Sometime last year, I noticed an oddly shaped feature in this
area while exploring Google Earth. It appeared man-made, so a
friend and I set out to explore. What we found was the remains of
an old mine, and after doing some research learned that it was an
arsenic mine built in 1926 that only operated for a year. The
arsenic was mined, crushed, and then heated to a high temperature
which condensed and was collected from inside the 180 foot hillside
smokestack.
I really wanted to place this cache down at the mine, however
the trails down to the mine itself are posted as "closed" probably
due to liability issues. So, this cache is placed on the trail a
few hundred yards from the mine itself. If you want to get the to
mine, there is a network of trails that converge at the area where
the closed trail signs are. If you look hard enough, you'll
probably find a path that isn't explicitly labeled as closed.
That's up to you, and isn't required to find this cache. We took
some photos so you can see some of the ruins without actually
visiting yourself. It's an interesting piece of local history that
most people didn't even know existed.
Best access is from the North Black Mountain parking lot. This
lot can be reached from the recently completed stretch of Carmel
Valley Road, which now joins the PQ community with the 4S Ranch
Community (finally!)
***** 12/20/07 UPDATE *****
Cache was replaced today, changed to an ammo box, and moved
slightly to the West. Should be an easy find, and please rehide
better than found. Have fun!