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Guybrush
   
I am Guybrush Threepwood, mighty UrbExer
 |  | English Kamp
< on 10/11/2013 9:24 AM >
|  | | | Spelled wrong intentionally. I tried searching / Googling UER and I didn't find a thread for this place, only a couple references to it.
This was a mercury mining operation that the Mercury news get's its name from. Via Wikipedia:
The park's New Almaden Mines were in operation from 1847 to 1976. The mines were highly important during the California Gold Rush, since mercury was used to extract gold from ore. By the time Santa Clara County bought the mines in 1976 and ended operations, 83,974,076 pounds (37,388 metric tons) of mercury (worth more than US$70 million) had been extracted.
The remains of a variety of structures left over from the 135 years of mining activity, including housing for the up to 1,800 miners, are scattered about the park, with the biggest concentration at what was known as English (K)amp, established by Cornish miners in the 1860s. Some structures were built later by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and there is a memorial honoring the Civilian Conservation Corps firefighters that were stationed there for a time.
These photos are from almost a year ago, it was one of my first adventures. Unfortunately we were stupid n00bs at the time and didn't have masks yet... You'll see why that matters below.
1. Big ol' barn:
2.
3. Keep organized!
4. One tall stem...
5. Cozy
6. Rat poop kitchen...
7. We had already been inside several buildings (no respirators) before we noticed this sign... it was a tense couple weeks after that.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Hope to get into #11 & 12 someday with proper equipment.
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Therrin
  
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
location:
North of Chicago, IL
Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
| |  | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 2 on 10/11/2013 9:43 PM >
| | | | Awesome photos and writeup man!
I've read quite a bit about the New Almaden mercury mines, very familiar with their history, I just never made it up there to see them.
I've actually explored down inside mercury mines before (and lots and lots of other kinds of mines).
A group I'm in does professional mineshaft exploration. If you're interested in going underground someday, PM me for some details and I'll try to help you get educated on the safety protocols and equipment and maybe find you some good rope training if you go that far with it.
One of the mercury mines I've been in out near the coast there in California was the Rinconada mine, a bit south of the New Almaden mines.
If you go in area where you come in contact with Cinnabar (one of the primary ores of mercury), you'll want to take some basic precautions; at the very least of which is a half-mask respirator with the appropriate filters. You should also wear full-length clothing and try to minimize the amount of exposed skin. After your explore you should have a change of clothes to change into, and take your exploring clothes and put them in a garbage bag to keep the dust from getting loose in your car, then go and wash them in a Laundromat or something, and go home and shower with COLD water first, then hot water.
Hope to see more of your future explores, take care and have fun!
**EDIT**
I like how the sign says not to handle "sick or dead animals". As though you should handle ANY of the animals, and as though you'd immediately know whether an animal was well or sick. Hahahahahaha, oh man.
[last edit 10/11/2013 9:46 PM by Therrin - edited 1 times]
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =) |
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FastEddy
 
| | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 3 on 10/11/2013 10:07 PM >
| | | | There's a POE for the New Almaden Mine. It's sketchy, at best, but I always think about it.
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DrWindyNibbles
location:
North Orange County
Gender: Male
"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"
| |  | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 4 on 10/12/2013 6:40 AM >
| | | | #4 is such a great picture, ironically without the stem. 
DO NOT READ THIS! |
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IDChris
location:
Southern Idaho Wasteland
Gender: Male
| | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 5 on 10/12/2013 4:37 PM >
| | | | Excellent shots. I grew up in the area and first explored there in the late 80's. It was still a restricted area to be in at the time due to mercury contamination, however there was more to see at that time. Some mining structures near the furnace were torn down during the decontamination and heavy storms during the 90s destroyed sections of the furnace structure and schoolhouse. The rest of the structures, except for the map/core building (#8), have deteriorated badly in the last 20 years. I haven't hiked up there since '02
The buildings in your photos date to the CCC and wartime production era. There is very little left of the original English camp and nothing of Spanish camp. The ccc leveled the town. The schoolhouse was spared and converted into a mess hall, then abandoned again after the CCC left. The company store was salvaged for its bricks. The foundation still remains. The only intact original structures in the park to my knowledge are the brick chimney and powderhouse.
There are many other remnants scattered about the park, including cars, dumps, equipment, foundations, shafts, paved roads, houses, and sheds. You have to bushwack to find many of these. Watch for ticks and rattlers.
My personal $.02 about hantavirus. Yes it CAN be lethal. Yes, there are reported cases, and deaths. Yes, it has been found in rodents in the park. I bet if you tested rodents in your backyard shed, your inner city, favorite camping area, etc, they will be positive for it too. It's widespread. It's also RARE and so is your chance of getting it. Take precautions but use common sense. I've been through all those structures in the above photos, and many more, even poking my head up in the attics of #5&8. If you are walking through and not kicking up boards and dusty junk with fresh poop and sniffing it in, or grabbing a rat piss soaked board with your bare hand and then wipe your nose, then you should be fine. As I said, wasps, ticks, and rattlers were more of a concern.
The house in #5 has a killer view, BTW. Thanks for sharing.
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bonnie&clyde
 
location:
510 & 415
Cleverly disguised as responsible adults
| | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 6 on 10/17/2013 6:42 AM >
| | | | Kudos kid! Kool writeup and pics. I went there like 7 years ago (if indeed this is the same spot) and there were lotsa abandoned kars in the ravine on the hike there. Hantavirus shmantavirus! Lol, but seriously....I know there was that news report of a kamper kontracting it in a tent and dying. But I know an exterminator who krawls around in rat shit all day every day and he thinks its all bullshit. I hear you have to inhale fresh aerosol-ed rat piss to katch it. *shrug* be kareful!
The question is not when are we gonna stop, It's who's gonna stop us?
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Clostridium
location:
SF Bay Area
Gender: Male
We'll see the city's ripped backsides
| | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 7 on 10/18/2013 4:37 AM >
| | | | Thanks for the writeup and photos! New Almaden has been a favorite place of mine. I have a few ideas on POE for #11 and #12 but it seems like the area is quite popular with hikers and I dunno when is a good time to try.
Some photos I took recently.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Honestly, you have a far greater chance of getting and dying from tetanus wandering through the corroded metal wires than catching and dying from hantavirus. A good rule of thumb is a wet year (more mice, more feces), followed by a dry year (greater amount of dried feces areosolizing) means avoid mice-heavy areas (like the cabins at Camp Curry). You need a ton of mice droppings to have a chance of catching it.
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Therrin
This member has been banned. See the banlist for more information.
location:
North of Chicago, IL
Gender: Male
*Therrin puts on the penguin-suit
| | | Re: English Kamp
<Reply # 8 on 10/18/2013 7:37 AM >
| | | | Posted by bonnie&clyde
Kudos kid! Kool writeup and pics. I went there like 7 years ago (if indeed this is the same spot) and there were lotsa abandoned kars in the ravine on the hike there. Hantavirus shmantavirus! Lol, but seriously....I know there was that news report of a kamper kontracting it in a tent and dying. But I know an exterminator who krawls around in rat shit all day every day and he thinks its all bullshit. I hear you have to inhale fresh aerosol-ed rat piss to katch it. *shrug* be kareful!
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that reminded me of this post...
Replacing all vowels with y's (Cyryn Fyrcyd Style)
Give a person a match and they'll be warm for a minute, but light them on fire and they'll be warm for the rest of their life. =) |
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