed to his
hip pocket.
>
> The one time Danny and I went out west to spend 3 weeks rock-hounding 
> in Colorado and Wyoming, we found our way to an abandoned mine, about 
> half-way up a mountain side north of Bonanza CO, with a talus slope to 
> climb up to get to the adit. There was an old cable hanging that they 
> had used to man-trip up and down, and for ore.
> But once we were up there and knew there was a mine, we had no lights, 
> and no helmets. So we dug through the tailings around the mine face, I 
> still have a couple of nice rocks from there. Finally I looked up from 
> the rocks at the sky, which was suddenly dark gray billowing clouds, 
> soon in late May it started snowing hard before we got off the 
> mountain. "Uh, Danny, maybe we need to get down off this mountain now?"
>
> My little Ford Ranger had a lot of tools and supplies under the 
> topper, so we had pretty good traction, and made it to our friend's 
> mountain cabin where we were staying between rock-hounding trips. 
> Built a fire in the stove late in the evening. Stopped in Salida for 
> dinner on the way home. I will always wonder what if we had lights and 
> helmets, what would it have been like in the mine? What kind of rocks 
> would we have found? What would the weather have been like when we got
back out?
> I miss Danny, he was struck with Pick's Disease, which is a hereditary 
> dementia, and died relative young in a VA nursing home. I don't go out 
> collecting much any more, partly because I'm 70 now... & partly 
> because Danny isn't here to poke me awake. Also Covid, of course.
> You all take care, best of luck with finding great rocks!
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--
Dr Paul van den Bergen
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