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Server Time:
2024-05-02 20:37:45
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 Clostridium
   
Location: SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
 |  | Tubes n' Dirt
< on 12/17/2013 6:50 AM >
|  | | | I'm not sure how people here think of rural exploration, but I find it interesting so here goes.
By 1852 most of the gold on the ground and in the stream beds of California had been panned out by the 300,000 49ers flooding the state during the California Gold Rush. Miners were all going over to find silver in Nevada. So what's a California gold miner to do?
1. Enter this fella.
Invented in 1853, the hydraulic monitor was in effect a massive hose. Water was collected upstream, then funneled through miles of narrowing sluices into a single canvas body and massive iron nozzle. The nozzle could fire a stream of water at 150ft/sec, enough to kill men 200ft away. Instead of centuries of natural erosion to release the gold trapped inside the mountains, a monitor could wash away the entire area in days.
 (Source: Wikipedia)
The center of this activity was deep in the Northern foothills of the Sierra.
Humbug
In 1851 miners had found nuggets near a creek and a crowd followed them back. However the newcomers found nothing but dirt, declared the area "Humbug" and left. Two years later, hydraulic mining had lead to a new town near the creek, named Humbug (A few years later, the miners decided that their town name was terrible and renamed it). At its height, Humbug had a population of 2000, and eight saloons, five hotels and two breweries.
Driving this activity was a massive operation, the largest hydraulic mine in the world, named after a great French victory in the Crimean War (insert French military joke here).
At this mine were seven massive monitors, a hundred miles of flumes and sluices to feed the monitors, and a 8000-ft drainage tunnel to the river nearby. The monitors worked non-stop 24-hours a day, throwing out some 50,000 tons of dirt to look for gold.
 (Source: California State Parks)
That was great for everyone in Humbug. It wasn't great for anyone downstream. All of the mud and rocks that went through the drainage tunnel and into the river ended up clogging everything. SF Bay filled up by 3 ft, ships could no longer reach San Jose or Sacramento, there was widespread flooding, and towns and millions of acres of fertile farmland were smothered in silt.
 (Source: NASA) A specter descending on Sacramento
Finally somebody sued.
And won.
The great hydraulic mine was finally forced to close in 1884, having extracted some $3 million in gold. Humbug dragged along for a few years but finally died around the 1950s. The town still remains, in arrested decay, as does the massive remnants of hydraulic mining:
2. The gash of the great mine is 6800 ft long, up to 3800 ft wide, and some 300ft deep.
3. The mine was originally twice as deep, but over the decades silt has slowly re-filled the hole.
Other crap around the pit:
4. Tubes: these I believe were part of the hundreds of sluices that fed the monitors
5. More Tubes
6. Tubes and Wires
7. Truck?
8. Nearby abandoned mine apparently used to train BLM rangers and geologists
9. Cabins in the Woods
10. Cabin Interior
11. Drainage Tunnel. This tunnel was built in 1856 and is 557ft long and passable during the summer. It served to drain the runoff from the mine. The 1874 8000-ft drainage tunnel was lower than this tunnel and has now been clogged with silt.
The Town
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. For most of the time I was poking around alone. I tried to get into this Catholic church, which at one point was a Civil War armory
17. This mannequin in the dark completely freaked me out
18. Schoolhouse-for some reason this is actually on the UER database
19. It is accessible-go through the door or jump in the window
20.
Anyways I have a few more hydraulic mines from around the Sierra foothills, but funny thing is most of them look really similar (dirt and dirt hills, some tubes).
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bonnie&clyde
  
Location: 510 & 415
Cleverly disguised as responsible adults
| | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 1 on 12/17/2013 7:02 AM >
| | | | #19 freakin awesome! And yeah, the mannequin would have startled me too lol.
Seeing all that rust reminds me my tetanus shot is probably overdue.
Good job dude!
The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?
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thefivefool
Location: Orange County, CA
Gender: Male
| | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 2 on 12/17/2013 9:32 AM >
| | | | The mannequin is fantastic - weird that they would have it there.
And personally, I love rural stuff just as much as urban stuff. As long as it is something lost that is now found.
Great post and great story.
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freeside
Location: Northern California
Gender: Male
eh vigo!
| | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 3 on 12/17/2013 6:42 PM >
| | | | Nice. I've been to this place, although I sure haven't snuck into any of the buildings! I've been going camping right near there every summer for the last 10 years. Beautiful area.
In the 70's, before this was an official park, my Dad and friends used to go dig up old remnants and random relics out of the ground. Dad's still got some stuff on the shelf from this place.
-free
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RescueMe1060
 
Location: San Francisco
Gender: Male
Radioactivity, its in the air for you & me
| | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 4 on 12/17/2013 6:47 PM >
| | | | most impressive monitor. very neat find. it almost reminds me of the concrete pumpers they use to build skyscrapers now. but of course at a lower pressure
http://www.flickr....rescueme1060/sets/
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Fusspot
Location: Bay Area, CA
Gender: Female
Because... REASONS!
| | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 5 on 12/17/2013 11:14 PM >
| | | | Nice explore, Clostridium! I love the leaning cabins, and all the shots in the town.
Also, it was great seeing you at the meetup! Keep up the good work!
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dtewsacrificial
Location: Bay Area, CA
Gender: Male
On my way out the door.
| |  | Re: Tubes n' Dirt
<Reply # 6 on 12/18/2013 12:03 AM >
| | | | Very impressive writeup. Good going!
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