Big Horn Mine - Angeles National Forest - California
Perhaps my favorite “discovery” whilst out on a hiking/explor up in the mountains. We were on a camping trip and decided to take the hike to the Bighorn Mine. Obviously visited by thousands before we got there, it was still an amazing site to visit and poke around in.
A prospector named Charles Tom Vincent discoverd the mine while hunting big horn sheep near his cabin in the San Gabriel Mountains, hence the name. It’s not like the mine was discovered by a big horn sheep, sheesh.
Established in the 1890s, it was one of California’s largest gold mines at the time, with seven levels, many miles of tunnels and vent shafts to keep the air flowing. The mine supposedly peaked in the early 1930s, but was eventually abandoned when the gold produced was not enough to cover the costs of operation.
It’s a relatively easy hike to get to the mine, which has two main attractions. The first for me being, the large abandoned ruins of the mine’s stamp mill complex on the side of the mountain. The second being, even though the USFS gates and barricades the mine entrances, there’s always a way to get it. I’ve been inside, but only a short distance. I tend to err greatly on the side of caution and hardly ever venture deep into such places. I want to stay alive and take future pictures and video.
THAT is a beautiful view! I wonder if the miners ever sat outside to eat their lunch where they could enjoy this view.
Flowstone. A pretty, but common, mineral deposit that forms when water leaves layers of calcium carbonate or other minerals on cave (or mine) walls.
Would definitely be nice to return to this spot to see how it’s fared since I was last there, some 15 years ago. Maybe one day….
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