Day 1
On the morning of August
2, Roger and I left our rental condo in Mammoth Lakes for Lee Vining and the
Mono Basin Forest Service Visitor Center. We based ourselves in the parking lot,
and waited as one by one our group from
www.panamintvalley.com arrived. Panamint Charlie, his two
sons, Wild Bill and his wife Barb, Ghosttown,
Loner and his brother, and Desert4wd.
Ooops! Where's Doug? Are
you back there somewhere? Ok. there you are let's head 'em out!!!
|
Where's Doug? |
After making new
acquaintances and renewing a few old ones we were finally on our way. First
stop. Jordan, California.
I looked over
Jordan and what did I see
Coming for to carry
me home..
An avalanche coming
after me.
Coming for to carry
me home..
|
Looking over
Jordan. |
On March 7, 1911 the
relatively new Jordan Power Plant at the base of Copper Mountain was completely
destroyed by an avalanche. The power generated from the plant kept the mining
town of Bodie in electricity until its sudden demise during late winter
snowstorms. Ruins remain today for the
www.panamintvalley.com explorers to ponder over in the new millennium. The
cemetery in the distance stands as a haunting reminder of the scope of the
disaster.
"Hey, Barb, Is that Doug
at the highway? Oops. I think he went to the wrong power plant!"
From Jordan, we ventured
north on Highway 395 to Bridgeport and turned off at the dirt road that would
eventually lead us to the site of Masonic. The remains of the Chemung Mine and
mill catch our attention along the way. The Chemung was worked from 1909 to
1938. Remnants still stand today, in spite of damage from harsh winter snows,
vandalism, and metal eating termites. Rumors abound over the Internet that the
Chemung is haunted. Oh.. That's no ghost-that's just Doug! He finally caught up
with us!
|
Chemung Mill and
the Sierras. |
A few dirt miles away from
the Chemung, is the town site of Masonic. Prospecting members of the Masonic
Lodge discovered promising leads during the summer of 1860, but were soon
overshadowed by rich strikes at Aurora and Bodie. On July 4, 1902, Masonic was
rediscovered and in production by 1904. The ruins of the Stull Brothers Mill,
also known as the Pittsburg-Liberty, assorted log cabins, and the bucket tramway
on the hill peek our curiosity.
|
Lined up at
Masonic. |
We leave Masonic and turn
on the Geiger Grade which will lead us into our ultimate destination for the
day, the ghost town of Bodie. According to Michael Piatt author of Bodie, The
Mines Are Doing Well this 13 mile section of dirt road, which crests at the
9000 foot level, was built by Doctor D. M. Geiger, who also built the famous
Geiger Grade in Virginia City, Nevada. Construction of this route began in June
of 1878 with hopes to provide a more direct route between Bodie and Bridgeport
than the old Sonora stage road.
Upon completion, the route
proved to be too steep for the heavy laden freight wagons carrying ore and
supplies back and forth between the two towns. Our modern four wheel drive
sports utility vehicles find it easy going today. As we travel along this
isolated, little-traveled section, someone announces a bobcat sighting, too
brief to be caught by the cameras. During other travels with Explore Historic
California, in years past, bear sightings have been made in the distance, but
remained elusive for the
www.panamintvalley.com bunch. The usual bovine herds dot the various meadows
most of the 13 miles, and lead us into the infamous mining town.
|
Bovine
supervision along the road from Masonic to Bodie. |
A state park ranger awaits
in his government vehicle as we reach Bodie State Historic Park, and he directs
us to park on the road that leads to Aurora, as the actual parking lot is
overflowing. While the town no longer boasts a population of 10,000, as some
sources say it did during its gold mining heyday, vagrant daytime populations
for the summer of 2008 soar to 1,000 most days. Visitors not only come from
Panamint Valley like we did, but throughout California, the rest of the United
States, as well as France, Germany and England, and more. Oops..where's Doug?
Did he make it to Bodie to be included in the daily census?
|
The Geiger Grade
(left) with Bodie in the distance. |
As we get out of our
vehicles, Roger announces on the Bodie radio frequency that By God, Panamint
Valley.com has arrived in town! Ranger Terri Geissinger greets him with a big
hello, and instructs us to meet her at the head frame by the parking lot and the
modern restrooms.
|
Meeting under
the head frame. |
W. S. Bodey and
Black Taylor came to Silver Hill and discovered gold on the eastern side during
the summer of 1859. The area today is known as Taylor's Gulch. Bodey and
Taylor filed claims on their find. They returned in the fall, built a cabin, and
began working their interests. The severe winter that followed killed Bodie. He
never lived to see the thriving mining town of 2000 buildings that would be
named after him. The Bodie Mining District actually started in the 1860s, but
didn't reach its peak until 1878-1881.
|
Terri takes us
to jail! |
Ranger Terri takes our
group directly to the jail near Chinatown. A miner would earn up to $4 a ten
hour day in the mines, and quickly lose $5 of that hard earned money to bribe
the jailer to bail him out, after being caught up in what Rev. F. M. Warrington
described as "A sea of sin, lashed by the tempests of lust and passion."
Curiosity got the best of some of our group and they wound up spending some time
in jail just like the lawless miners. Oh no. Doug! See what happens when you
finally catch up - Wild Bill locks you up with the rest of us!
Ranger Terri, didn't
require a bribe to let our wayward bunch out of jail. Instead, she sent us
across town to the stamp mill to get jobs. We found ourselves in the early 1900s
at the Standard Mill. A man named Ed took us around and showed us the place,
describing the machinery, how it worked, and hiring many of us for employment.
|
Ed explains the
workings of a California stamp mill. |
After time spent on the
job at the Standard, we found ourselves in the twenty first century once again.
We ventured around the modern ghost of Bodie by ourselves for awhile and then
headed into Lee Vining and Bodie Mike's restaurant. Thanks go to Wild Bill and
Barb who offered to pick up the dinner tab for the whole lot of us! Why look at
that, Doug made it to dinner with us!!
|
|
Wild
Bill makes up for our temporary incarceration by springing for
dinner at Bodie Mike's. |
It was a great day
exploring, Jordan, Chemung, Masonic, and Bodie, by God, but it was over and we
headed back to our individual overnight spots to meet again the next day for
further adventures on the road to Aurora. Desert4wd Doug, headed on to Aurora
without us, for a campout in the old cemetery by himself. Would we find him or
would he be forever lost to the ghosts?
|
The Aurora
cemetery at night. Where's Doug? |
To be continued...
Photography by
Desert4wd
Loner
Onyx Queen
Roger
Wild Bill