OK, I just can't take this heat, and neither could my brother visiting from Kodiak AK, so we headed up the road to the Carbon River Mining District in the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie Ranger District near my house. I have been researching this area for quite some time and have found some mines, am still searching for more mines and have found a few really nice rocks up there.
Coplay Lake
We decided to pay a visit to Coplay Lake and check it out. It was nice and cool and peaceful up there. I have found some really nice crystals in this vicinity in the past.
Unknown Brown-Red Crystals
I have read some old reports about the mines in this district and I know that there are some mines near East Lake. I think some of the reports are confused because they place the East Lake mines near the Clipper Mine and the Chicago group near East Lake. I think the East Lake Mines are near East Lake personally. Anyway we drove around the back side of East Lake and low and behold, we found a mine right next to the road. We could tell by the tailings.
My Mt Rainier Climbing Brother on top of the Tailings
We also noticed a strange large pipe in the area, but could not locate the mine opening. It may have been bulldozed by the forest service.
Unknown Iron Pipe
The pipe seemed to be made of iron and was very thick. It was filled with rocks. We finally figured out the pipe was a well. We didn't find much here except some peacock ore stained rock. Most of the rocks were a reddish colored quartz.
Closer View of the Tailings
Next we headed to my old favorite, the Clipper Mine. It's an easy 1/4 mile hike to this large hard rock mine. I can usually find a few nice pieces of Malachite, azurite, tourmaline, pyrite and maybe even copper here. It has definitely become a popular place since I posted a YouTube video of it.
We hiked up the old mine road to the mine and poked around here for a while.
Mine Road Crossing Shiplake Creek
You can definitely see signs of past mining in the area.
Old Culvert
There is old cable lying around everywhere, telling me that there was serious mining going on up above. They used the cable to tram the ore down the hills.
Mining Cable
You will know you're in the right spot when you see the BIG pile of tailings on your right.
Huge Tailings Pile
We poked around here for a while and found a few nice rocks. It was a great way to get up away from the heat and also bring back something to show for it.
Some Nice Finds for the Day
Here is a closer view of my son's pyrite find. He claims he hates rock hunting, but he always finds the best rocks. Go figure.
Large Pyrite Specimen
Now, if I could only find the surprise gold mine up above it...
Shiplake Creek
We stopped and took pics of Shiplake Creek next to the road on the way out. It was a wonderful, cool day.
