Girard Mine: Time Capsule Of A Mine Beneath Tombstone, Arizona - Part 4

This is the fourth video in the Tombstone series on the Girard Mine and it is only in this segment that we finally made it to the bottom… Well, even that isn’t exactly true. We made it to where the water prevents us from descending any farther. This is a GIGANTIC mine. And what we’ve seen is only the tiniest tip of a massive iceberg.

The 500 level… We made it! And I am very glad that it is a dry year because I draw the line at swimming in abandoned mines. You could see from the sides of the drifts how high the water gets in there and that means this area is almost always impossible to explore. In other words, we got very lucky. Who says there isn’t a silver lining to a drought? The water destroyed any small artifacts down there, but there is a feeling of accomplishment in going as far as one can possibly go. I also found it interesting to actually see the water and the general layout of the mine at those depths.

Having reached the deepest parts of the mine that it is possible to explore, there is so much in between that remains unseen by any living human being. As I have mentioned previously, that is the focus of the remainder of this series – all of the unexplored nooks and crannies of this mine… Even that term really understates things as there are passages (difficult to reach) that lead into many more miles of unexplored workings in this mine. I think you’ll be impressed by what we reach with the ropes and climbing equipment.

And there is just so much more waiting to be discovered… This trip was several days. In the future, we would like to return and get even farther into the unexplored sections of the mine.

As a reminder, if you want to see part of this mine yourself (and there is a LOT to see), you can arrange a tour through goodenoughsilvermine.com or on Facebook at “Tombstone’s Goodenough Mine Tour.” They offer different tours that range from areas that absolutely anyone can visit to very challenging sections.

*****

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!

*****

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. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand – bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.

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

#ExploringAbandonedMines
#MineExploring
#AbandonedMines
#UndergroundMineExploring

Видео Girard Mine: Time Capsule Of A Mine Beneath Tombstone, Arizona - Part 4 канала TVR Exploring