Arizona was once a heavily mined territory. Since 1872, there have been over one million mining claims filed in the state. Official estimates put the open, abandoned mine openings throughout the state at close to 100,000.
This Spooky Spot features a story about an abandoned mine, a sole prospector, and most of all jealousy and greed.
~~~~~The Prospector~~~~~~
Long ago, the Phoenix Mountain Preserve was an active mine area. Many a desperate man would burrow into the mountainside in the hopes of finding valuable meatals. Most left as empty handed as they came, but a few stumbled across riches and fame.
In 1876, Josiah Wylie quit the empty gold fields of California and came to Phoenix. He'd heard rumors of gold veins as thick as a man's arms located in the rugged peaks just north of Phoenix. This was long before even rudimentary roads led to the base of the Mountain Preserve.
It was high up one of the hills, just north of the now trail 8B, that Josiah dug his mine. Deep into the hillside he dug. He worked alone, which wasn't unusual, but could be risky. For over a year, Josiah dug, blasted and tested tons of rocks, tossing the rejects down the side of the mountain in a grayish waterfall.
Just when Josiah was about to give up and move on, he hit the rocks one last time and exposed a small ribbon of gold. Excited, but cautious, he extrated a piece about the size of a quarter, and rushed to the assayer’s office to verify his find. It didn't take long for word to spread of Josiah's good fortune. There was no hiding it now, and Josiah knew his time in the mine was limited. There were many a man who would kill for a fraction of the gold Josiah had found.
Working his mine by day, Josiah was careful enough to guard it from a distance at night. The cache is located near the bluff where Josiah would spend the nights watching the flickering light of the lantern he'd left glowing in the mine entrance. He was just waiting for someone to try and come up there to kill him and steal his mine claim.
It was on a stormy monsoon night, with the wind howling and the rain pouring in buckets, that Josiah saw movement near the entrance. Lifting his Winchester rifle, he took a shot at the shadow. The repeat from his gun echoed off the mountain walls, but it wasn’t enough to disguise his position from the three men waiting nearby.
You see, it wasn't a secret that Josiah guarded his mine at night, but no one knew from exactly where. The men sent a dog up the steep slope to distract Josiah and then closed in on his location. Poor Josian didn't live to see the sun rise.
This bluff was where Josiah died, but it isn't his ghostly apparition that haunts the location. It has been said, on the nights when the wind is blowing, if you listen hard enough, you can hear his tormented cries of a man who has lost everything he cherished. There are even some who have seen a glowing light by the old mine entrance. But that's only after dark ...
The hike to the Prospector cache is roughly a quarter mile from the North parking lot off Squaw Peak Parkway. Take the 304 trail to the 8B marker and follow the trail to the cache. Trail is a little rough, so might not be good for little cachers, people out of shape, or hot days.
The cache container is an ammo can. First to find gets a gold Sacajawea dollar, as old Josiah would expect. Cache is packed with goodies. Enjoy. Pens seem to dry out so bring your own pen.
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Update 01/15/2022: The original ammo can disapeared and because the original CO has moved out of town the cache has been been adopted to keep it going for years to come. The ammo can will be replaced in short order. (As of 01/23/22, it has been replaced with a freshly painted .30 cal ammo can)
