On The Road Again 2017: June 25, 2017 - PICAYUNE, PLACER, CALIFORNIA

Some of the historic information provided in this blog is from "Backcountry Adventures Colorado" by Peter Massey, Jeanne Wilson, and Angela Titus. And, as always, Click on the pictures to view a larger size.

Long ride today with Cathy & Larry and Charles & Jane. Well, long for us -- they kept going when we headed back. We took Picayune to Placer, over California & Hurricane to Gladstone & then home. We left Silverton and drove along side my favorite river, the Animas River. Lots of mines are scattered along this route known as Bakers Park (after Charles Baker, one of the first explorers in the 1860s).

Here are remains of the Sunnyside Mill in Eureka. The Sunnyside Mine is behind the mill and was discovered in 1873. By 1910, it consisted of 10 miles of tunnel and employed 300 miners. More about this mine when we are able to actually get to the Sunnyside Mine. But a good view of the mill:

This old car has been parked here as long as we have been coming here:

Another pass by Little Niagara:

Picayune takes us to an elevation of 13,000 feet. It starts off as a narrow shelf road in a wooded area:

We were disappointed to see that the Treasure Mountain Gold Mining Company's boardinghouse is now off limits. In the past, we have been able to go in and explore. It had a connecting structure with a bathroom with bath, toilet & had hot & cold running water. A cook stove & other artifacts are still there. It looks like the building is about to fall off the side of the mountain (currently stabilized by three cables), so I suspect it's good that it has been closed.

Back on the trail headed to Placer Gulch:

We stopped for lunch at a turnout and let Jingles have some "snow time."

Continuing onto Placer Gulch, we find where there used to be old mining structures, there is now rubble:

The Sound Democrat Mill was built in 1905 and is still standing. In 1909, four stamps were added to the mill to make it a seven-stamp operation, according to a story in the Aug. 30, 1996, Durango Herald. At that time, it also began serving the Silver Queen Mine.The Sound Democrat Mill did not enjoy a long career, closing in 1911.

Next up, California Gulch, elevation 12,930. The trail getting there is still snowy, although the dust is turning it black in places:

That's Charles following Larry:

Pretty blue water Lake Como still frozen:

We see that Poughkeepsie Gulch will be closed for awhile;

can't even see the name on the sign:

The rest of the trail is fairly narrow (or as Jane says "it's really narry") & passing can be difficult. We did have a problem today and the rental Jeep coming up actually was trying to climb our rear tire. With a little instruction, he managed to get past us. He had quite a parade behind him and they all backed down to a wider spot. Just another day on the trail. Sorry, didn't get a picture of this event.