Today we explored yet another abandoned mine, this one doesn't have an official name so it's referred to as Tin
Mine.
Tin Mine dates back to 1895, if you want to read about it click the Wikipedia article link below. Tin Mine was operated by the Cook Chicken Mining Co from 1895 to about the turning of the century.
I'm surprised DNR hasn't closed off this mine, thank you DNR!
The roundtrip mileage is only four miles, with some elevation gain, but not very much.
Most people don't go into this mine because it's flooded pretty badly, however, we came prepared and brought boots. The Mine goes back about 300 feet, which doesn't sound like much but it is in a mine, watch the youtube video, link below.
This is the only mine I've been to that has wooden posts. You may wonder why are there still posts if this mine is over 120 years old?
It's because the lumber was probably treated in many different ways, and you can tell the lumber was dipped in tar.
The purpose of the posts is to prevent cave-ins or falling debris to keep the miners safe. We admired some small stalactites and flowstone on the walls of the mine.
At the back of the mine, there is a washout/caved-in area that looks impassible, however, we brought a hand shovel and actually managed to dig past the cave-in! You may wonder, what was on the other side of the cave-in? A big room with 25-foot ceilings and some cool minerals with a stream bubbling right out of the wall. We didn't take pictures of it because we had to crawl so we didn't have the phone out.
Overall great hike and less than 25 minutes from our house in Keyport, lots of seasonal cascades/waterfalls on the trail that are very pleasant, however, the camera doesn't show that, I suggest you head here before May to see them.
Back then, before WW2, Tin was more valuable than it is today until it got replaced by aluminum after WW2.
Hope everyone has a great Easter!
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