Before I begin….. The DISCLAIMER.
I do not condone nor recommend the following activities due to the inherent dangers involved. if you choose to do so you do it under your own accord, be advised Driving into a mine shaft is a really bad idea.
Last weekend a couple of buddies (They are Jeep guys, but are ok…… for the most part) and I ran the Reward Mine to get the TerraCon out on her maiden voyage. 600 plus miles over 3 days. It was a nice break in!
Day 1. Drive from the OC to Lone pine. Have Brunch, buy crap and gas up. Exit at Manzanar / Reward mine road and head for the hills. If you do chose to make this run and get to the split where you can see the mine and you must choose to go left or right… Be advised the left side is a much more difficult approach you will need a spotter or a good paint shop when you get home. Staged for the run TerraCon and the two Jeeps, I chose to go first due to the better off road lighting (incandescent over LED). Driving the mine is short but very interesting. 3/10s of a mile and we back up to off shoots where three point turns are in order, then back out the way you came. Exited the mine and took the oh so necessary pictures. Did some more off roading as the sun started to fall. We drive to Independence as there is a campground and we needed a break. Spent the night here.
Day 2. Leave the campground do some more off roading and exploring, eventually locating the Betty Jumbo Mine set up camp and watch the bats fly around. We did have a few Jet fly bys also, which was kind of cool. Made dinner and hit the rack for the night.
Day 3. Pack it all up after breakfast and hit the road for the last time. next stop the OC.
For all concerned as we are confined space certified at work, we did bring and air monitor to confirm air quality in the mine at the turn around. Standing at the mouth of the mine you can feel a breeze coming out which is about 30 deg cooler than the ambient air temperature. Pretty cool.
No animals were harmed during our trip…. Not one Bat or Fish…..
Sorry for attaching the pictures this way... Just cant figure out how to do it any other way. (Fixed)
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