Canadian Backroads

[ld50]

yeah it`s unreal that they would look at some sections and decide to run rails through them, the chinese laborers must have been cheap.
Another part of the KVR line I go to is in my mod thread, one of my first outings..

 

[ld50]

New adventure spot

Went to the old Carolin Mine site today. An abandoned gold mine about 1/2 and hour from here. The mine buildings lie in ruin and are a little creepy inside. We didn`t go into the mines themselves, deciding to leave it for another day, but apparently you could explore them for hours and not see all the caverns in the mountain..

We tried to find the upper entrance to the mine where you can, from what I hear, drive a fair ways into the mine itself, but all we did was get higher and higher up the mountain. I finally found the road to the entrance you could drive into, but ity was quite over grown so we decided to just check out the old buildings

 

[ld50]

The Main building has collapsed at some time, plus there is evidence of fires inside..

 

[ld50]

It`s like wandering through some old shipwreck, really wierd.

 

[ld50]

Course I had to scare the wife a bit and climb the tower for a better shot..

 

[ld50]

The roof of the main building..

 

[ld50]

For some reason i didn`t get a shot of the entrance into the caverns, but it`s behind and above me in this shot.

 

[Crankcase]

I love old stuff like that! Where is the Carolin mine?

 

[Crankcase]

I found out some info about that place..it only ran for 2 years, until 1986. It is also a "toxic waste" site!

 

[ld50]

So that`s why my skin burns!
Lol, yeah, they poisoned the Coquihalla river apparently. It`s 15 mins from Hope, up the Coquihalla hwy off the Carolin Mine Exit, back under the Hwy underpass, then left up the dirt rd. There`s talk that they`ve tried to gate it but people bust it open, I saw an open gate on the way in but no signage saying keep out.

 

[AllanC]

wow iv tried to find that mine before with no luck , but looks like im going to have to go exploring there one of these days. is it fairly easy to find?

 

[ld50]

It`s easy to find but be aware that it could be gated. I plan on going there this weekend to see more.

 

[Rick]

I understand you can drive from Canada to Newfoundland. Starting from Phoenix that would be an awesome adventure! Char and I have been talking about another BC trip, but with the dogs, it's hard to get away for a long enough time to make it worth it.

 

[Rick]

Did the roof collapse from the weight of snow??

 

[AllanC]

A little mine exploring this weekend?

What day are you planning on going back this weekend , I may be down for coming along since I am going to be visiting the grandparents in Chilliwack this weekend. And yes I bet that roof did collapse from the snow as well as all of the other elements. Still looks very interesting to explore.

 

[AllanC]

How severe is the road?Unfortunatly I got water in the rear diff and didnt know it untill I found 3 clutch plates on the bottom of the housing , so I don't want to put to much stress on it. If it is just a logging road I'm sure it will be fine though.

 

[Bashman]

I understand you can drive from Canada to Newfoundland.

Did the roof collapse from the weight of snow??

Just when we thought you were the enlightened one

 

[ld50]

You might mean BC to newfoundland Rick, since Newfoundland is in Canada, but yeah you can drive across Canada - with a ferry trip to Newfoundland of course. You`d have to stop by our house tho! Then take the Fraser Canyon out.

As for the roof, It looks as if people have lit fires inside the mine buildings which may have contributed to it`s collapse from snow. It looks as ife there was at least one big fibreglass tank that was burned. Obviously the roof would have been built to withstand a great deal of snow. It`s wierd because in some places metal is all bent where you figure it wouldn`t be, like handrails along the conveyor system twisted up. The mine only ran for a couple years in the eighties so it`s less than 30 years old.

I`m going on saturday with some friends, the road in is in very good shape up till the mine buildings, with some deep cross ditches from the buildings up the mountain to the large mine entrance you apparently can drive into. The road is badly overgrown and washed out up to the big entrance, I got a ways in until it got bushy, but it was scary after I turned around and could see the steep banks I`d been narrowly skirting. I think we`ll hike to the big entrance since it`s less dangerous to enter the mine there (kids coming) You can enter lower but there`s a rickety old ladder to climb with rungs missing and stuff.
I`m heading out at about 2 pm since we have to wait for friends. i`ll take some more pics of course.

 

[AllanC]

would you mind if my girlfriend and I tagged along? If so where would you want to meet in Hope? That place looks sweet , I cant wait to explore it. But from your description I dont think I will be driving up to the large entrance. Oh and I won't have my "excellent" navigator with me from our last trip.

 

[ld50]

Sure you can tag along, bring flashlights and warm clothes, it`s freezing in there. Umm.. I guess I could just meeet you in town, I`ll post later and set up a place. I will probably drive up there today to check and see if the gate is still open before we all get dissapointed tomorrow, so check back in late afternoon.