Entrance to the Mystic Mine
Just below the summit of Baldy we came to the entrance of the Mystic Mine, one of the first explorations of Baldy's interior. As the guidebook mentions, the miners were hunting for copper, and much to their surprise, they discovered gold. What a nice problem to have!
It's hard to believe that beyond these rotting timbers lay an entire mine. Luckily the shaft was blocked only a few feet in by a collapsed roof, or I'm sure that we would have gone right inside to search for our own fortune. Instead, many of us picked up pieces of copper ore from the ground, adding to the weight of the fossils we were already carrying. Just what we needed, more weight.
Mystic Mine entrance and shed
This building stood just next to the mine entrance. It was probably the end of a tramway that was used to carry the ore down the hill to the processing mill.
Looking down at the mine entrance
What a lonely and miserable place to have to work.