The 11s Mine

If you’re reading this section, it means you’re watching the video. Well, good for you. There are too many people these days that just blindly follow society’s dictates and never push back or question anything around them. You can't say that I didn't warn you though... The 1-11-11 is pretty cool, but the mine isn't that exciting and I said 'uhh" too much.

So, why did I post this video?

Well, my primary goal with these videos is to document mining history. Yes, I do try to entertain, but that is not my primary objective. I originally started posting these mine videos when I observed the Forest Service rampaging through our local forests, destroying every trace of mining history that they could find (No, they do not restrict themselves to just destroying mines, but destroy even entire historical ghost towns). When I discovered that there was actual interest in this subject matter of abandoned mines, I endeavored to clean up the editing and to improve the entertainment qualities. However, my primary goal is still on documentation. I know I could have more money and subscribers if I just focused on the entertainment side – I’d make shorter, faster-paced videos that just focus on the highlights of a site and I’d work more on luring viewers in with “inches from death” or “you won’t believe what we found” and other such gushy titles.

Instead, I want to create a video library of abandoned mines that can be of use in the future. The way that works is that once I have confirmed that one of these historical mines has been lost to the AML crews or, more infrequently, to natural causes, I will go back and I will update the title of the video to the real name of the mine and I will update the description below the video with as much historical information as I can. Obviously, I have to be cagey about locations when I post something now because one of the criteria the AML program uses to prioritize mine closures is how much attention a mine is receiving online. Using the real name of a mine and, therefore making it easy to locate, will push it up to the top of the list. However, once the mine has been destroyed, there is no need for this caution.

As such, someone in the future that may be interested in a certain historical mine can find it by entering the name and then, because I try to show every nook and cranny, hopefully be able to map it out and see exactly what was there. There is a balance here that must be respected in some of the larger mines. I’m not going to post hours of walking through featureless drifts as we see in some of the more modern mines because that would be unwatchable and I also don’t have the time or inclination to edit such a video. However, it is my hope that a record of at least some of these older mines will be preserved through my efforts so that those in the future will at least understand what was lost. An obscure, small mine such as this one is unlikely to have ever been filmed before.

The miners almost certainly didn’t get rich off of this mine… Interestingly, however, it is not listed as a prospect and has a proper name. However, I couldn’t locate any records on it in the many databases that I use.

Getting down the hill on the way out was a challenge. I ended up simply leaning back on one leg and sliding down the waste rock pile. Coincidentally, that is a technique we learned in the Fire Academy for descending stairs with a fire hose wide open. In both cases, it is quite uncomfortable, but it does get one down quickly.

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All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.

You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: https://bit.ly/2wqcBDD

As well as a small gear update here: https://bit.ly/2p6Jip6

You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: https://goo.gl/TEKq9L

Several kind viewers have asked about donating to help cover some of the many expenses associated with exploring these abandoned mines. Inspired by their generosity, I set up a Patreon account. So, if anyone would care to chip in, I’m under TVR Exploring on Patreon.

Thanks for watching!

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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them – nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.

These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever.

So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!

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Видео The 11s Mine канала TVR Exploring