The Mine Below McClellan Mountain

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The Honeybadger and the Albino Rhino went on a little adventure over McLellan Mountain to check out the old mine down the shelf road that is inaccessible ten or eleven months out of the year.  Usually that north-facing shelf road has a big chute of snow blocking it.

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Looking back up the mountain.  The switchbacks coming down are pretty tight in a few places and in one place there is a very tippy section.

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Peering into the old mine tunnel.  This one was gated off in such a way that bats can still access the tunnels and shafts underground but that humans can’t.

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Down the drainage further is I-70.  It’s a bit surprising that the road was never connected down to other access roads below.  Maybe this road was made to connect over to the mill at the Santiago Mine in Argentine basin.  Even if that was the case, they would have only been able to haul ore out a couple months a year.