Man, that dying rabbit got me. I would've just ended that video and carried it out somehow...wrapped in a shirt or something. Happens a lot I suppose in many mines
+RoadTripVidz The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to reach it. We did dump some water down there and tossed a pebble or two at it, but it was simply not responding. It didn't even move. But we could see that it was still breathing. What I find amazing about the whole thing is how it got that far inside the mine. We were a couple thousand feet in at that point. I suppose the rabbit hopped in there and just kept going down the tunnels until it got lost in the dark.
Exploring Abandoned Mines Yeah, sad story... I just hate stuff like that I guess. I understand what you guys could and couldn't do though. I think for me if i couldn't get it out, I would have put it down. What a way to go. Natural death in the big picture
+RoadTripVidz I appreciate and understand your feelings on the matter. I do carry a handgun at all times, but putting the rabbit out of its misery by shooting it would be very unwise inside an abandoned mine due to such a loud sound possibly causing a collapse. We were in a very sketchy area that already had a lot of collapse in it, and we were about as far as we could go in the mine. While it's rare to find a living animal like that trapped in a mine, we have all seen our fair share of dead animals and their remains deep inside mine tunnels. It's an almost frequent occurrence, in fact.
Exploring Abandoned Mines Yeah you guys made a smart move. Even if brought out it's unlikely it would make it back to health being so weak. Seeing the dead ones makes you realize the dangers even more.. seeing one alive down there about to die just sucks that much more.
Nice video! Loved seeing the shot of the stope, really impressive! It's too bad we weren't able to reach the rabbit, it was just too dangerous to get down there. But that's just the reality of desert life. Sometimes we forget just how harsh and unforgiving the 'real' world is.
Since nobody else thought to name the late but great jackrabbit i have taken the duty upon myself to name (i assume) him and his name shall be Jacques . If you have any suggestions feel free to reply with your own name ideas, i do not know if jacques is a boy or girl so i went with a gender neutral name.
Thank you for taking the time to clearly film and describe the functions of the mines. I just recently found these mine exploration videos, and I love the way that watching feels like stepping back in time. It is truly unique historical documentation since everything is usually so well preserved and unaltered deep in the mines. I will definitely be getting into mine exploration when I move back out west. Thanks again, keep the videos coming!
+EonfusionHD Excellent idea! I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to Paris, but if I do I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to watch this video.
Odessa Catacombs would be my vote. These catacombs wouldn't be very exciting, I don't think you would find much but, they are MASSIVE(worlds largest) you can spend hours of hours in there.
That was one big headframe! Some serious mining went on down there! Shame about the rabbit, not worth risking life and limb to save it. Nice big open stope.
This is directly from the video description. "The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to retrieve it safely so that we could return it to the outside."
The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to reach it. We did dump some water down there and tossed a pebble or two at it, but it was simply not responding. It didn't even move. But we could see that it was still breathing. What I find amazing about the whole thing is how it got that far inside the mine. We were a couple thousand feet in at that point. I suppose the rabbit hopped in there and just kept going down the tunnels until it got lost in the dark.
There's a photo of a woman who got lost in the Odessa Catacombs after a New Years' party, lying on the ground just after she rounded a corner. Never want to see it again but this reminds me of it. It probably hopped in out of curiosity, got disoriented and far enough away from the opening for no light to reach it, and blindly ventured deeper into the mine occasionally brushing up against this or that piece of wall/rock/timber to orient itself. You can see it sitting there just beyond reach of anything to actually hit its' senses (except noise), probably overcome and exhausted. Been there a few days at least. So there's an attempted explanation, but still, that poor hare breaks my heart. Can see why you wouldn't risk trying to rescue it, but this was easily the most 'creepy'/unnerving vid from this channel.
Jeff david I'm sure if you buddy was down there you wouldn't say he's a goner let's move on to the rest of the mine for this cool video. I understand it's like a deer getting hit in the road or whatever you were thinking but the tone and what you were were saying was like fuck it let's move on. The little fucker got lost and stuck like any one of us would have. Many he watches your videos and wanted to venture out.
I wonder what was going on psychologically with that rabbit. It's pitch black down there, dead quite, no food or water, no one to talk to, absolutely nothing but your own thoughts. That poor rabbit looked like it was really messed up in the head.
Good questions! He was very despondent. Didn't even move or flinch when we tossed a couple pebbles at him. Even if he had been within reach, I don't think grabbing a rabbit who is in that kind of physical condition would be a wise idea. Those jackrabbits are pretty big animals. He might've started biting and scratching to get away if we had picked him up. I thought it was strange how red his eyes looked in our lights. I guess that's normal.
It just always fascinates me how much waste rock and material and man hours it must have taken to dig and blast these mines out for thousands of feet and open up stopes like the size of the large one....Thanks for sharing the adventure Frank & Graham
+diverdan551 These were some impressive workings - especially that open stope! The inclined shafts are always pretty intriguing, too. When they are at a 45° angle as seen in this video, they are very easy to descend and ascend. When they start getting to be around 70° or greater in incline, they become much more dangerous for obvious reasons. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your support.
Exploring Abandoned Mines Thanks for the reply Frank...I and some family members cleaned out a Chinese dug, 100 year old, 40 foot, well one time with my dad on their property and we used a very sturdy, wooden handmade ladder to ascend and descend as we worked and mucked our way down to the bottom...For a while it was a little unnerving for one person to climb down to the digging/cleaning out spot on the bottom...Found large amounts of old,glazed, Chinese pottery and very old medicine and whisky and herbal storage bottles and at the very bottom, even dug out an old pair of sandals...All said and done we ended up with a very good producing 100 year old water well...Producing over 15 feet of water overnight...Quite a project and took us several days to a couple of weeks to finish...Originally the Chinese dug over thirty feet into very dense decomposed granite... The water started coming through minor fissures at around 10 feet from the bottom down to the bottom...Everytime you guys climb down and up these shafts on ladders, actually still in reasonably good condition, it reminds me of going up and down in that well... :-)
Thank you Frank, That was yet again in my opinion a very EPIC! view at a inclined shaft. that thing was massive! They had to have been getting some damn good ore out of there...
These inclined shafts are always intriguing to explore and document. We always enjoy descending them and finding multiple drift levels that lead to extensive workings. Some, however, do lead to water.
Thanks, Edward! There definitely are some wide open spaces in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Getting to these abandoned mine sites to document them is always half of the fun. Some of the drives and hikes are often through some remote, spectacular, scenic areas.
True. One must not risk ones own life for an animal that might not live even if brought out alive. It may already have some infections brought on by cuts and scratches from a fall.
While watching your videos, I can't help thinking of the amount of labor the miners put in on a daily basis. Lugging all that equipment and tools, etc, etc, etc, etc along with the staggering amount of walking over obstacles, building the ladders and cross timbers, THEN having to still mine whatever they were collecting, all the while doing all of that with a little flashlight on their hard hat. I give those men all of my respect, some of whome probably worked their for years or all of their lives, I'd probably last a day and quit.
And those same miners did not make a lot of money. It was dangerous, difficult work with really no decent pay. The only ones who got rich off the mines were the owners. And they were usually off in some big city somewhere waiting for the money to roll in.
Lu Fo he said in a comment that it was totally unresponsive and only it’s involuntary muscles (lungs it was breathing) were still working it’s sadly likely it’s brain had shutdown it’s cognitive functions to conserve energy and water he said they threw small pebbles at it but it didn’t even flinch or close it’s eyes he also said it was several hundred feet down that rabbit probably would have been in possible stages of cardiac arrest if it was picked up in such an exhausted state rabbits hate being picked up as prey animals sad stuff really
Thank you for the video! It really causes one to realize how difficult and dangerous it was to work these mines. Nothing romantic about being a hard rock miner!
Thanks, man! Yes, the old-time miners sure were a hardy lot. Their working conditions were so miserable and unsafe compared to today's standards. It's really amazing to walk through these tunnels and imagine what it must've been like for them. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment. I appreciate your support!
that rabbit was not in any kind of trouble. there is water in the mine and its guaranteed it has its own way in and out of there. think it climber down that ladder? no and if it fell it would have died.
hey did you guys at least try to help that bunny? did you have a back pack? i would be definitely tried to catch him in my bag... especially if he was dying and unresponsive.. worst thing is he freaks out and u cant do anything. did you at least try? i feel hella bad for that little dude. sad way for your life to end... just sitting in the dark dying from thrist....
+Marley Bob As I mentioned in another reply, we did throw some water down there towards the rabbit but it was not responding. We even tossed a pebble or to at it, but it did not move at all. I think it had no energy left and was probably on the verge of dying at that point. The rabbit was a little too far down in the stope for us to reach it safely.
We were surprised to see that rabbit so far inside that mine. A lot of people have complained that we did not rescue the rabbit. Those desert jackrabbits are very large animals. They are not your typical garden bunny rabbit that you can pick up and maybe stash in your pocket. The rabbit in this mine would’ve been huge, and it would be very difficult to carry it out. It also might’ve started to fight, kick, and scratch if we picked it up.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places oh yeah, i imagine saving it would have been an ordeal. struggling with it could have been enough to just finish off the frail thing. your content is bingeworthy and exciting, btw!
@@AbandonedMines11 In another explore there were two bunnies side by side dead.....I suggest that something drug them there . Same for this one. I really doubt they will go three thousand feet on their own.
I agree, if you were to become a rabbit you wouldn't have a UA-cam channel. Your life wouldn't ever be relevant and you would live a short life of about 1 through 4 years, killed by some kind of wild animal and feeling immense pain during your death. Resteroni In Pepperoni~rabbit you.
I find these mines fascinating and I'm glad you're doing these videos. Just recently found this channel. Have you ever done any mines in the Eastern part of the US? PA here is littered with old coal mines.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, PA iis full of old coal mines, but those are very dangerous due to the abundance of "bad air" in them. There is a guy on UA-cam who explores coal mines in PA and NJ. I can't recall the name of his channel, but if you search for it I'm sure you'll find it. I think it was called "NJ Underground" or something like that.
Some interesting features in this mine - I think that huge open stope impressed me the most though. That was incredible. Shame about the rabbit, but sometimes there is just nothing one can do...
Yes, that was an impressive stope. Believe it or not, I missed that stope the first time I was at this particular mine. I got caught up in all the extensive tunneling that is there instead.
Poor rabbit. I'm just astounded by how they were able blast their way down that far. When you are looking up the incline shaft with your camera, it really does demonstrate how large the mine actually is.
Hello Frank found this video 5 years in the FUTURE that you posted .The part of the incline shaft and track that go up to another level that you talk about was in great detail boy that took a lot to plan out for the miners watched it 3 times but love it all .⛏️🏆🤔
Thank you, Case! Yes, this was a pretty cool mine. Felt bad about the almost dead jackrabbit we found deep inside the mine. Really nothing we could’ve done with an animal that large and unpredictable. The incline shafts in this mine were pretty spectacular. As long as they’re at a 45° angle, I have no problem going down then. Anything steeper than that gets a little sketchy and is best done using a rope for backup.
Thank you! Yeah, I thought a video showing only inclined shafts and their construction and use would be interesting. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks again!
I'm curious, in an instance like this, what would you do if the worst case scenario happened and one of the ladders broke? Is there other exits? Does your phone work underground? Obviously you're really experienced and if the ladder seemed risky you wouldn't attempt it, but what would you do in a worst case, just sit it out, get a free Foo Fighters concert and wait for help to arrive?
These ladders were at a 35 to 45-degree incline. If a ladder were to break at such an angle, there is no way a climber would go falling down the shaft. It would be very easy to climb back up the inclined without using the ladder although it might take a little longer. I don't climb ladders in mines that are greater than 45 degrees or so unless I know beforehand other explorers have already been on them with no problems. It just isn't worth the risk. If I or anybody else who's with me climbs a more vertical ladder for which we have no background information, you can bet that we spent a lot of time examining the ladder and analyzing its integrity before stepping onto it. If you watch my Wicked Wash Mine videos from over a year ago, that inclined shaft was about 45 to 55 degrees; however, we did use 200-feet of rope to assist in both descending and ascending due to all the loose rubble in the shaft.
Exploring Abandoned Mines awesome answer, thanks a lot. I'm not familiar with any mines but much less so with American type, more with what Aus calls 'long wall' coal mines. They all freak me out though. It's odd, I don't mind driving a tonne and a half of metal over 200kph but put me underground and I go all buckled knees and crying, so kudos for what you do!
Thank you, John! Glad you found my channel and are enjoying it. Always appreciate hearing from viewers like you. Thanks for your interest and support! I upload new content on the 1st, 10th, and 20th of each month. Stay tuned!
Incredible!...I live in New England. We have lakes, mountains, the Atlantic ocean,....valleys, hills. I can't believe how wide open that area is !! Man you can see to the horizon!...I've never traveled far from N.E. so tell me who dug those mines ?..How did they know where to dig?.. other than looking at the surface rock? I mean they could have dug for years and found nothing.
+Massachusetts Matt. From what I have been able to gather, the miners would wander around the desert and the hills looking for outcroppings of an ore body. Once they found one, they would start digging right into it. Sometimes it led to an extensive mine being dug and blasted ,and other times they would give up after several feet. A common problem out here in the more seismically active areas is that veins of ore underground would suddenly stop due to being offset underground by an earthquake fault. The vein could be offset by five, 10, or 25 feet or more depending on how far the fault had moved in the past every earthquake. The miners would have no idea where to start digging again to look for the continuance of the offset vein.
Exploring Abandoned Mines INTERESTING ! Thank you for explaining ! I had an idea they would just start digging, through rock !.......if they found a vein...and looking at the size of the mines...wow !..Those guys were tough ! It is really amazing to think about the conditions they had do work in....and the effort it took to dig deeper and deeper.
In the 40'S we explored a lot of old mines in Arizona - my father always went first - I have seen him a few feet down on a ladder when the ladder rung broke, he was holding on to the sides of the ladder and survived. We learned to never explore mines by our selves.
Pretty neat brake there on the cart tracks, and one hell of an incline shaft, very well made it looks. Too bad it was flooded at the lower levels, looked like a pretty cool mine. Thanks as always for another great vid. Rabbit should have read the sign out front huh? Thanks again!
Hey Frank! I love your videos and am very interested in the history of how these mines were constructed! Are there any books or places I can find information about how these old mines were dug, reinforced, and the structures in them such as inclined shafts and and support timbering? All i find is a variety of books all about the processes and so on. But I want to know about the mines themselves. Thank you for your time and stay safe!
That's a really good question! I wish I knew of such a source that discussed how the mines were dug and reinforced, etc.. It would be cool to read and see an "architect's" diagram of how a mine was to be constructed including figures and other things. Sorry I can't help you on that one. As I've said before, a lot of this mining information is being lost to time and is gradually becoming forgotten.
+Stasis or flux? When I saw your avatar the other week, it reminded me of my shot of the sign in this video that you pointed out. Yeah, that stope was huge! Pretty amazing!
Wish I would've read yr intro commentary 1st. From the title, I assumed the Rabbit of Doom was already deceased. Afraid I had to look away when, mid-vid, I realized that was not the case. Poor creature. What an awful way to go. That place doesn't look too safe for people, either - so steep & cavernous. You'd need strong legs to work a mine like that one.
We often come across animal remains in mines. I've seen remains of snakes, birds, a burro, bats, and rodents. To find one that obviously didn't belong there in the first place AND was still alive is quite rare.
Wow! Unbelievable what you guys find. Poor rabbit. Another great video sir. Wish we had some of the same here in Alabama. Keep up the good work. You are really documenting history. Many thanks.
Thanks man! Really enjoy the vids on your channel. In fact, I'm going to put a link to your channel on my channel's homepage in the "I Recommend These Channels" box that appears on the right-hand side. That should drive some traffic to your channel and your many abandoned mine exploration videos. Thanks for your support!
Your channel will appear in the "Visit These Awesome Channels!" box on my homepage and not in the "I Recommend These Channels" box. LOL I don't even know my own channel! Seriously, I'm just trying to promote my fellow abandoned mine explorers and their incredible work. What we do not many would want to do.
Exploring Abandoned Mines You are more than kind sir. I hope to have some more videos coming in the next few weeks of some long forgotten mines here in the Birmingham District.
WOW....that was an extreme mine. If it were ever to colapse, I can imagine the size of the hole left at the surface would be huge. BTW...my 5yr old boy watched this with me and said the you sound like "Batman". Hahaha.
I thought my voice sounded like John Cusack or Tom Hanks? LOL Thanks, Paul, for your comment. And thanks for watching, too! Wish we could've saved that rabbit but it was just too risky. Those jackrabbits are large animals -- almost as big as Beagle or something like that when fully stretched out. We were so far inside the mine with nothing to carry it in. It was also just a little too far down in that stope to retrieve it safely. I think the rabbit would've possibly started biting and trying to get away had we gone for it.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places Yeah unless you had a crate or cage to put that rabbit in, it would has probably went crazy on you. It's sad as hell. Animals die all the time, but starving like that is sad. But there's nothing you could do. What are you supposed to do? Carry a rabbit out in your shirt the entire way? Could have been your downfall. You might have tripped or something while it was freaking out.
I remember watching a BBC documentary where they went exploring Tepui's and found a very old skeleton of a big cat deep within the caves that honey comb the Tepui. They think the skeleton may of been 1000's of years old, it looked perfect but was like wood ash to the touch. I live in Cornwall so am used to mines being... well, everywhere but you couldn't pay me to go underground in an abandoned mine.
+SutekhAeon There's no telling what that rabbit would've done had we try to pick it up. It doesn't look like it in the video, but believe me - those jackrabbits are pretty large animals. He would have certainly been a handful had we tried to pick him up. We felt bad leaving him behind, but there just wasn't anything we could do that was practical.
Thanks Frank, excellent documentation as usual. Did you see the note I left you re: someone has used a portion of your Horton Mine vid on a 'ghost' video? Let me know & if not, I will repost the link.
+Antonio Tolliver Inclined shafts are always fun to explore - especially if the incline is around 45° or so. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
Rabbit looked healthy enough, looked like he was avoiding your attention, as they can see quite well in the dark. Likely had his own way in and out. They do sleep with their eyes open as well.
You didn't state what was mined in this mine. The rock structure is pretty sketchy in some places, yet solid in others. Also what years was it active, if you know?
Thanks, Fred! Yes, the miners were some hardy souls. It's always fascinating to see their handiwork in these abandoned mines. So much history, so much old-school technology, and so much worth preserving on video.
I've saved many rabbits, I've simply just grabbed them they've not bitten me but boy do they sure scream. You may have been able to grab maybe a cage if you're worried about getting bitten and some rope with a small blanket and covering it. Once you cover most small animals they just go docile. Then take it and place it in cage and use rope tie it to cage and hoist it up. Don't know but at least I would have come back for sure with many a tools/people to get him out. It would just eat me alive if I seen it and did nothing.
Ryann hooper you have my respect sir ! Great comment. There was a good convosation going on about that poor bunny but it seems to have been deleted ? I would of done everything humanly posible to save him aswell.
Saving the rabit would of made this UA-cam vid a real masterpiece.they would of been heros! And would of got so meany great comments not to mention the good karma that would of come to them from sutch a heroic selfless act. Shame :(
You probably get asked this a lot, but I am curious as to what camera you are using? Seems to handle the low light conditions very well unlike my crappy Fujifilm camera. Most of my mine explore footage is barely worth uploading as its such poor quality!
I have been using the video cameras made by Panasonic. They are in the $800 range. When I researched cameras years ago, Panasonics were the ones that were rated best for low-light conditions. I have not been disappointed. The cameras have also proven to be very durable and sturdy. The only drawback is that they record in mt2s file format which needs to be converted to wmv files for use here on UA-cam and in some editing software.
Interesting. I shall look into getting a Panasonic! Have been using a GoPro recently and it works well, although i'm not so fond of the fish-eye lens. Thank you for the reply, and keep up the good work. Love seeing these old mines.
Greetings....I really enjoy watching your videos of the inclined shafts. I live in south Florida where the idea of a shaft of any depth to explore is but a dream. I have a question for you. Those inclines seem very steep, I believe you mentioned in one that it was 45 degrees. I am imagining that those ore carts must have been wither just barreling death machines coming down those slopes, or they were somehow controlled. Can you perhaps explain this, I am simply very unfamiliar with mines. Thank you and BE SAFE DOWN THERE!
+Artimus Freeman Thanks for your comments and questions! What you don't see in the video is the mechanism that was used to pull the carts up and down the inclined shafts. Every shaft had a cable of some sort that was used to pull the carts. There would have been a winch at the top with a motor and stuff like that. The reason you don't see that stuff here is because it had been removed a long time ago. Vertical shafts operated on the same principle.
Thank you very much for your response. I assume there were ore carts in most of these mines...how do the explorers before you, or you, get them out when you find them? Thanks again for the great videos. I have been watching them like TV in the evenings. Do you have a patreon page? How does one donate to your efforts?
***** I have no idea how someone would get an ore cart out of an abandoned mine. They are really heavy! It is common in my area to find the ore carts inside the mines with no wheels, however. It seems people take the wheels as souvenirs instead of the whole cart. Thanks again for commenting and watching! Glad to hear you are enjoying the videos. I have a new one coming out this Sunday the 20th at midnight (Pacific Time) featuring a crumbling talc mine that we were in several years ago. Lost footage that I thankfully found again not too long ago. Stay tuned!
More coming soon! Did you know that I upload new content on the 1st, 10th, and 20th of each month? I've got some good stuff coming out in December. And now that I've reached 100,000 subscribers, I'll be doing a 100,000th Subscriber Giveaway contest where you can win some cool prizes! Stay tuned!
+Michael Galle Lots of tunnels in this one! I was unable to find production records for these particular mines, but I'm sure they were big producers in their day.
DesertDog Exploring Wow! Are you totally sure? What about the other adit that is in the area?Also, are you sure you have the right inclined shaft in mind? This video begins with a shot of a headframe and then cuts to an interior shot looking up an inclined shaft towards a headframe - but it’s not the same headframe that was shown in the opening shot. The headframe and the inclined shaft that are shown are hundreds of miles apart. I do that sometimes to throw off those parties who are interested and hell-bent on sealing and destroying these sites.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places Ah ok, then I'm wrong. The head frame and its inclined shaft is most certainly choked with debris. If you were in a different incline later in the video then I'm talking about one and you're talking about the other. That's good then. There is the other (uphill) entrance behind the head frame you show, but that's only accessible on rope. I had plenty on hand, but only a noobie climber who doesn't yet have the confidence to trust in the gear. Outstanding misdirection too, I might add!
+DesertDog Exploring Glad you appreciate the misdirection. You’ll learn these techniques, too, as you go along. LOL I left you a comment on your San Rafael Mine video this afternoon.
+Michael Hammor Thanks, Michael! You are the first person to shed light on what that large nest was underneath the ore bin. I have been wondering about that ever since I was there.
Great video I also have seen animals parish underground it is alway unexpected and tragic when you can't help them. The wooden boards you mention in this video, we call them Wooden Headers here they are still being used this day. When the top or roof is a bit crumbly and you need to hold more area it is cheaper to use a big wooden header than a big Medal plate. Great video as alway.
Imagine how crazy the original miners were then. Dirty grimly guys with no water to wash in or laundry. Working in the middle of the desert, living on beans and bacon, no TP. Compared to our lives it was a horrible existence.
Please invest in a 360 VR camera. I would have fun exploring the mine in VR with you. I'm new to your channel as of this week. I'll be showing your channel off to my dad who use to enjoy touring mines. I would love to surprise him with a VR experience of a mine because his knee gives him trouble these days so he don't get out much.
+FolixOrision Thanks for your comment and suggestions! It's funny you mention that because I just saw a virtual reality video on UA-cam taken at Disneyland on one of the roller coasters there. Seems like that is the latest technology. I'll have to look into it. In the meantime, thank you for stopping by here and watching some videos. I appreciate your interest and support.
It made me sad about the jackrabbit because imagine dying of first in a dark mine with no hope but to wait for your death suffering truly sad to know how harsh mother nature is rip my man jackrabbit
The rabbit obviously didn't read the sign at the entrance of the mine.
Well duh, the sign was probably placed too high for it to see
Nah, the signs had to be placed on 2 opposite walls facing each other. A rabbit can't see what's in front with those 2 eyes on the side of its head!
Man, that dying rabbit got me. I would've just ended that video and carried it out somehow...wrapped in a shirt or something. Happens a lot I suppose in many mines
+RoadTripVidz The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to reach it. We did dump some water down there and tossed a pebble or two at it, but it was simply not responding. It didn't even move. But we could see that it was still breathing. What I find amazing about the whole thing is how it got that far inside the mine. We were a couple thousand feet in at that point. I suppose the rabbit hopped in there and just kept going down the tunnels until it got lost in the dark.
Exploring Abandoned Mines Yeah, sad story... I just hate stuff like that I guess. I understand what you guys could and couldn't do though. I think for me if i couldn't get it out, I would have put it down. What a way to go. Natural death in the big picture
+RoadTripVidz I appreciate and understand your feelings on the matter. I do carry a handgun at all times, but putting the rabbit out of its misery by shooting it would be very unwise inside an abandoned mine due to such a loud sound possibly causing a collapse. We were in a very sketchy area that already had a lot of collapse in it, and we were about as far as we could go in the mine. While it's rare to find a living animal like that trapped in a mine, we have all seen our fair share of dead animals and their remains deep inside mine tunnels. It's an almost frequent occurrence, in fact.
Exploring Abandoned Mines Yeah you guys made a smart move. Even if brought out it's unlikely it would make it back to health being so weak. Seeing the dead ones makes you realize the dangers even more.. seeing one alive down there about to die just sucks that much more.
+cosmophonic12 the salt is real lol go cry you fucking baby, life will go on with or without that bunny
Great explore :) sad about that Rabbit:(
poor rabbit, good call on not risking your own safety for it though, as sad as it is.
Have you ever encountered a balrog?
yes and now they are waiting for Gandalf's return
which kind are you talking about?
Mark Rose How could he have? Gandalf didn't allow it to pass.
There was only one in the Fellowship of the Ring, named Durin's Bane, but many existed in Middle Earth.
Beat me to it, Mark. :D
Anyway, all we know is that Durin's Bane rose up from the depths because they'd dug too far.
R.I.P
SENOR RABID RABBIT
WE ALL LOVE U
WITH ALL OUR HEART
U R AMAZING
Benjaminw 8809 glad its dead now
Could've made a good meal.
It's a Samsquanch nest.
lol reverend jeff kelly was in there in his samsquatch suit
All i know is that a samsquatch would have saved the rabbit
that greasy fuck sam would've eaten the rabbit boys
what was an abnormally large male transgender prostitute doing way out there?
Nice video! Loved seeing the shot of the stope, really impressive!
It's too bad we weren't able to reach the rabbit, it was just too dangerous to get down there. But that's just the reality of desert life. Sometimes we forget just how harsh and unforgiving the 'real' world is.
+Mines of the West I agree with your statement that we sometimes forget how harsh and unforgiving the real world is.
Felt sorry for the little guy, shooting in an old mine wold defiantly not be a good idea though, could have ended a lot of lives...
Great vid Frank, thanks again fellas. stay safe
+roguesquatcher We will. Thank you for your comment.
Exploring Abandoned Mines GOOOOOOD luck!!!
I don't understand how you guys are so comfortable climbing down those ladders
Since nobody else thought to name the late but great jackrabbit i have taken the duty upon myself to name (i assume) him and his name shall be Jacques .
If you have any suggestions feel free to reply with your own name ideas, i do not know if jacques is a boy or girl so i went with a gender neutral name.
Goll Koll it really is
Alex
Thank you for taking the time to clearly film and describe the functions of the mines. I just recently found these mine exploration videos, and I love the way that watching feels like stepping back in time. It is truly unique historical documentation since everything is usually so well preserved and unaltered deep in the mines. I will definitely be getting into mine exploration when I move back out west. Thanks again, keep the videos coming!
+James Over Yonder Thanks, James! I really appreciate hearing that you are enjoying the videos and the explanations therein and things like that.
I know it's not a mine, but you should explore the parisian catacombs. That would make one hell of a video, even series.
+EonfusionHD Excellent idea! I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to Paris, but if I do I will definitely keep that in mind. Thank you for your comment and for taking the time to watch this video.
No problem, keep up the good work :D
You can get in, it's just strongly advised to have a guide (obviously a non-official one when visiting the parts closed off to the public).
EonfusionHD as above so below
Odessa Catacombs would be my vote. These catacombs wouldn't be very exciting, I don't think you would find much but, they are MASSIVE(worlds largest) you can spend hours of hours in there.
That was one big headframe! Some serious mining went on down there! Shame about the rabbit, not worth risking life and limb to save it. Nice big open stope.
Did you try and save the rabbit?
This is directly from the video description. "The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to retrieve it safely so that we could return it to the outside."
I swear that wasn't there before, or maybe I just read over it.
The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to reach it. We did dump some water down there and tossed a pebble or two at it, but it was simply not responding. It didn't even move. But we could see that it was still breathing. What I find amazing about the whole thing is how it got that far inside the mine. We were a couple thousand feet in at that point. I suppose the rabbit hopped in there and just kept going down the tunnels until it got lost in the dark.
There's a photo of a woman who got lost in the Odessa Catacombs after a New Years' party, lying on the ground just after she rounded a corner. Never want to see it again but this reminds me of it.
It probably hopped in out of curiosity, got disoriented and far enough away from the opening for no light to reach it, and blindly ventured deeper into the mine occasionally brushing up against this or that piece of wall/rock/timber to orient itself.
You can see it sitting there just beyond reach of anything to actually hit its' senses (except noise), probably overcome and exhausted. Been there a few days at least.
So there's an attempted explanation, but still, that poor hare breaks my heart. Can see why you wouldn't risk trying to rescue it, but this was easily the most 'creepy'/unnerving vid from this channel.
Jeff david I'm sure if you buddy was down there you wouldn't say he's a goner let's move on to the rest of the mine for this cool video. I understand it's like a deer getting hit in the road or whatever you were thinking but the tone and what you were were saying was like fuck it let's move on. The little fucker got lost and stuck like any one of us would have. Many he watches your videos and wanted to venture out.
Dude, you really deserve more subs because you do shit 90% of people don't have the balls to do. great vid.
Getting close to 100,000 subscribers. When that goal is reached, stay tuned for another amazing cash Give Away contest!
I wonder what was going on psychologically with that rabbit. It's pitch black down there, dead quite, no food or water, no one to talk to, absolutely nothing but your own thoughts. That poor rabbit looked like it was really messed up in the head.
Good questions! He was very despondent. Didn't even move or flinch when we tossed a couple pebbles at him. Even if he had been within reach, I don't think grabbing a rabbit who is in that kind of physical condition would be a wise idea. Those jackrabbits are pretty big animals. He might've started biting and scratching to get away if we had picked him up. I thought it was strange how red his eyes looked in our lights. I guess that's normal.
It just always fascinates me how much waste rock and material and man hours it must have taken to dig and blast these mines out for thousands of feet and open up stopes like the size of the large one....Thanks for sharing the adventure Frank & Graham
+diverdan551 These were some impressive workings - especially that open stope! The inclined shafts are always pretty intriguing, too. When they are at a 45° angle as seen in this video, they are very easy to descend and ascend. When they start getting to be around 70° or greater in incline, they become much more dangerous for obvious reasons. Thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your support.
Exploring Abandoned Mines
Thanks for the reply Frank...I and some family members cleaned out a Chinese dug, 100 year old, 40 foot, well one time with my dad on their property and we used a very sturdy, wooden handmade ladder to ascend and descend as we worked and mucked our way down to the bottom...For a while it was a little unnerving for one person to climb down to the digging/cleaning out spot on the bottom...Found large amounts of old,glazed, Chinese pottery and very old medicine and whisky and herbal storage bottles and at the very bottom, even dug out an old pair of sandals...All said and done we ended up with a very good producing 100 year old water well...Producing over 15 feet of water overnight...Quite a project and took us several days to a couple of weeks to finish...Originally the Chinese dug over thirty feet into very dense decomposed granite... The water started coming through minor fissures at around 10 feet from the bottom down to the bottom...Everytime you guys climb down and up these shafts on ladders, actually still in reasonably good condition, it reminds me of going up and down in that well... :-)
Thank you Frank, That was yet again in my opinion a very EPIC! view at a inclined shaft. that thing was massive! They had to have been getting some damn good ore out of there...
These inclined shafts are always intriguing to explore and document. We always enjoy descending them and finding multiple drift levels that lead to extensive workings. Some, however, do lead to water.
This stuff just interests the hell outta me. Thank you very much for making these videos man!
Scott Lich GO RIDERS!!
Terry Beisick AYYYYYYEEEEE
such beautiful scenery. Awsome video as well.
Thanks, Edward! There definitely are some wide open spaces in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and California. Getting to these abandoned mine sites to document them is always half of the fun. Some of the drives and hikes are often through some remote, spectacular, scenic areas.
Question; Why didn't you rescue the stranded jackrabbit?
Read the desc.
Rockguitarnow because it was to dangerous. wild dying rabbit =infection or worse
True. One must not risk ones own life for an animal that might not live even if brought out alive. It may already have some infections brought on by cuts and scratches from a fall.
Rockguitarnow I praise you for being the only reasonable person in the comment section.
While watching your videos, I can't help thinking of the amount of labor the miners put in on a daily basis. Lugging all that equipment and tools, etc, etc, etc, etc along with the staggering amount of walking over obstacles, building the ladders and cross timbers, THEN having to still mine whatever they were collecting, all the while doing all of that with a little flashlight on their hard hat. I give those men all of my respect, some of whome probably worked their for years or all of their lives, I'd probably last a day and quit.
And those same miners did not make a lot of money. It was dangerous, difficult work with really no decent pay. The only ones who got rich off the mines were the owners. And they were usually off in some big city somewhere waiting for the money to roll in.
Why not leave, get some equipment, and come back for the rabbit?
Lu Fo he said in a comment that it was totally unresponsive and only it’s involuntary muscles (lungs it was breathing) were still working it’s sadly likely it’s brain had shutdown it’s cognitive functions to conserve energy and water he said they threw small pebbles at it but it didn’t even flinch or close it’s eyes he also said it was several hundred feet down that rabbit probably would have been in possible stages of cardiac arrest if it was picked up in such an exhausted state rabbits hate being picked up as prey animals sad stuff really
Thank you for the video! It really causes one to realize how difficult and dangerous it was to work these mines. Nothing romantic about being a hard rock miner!
Thanks, man! Yes, the old-time miners sure were a hardy lot. Their working conditions were so miserable and unsafe compared to today's standards. It's really amazing to walk through these tunnels and imagine what it must've been like for them. Thank you for taking the time to watch and comment. I appreciate your support!
Great video again. Don't forget don't go dropping rocks down wells who knows what you may awaken 😂
you should check out iks exploration
Flip Flip Flipadelphia I'm subscribed to IKS as well I love their videos👍
Danny Boy me too I just watched their new video and I saw you comment
There may be a cave troll! And orks!
rabie4x4 or Goonies
that rabbit was not in any kind of trouble. there is water in the mine and its guaranteed it has its own way in and out of there. think it climber down that ladder? no and if it fell it would have died.
hey did you guys at least try to help that bunny? did you have a back pack? i would be definitely tried to catch him in my bag... especially if he was dying and unresponsive.. worst thing is he freaks out and u cant do anything. did you at least try? i feel hella bad for that little dude. sad way for your life to end... just sitting in the dark dying from thrist....
+Marley Bob As I mentioned in another reply, we did throw some water down there towards the rabbit but it was not responding. We even tossed a pebble or to at it, but it did not move at all. I think it had no energy left and was probably on the verge of dying at that point. The rabbit was a little too far down in the stope for us to reach it safely.
Frank really likes the word "stope".
Sign board: Danger. Unsafe mine.
Stay away stay safe.
Exploring abandoned mine guy: Hmmm let's do it.
somewhat mortified by the thought of being a helpless creature, lost, dying, and, aptly put, doomed.
We were surprised to see that rabbit so far inside that mine. A lot of people have complained that we did not rescue the rabbit. Those desert jackrabbits are very large animals. They are not your typical garden bunny rabbit that you can pick up and maybe stash in your pocket. The rabbit in this mine would’ve been huge, and it would be very difficult to carry it out. It also might’ve started to fight, kick, and scratch if we picked it up.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places oh yeah, i imagine saving it would have been an ordeal. struggling with it could have been enough to just finish off the frail thing.
your content is bingeworthy and exciting, btw!
@@AbandonedMines11 In another explore there were two bunnies side by side dead.....I suggest that something drug them there . Same for this one. I really doubt they will go three thousand feet on their own.
Frank, never become the rabbit.
Thanks for another underground adventure.
Definitely good advice.
I agree, if you were to become a rabbit you wouldn't have a UA-cam channel. Your life wouldn't ever be relevant and you would live a short life of about 1 through 4 years, killed by some kind of wild animal and feeling immense pain during your death. Resteroni In Pepperoni~rabbit you.
I find these mines fascinating and I'm glad you're doing these videos. Just recently found this channel. Have you ever done any mines in the Eastern part of the US? PA here is littered with old coal mines.
Thanks for watching and commenting! Yes, PA iis full of old coal mines, but those are very dangerous due to the abundance of "bad air" in them. There is a guy on UA-cam who explores coal mines in PA and NJ. I can't recall the name of his channel, but if you search for it I'm sure you'll find it. I think it was called "NJ Underground" or something like that.
Do you carry gas detectors for CO and CO2 and Methane and such? Or a small O2 bottle?
I and Justin carry an oxygen meter. Graham, who you saw in this video, carries a multi-gas detector.
Exploring Abandoned Mines can you go to the abandoned salt mines in imperial valley. please
Too bad you did not have the means to save the rabbit.
Some interesting features in this mine - I think that huge open stope impressed me the most though. That was incredible. Shame about the rabbit, but sometimes there is just nothing one can do...
Yes, that was an impressive stope. Believe it or not, I missed that stope the first time I was at this particular mine. I got caught up in all the extensive tunneling that is there instead.
I can see how you missed it. That was a pretty extensive mine!
Poor rabbit. I'm just astounded by how they were able blast their way down that far. When you are looking up the incline shaft with your camera, it really does demonstrate how large the mine actually is.
Hello Frank found this video 5 years in the FUTURE that you posted .The part of the incline shaft and track that go up to another level that you talk about was in great detail boy that took a lot to plan out for the miners watched it 3 times but love it all .⛏️🏆🤔
Thank you, Case! Yes, this was a pretty cool mine. Felt bad about the almost dead jackrabbit we found deep inside the mine. Really nothing we could’ve done with an animal that large and unpredictable. The incline shafts in this mine were pretty spectacular. As long as they’re at a 45° angle, I have no problem going down then. Anything steeper than that gets a little sketchy and is best done using a rope for backup.
Another great video, RIP Jackrabbit. Thanks for the adventure!
Wow! A massive stope.and a steep inclinded shaft! I felt sorry for the rabbit.
Glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you for your support!
Wow! What fantastic intricate works and timbers. Very impressive. Great Find.
Thanks, Robert!
Nice to see Frank thank you.
Thanks, Richard! Nice to hear from you again.
As always you guys did an awesome job on covering this mine and explaining how things worked in the mines! Thanks!
Thank you! Yeah, I thought a video showing only inclined shafts and their construction and use would be interesting. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks again!
At 1:39 all i could think of was the broken part of the ore cart track looked like a tiny shark
Nice - just heading into some abandoned silver mines this wednesday (Canada)
Cool! Will keep an eye on your channel for any videos. Stay safe out there!
love it every time i watch abandoned mines i learn new things and looks cool down in them to have abandoned mines here in australia vic
+Jayden Sturt Thanks, Jayden!
I would have put the rabbit I'm my backpack in a loose space and brought it up. Poor thing, but I understand
I'm curious, in an instance like this, what would you do if the worst case scenario happened and one of the ladders broke? Is there other exits? Does your phone work underground? Obviously you're really experienced and if the ladder seemed risky you wouldn't attempt it, but what would you do in a worst case, just sit it out, get a free Foo Fighters concert and wait for help to arrive?
These ladders were at a 35 to 45-degree incline. If a ladder were to break at such an angle, there is no way a climber would go falling down the shaft. It would be very easy to climb back up the inclined without using the ladder although it might take a little longer. I don't climb ladders in mines that are greater than 45 degrees or so unless I know beforehand other explorers have already been on them with no problems. It just isn't worth the risk. If I or anybody else who's with me climbs a more vertical ladder for which we have no background information, you can bet that we spent a lot of time examining the ladder and analyzing its integrity before stepping onto it. If you watch my Wicked Wash Mine videos from over a year ago, that inclined shaft was about 45 to 55 degrees; however, we did use 200-feet of rope to assist in both descending and ascending due to all the loose rubble in the shaft.
Exploring Abandoned Mines awesome answer, thanks a lot. I'm not familiar with any mines but much less so with American type, more with what Aus calls 'long wall' coal mines. They all freak me out though. It's odd, I don't mind driving a tonne and a half of metal over 200kph but put me underground and I go all buckled knees and crying, so kudos for what you do!
Holy shit, didn't even see Graeme at first, huge!
Thanks for the great vid as always!
And Graham's a tall guy, too! That's how enormous those stopes were! Thanks for your comment.
Just discovered your channel and loving the content, thanks for posting these.
Thank you, John! Glad you found my channel and are enjoying it. Always appreciate hearing from viewers like you. Thanks for your interest and support! I upload new content on the 1st, 10th, and 20th of each month. Stay tuned!
im tellin ya Frank if i ever make it to BC im looking you up. love your shows. great work and please dont stop!
Incredible!...I live in New England. We have lakes, mountains, the Atlantic ocean,....valleys, hills. I can't believe how wide open that area is !! Man you can see to the horizon!...I've never traveled far from N.E. so tell me who dug those mines ?..How did they know where to dig?.. other than looking at the surface rock? I mean they could have dug for years and found nothing.
+Massachusetts Matt. From what I have been able to gather, the miners would wander around the desert and the hills looking for outcroppings of an ore body. Once they found one, they would start digging right into it. Sometimes it led to an extensive mine being dug and blasted ,and other times they would give up after several feet. A common problem out here in the more seismically active areas is that veins of ore underground would suddenly stop due to being offset underground by an earthquake fault. The vein could be offset by five, 10, or 25 feet or more depending on how far the fault had moved in the past every earthquake. The miners would have no idea where to start digging again to look for the continuance of the offset vein.
Exploring Abandoned Mines INTERESTING ! Thank you for explaining ! I had an idea they would just start digging, through rock !.......if they found a vein...and looking at the size of the mines...wow !..Those guys were tough ! It is really amazing to think about the conditions they had do work in....and the effort it took to dig deeper and deeper.
In the 40'S we explored a lot of old mines in Arizona - my father always went first - I have seen him a few feet down on a ladder when the ladder rung broke, he was holding on to the sides of the ladder and survived. We learned to never explore mines by our selves.
Pretty neat brake there on the cart tracks, and one hell of an incline shaft, very well made it looks. Too bad it was flooded at the lower levels, looked like a pretty cool mine. Thanks as always for another great vid. Rabbit should have read the sign out front huh? Thanks again!
Thanks for noticing the brake footage. I thought that device was pretty interesting. Thanks, man, for watching and commenting!
Hey Frank! I love your videos and am very interested in the history of how these mines were constructed! Are there any books or places I can find information about how these old mines were dug, reinforced, and the structures in them such as inclined shafts and and support timbering? All i find is a variety of books all about the processes and so on. But I want to know about the mines themselves. Thank you for your time and stay safe!
That's a really good question! I wish I knew of such a source that discussed how the mines were dug and reinforced, etc.. It would be cool to read and see an "architect's" diagram of how a mine was to be constructed including figures and other things. Sorry I can't help you on that one. As I've said before, a lot of this mining information is being lost to time and is gradually becoming forgotten.
Exploring Abandoned Mines that's a shame. thank you for preserving these mines by documenting them for us.
That stope early in the vid. looked as big as the ones I saw in Calico. Huge! Not too common. Nice shot of the sign at the beginning too.
+Stasis or flux? When I saw your avatar the other week, it reminded me of my shot of the sign in this video that you pointed out. Yeah, that stope was huge! Pretty amazing!
Hey I'll reach out this week in a PM. Love to talk some shop!
Wish I would've read yr intro commentary 1st. From the title, I assumed the Rabbit of Doom was already deceased. Afraid I had to look away when, mid-vid, I realized that was not the case. Poor creature. What an awful way to go. That place doesn't look too safe for people, either - so steep & cavernous. You'd need strong legs to work a mine like that one.
We often come across animal remains in mines. I've seen remains of snakes, birds, a burro, bats, and rodents. To find one that obviously didn't belong there in the first place AND was still alive is quite rare.
Wow! Unbelievable what you guys find. Poor rabbit. Another great video sir. Wish we had some of the same here in Alabama. Keep up the good work. You are really documenting history. Many thanks.
Thanks man! Really enjoy the vids on your channel. In fact, I'm going to put a link to your channel on my channel's homepage in the "I Recommend These Channels" box that appears on the right-hand side. That should drive some traffic to your channel and your many abandoned mine exploration videos. Thanks for your support!
Your channel will appear in the "Visit These Awesome Channels!" box on my homepage and not in the "I Recommend These Channels" box. LOL I don't even know my own channel! Seriously, I'm just trying to promote my fellow abandoned mine explorers and their incredible work. What we do not many would want to do.
Exploring Abandoned Mines
You are more than kind sir. I hope to have some more videos coming in the next few weeks of some long forgotten mines here in the Birmingham District.
Pretty impressive mine! Thanks for the tour Frank!
Thanks, Rob!
Very impressive mine! Poor rabbit though.....
Thanks for watching!
WOW....that was an extreme mine. If it were ever to colapse, I can imagine the size of the hole left at the surface would be huge.
BTW...my 5yr old boy watched this with me and said the you sound like "Batman". Hahaha.
I thought my voice sounded like John Cusack or Tom Hanks? LOL Thanks, Paul, for your comment. And thanks for watching, too! Wish we could've saved that rabbit but it was just too risky. Those jackrabbits are large animals -- almost as big as Beagle or something like that when fully stretched out. We were so far inside the mine with nothing to carry it in. It was also just a little too far down in that stope to retrieve it safely. I think the rabbit would've possibly started biting and trying to get away had we gone for it.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places Yeah unless you had a crate or cage to put that rabbit in, it would has probably went crazy on you. It's sad as hell. Animals die all the time, but starving like that is sad. But there's nothing you could do. What are you supposed to do? Carry a rabbit out in your shirt the entire way? Could have been your downfall. You might have tripped or something while it was freaking out.
I remember watching a BBC documentary where they went exploring Tepui's and found a very old skeleton of a big cat deep within the caves that honey comb the Tepui. They think the skeleton may of been 1000's of years old, it looked perfect but was like wood ash to the touch. I live in Cornwall so am used to mines being... well, everywhere but you couldn't pay me to go underground in an abandoned mine.
Poor rabbit, its a shame because if he would let you help him you could, but he will bite and kick like crazy.
+SutekhAeon There's no telling what that rabbit would've done had we try to pick it up. It doesn't look like it in the video, but believe me - those jackrabbits are pretty large animals. He would have certainly been a handful had we tried to pick him up. We felt bad leaving him behind, but there just wasn't anything we could do that was practical.
Thanks Frank, excellent documentation as usual. Did you see the note I left you re: someone has used a portion of your Horton Mine vid on a 'ghost' video? Let me know & if not, I will repost the link.
Great mine this time guys
+Antonio Tolliver Inclined shafts are always fun to explore - especially if the incline is around 45° or so. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!
Think I saw a Budweiser can when you went down that ladder...
Well that's explains why the rabbit is drunk.
Rabbit looked healthy enough, looked like he was avoiding your attention, as they can see quite well in the dark. Likely had his own way in and out. They do sleep with their eyes open as well.
You are right about the catch at the top of the incline. They were known as Jack Catches in UK coal mines.
Poor rabbit got lost on his way to Wonderland. Nice exploration!
The rabbit was hiding from you, glad you got your video to bring back to suburbia.
You didn't state what was mined in this mine. The rock structure is pretty sketchy in some places, yet solid in others. Also what years was it active, if you know?
I want to say silver or tungsten were mined here. Not sure, though. Probably last worked in the 1950s, but that's just a guess.
awesome vid frank!! the stope was the biggest I've ever seen and the headframe was massive. keep up the good work and stay safe.
love your explores very interesting shame about the little bunny ☹
Rest in pepperoni mr rabbitt
Got to hand it to the miners in putting all that together and surviving.
Thanks, Fred! Yes, the miners were some hardy souls. It's always fascinating to see their handiwork in these abandoned mines. So much history, so much old-school technology, and so much worth preserving on video.
Fredrick Laverdiere the people back n that time r truly the hardest workers ever lived ...sad to say about some people of r time lol
Would of saved the rabit for sure it has a family somewhere
Tell us how.
"The rabbit was too far down in the stope for us to retrieve it safely so that we could return it to the outside."
I've saved many rabbits, I've simply just grabbed them they've not bitten me but boy do they sure scream. You may have been able to grab maybe a cage if you're worried about getting bitten and some rope with a small blanket and covering it. Once you cover most small animals they just go docile. Then take it and place it in cage and use rope tie it to cage and hoist it up. Don't know but at least I would have come back for sure with many a tools/people to get him out. It would just eat me alive if I seen it and did nothing.
Ryann hooper you have my respect sir ! Great comment. There was a good convosation going on about that poor bunny but it seems to have been deleted ? I would of done everything humanly posible to save him aswell.
Saving the rabit would of made this UA-cam vid a real masterpiece.they would of been heros! And would of got so meany great comments not to mention the good karma that would of come to them from sutch a heroic selfless act. Shame :(
Would have*
You probably get asked this a lot, but I am curious as to what camera you are using? Seems to handle the low light conditions very well unlike my crappy Fujifilm camera. Most of my mine explore footage is barely worth uploading as its such poor quality!
I have been using the video cameras made by Panasonic. They are in the $800 range. When I researched cameras years ago, Panasonics were the ones that were rated best for low-light conditions. I have not been disappointed. The cameras have also proven to be very durable and sturdy. The only drawback is that they record in mt2s file format which needs to be converted to wmv files for use here on UA-cam and in some editing software.
Interesting. I shall look into getting a Panasonic! Have been using a GoPro recently and it works well, although i'm not so fond of the fish-eye lens. Thank you for the reply, and keep up the good work. Love seeing these old mines.
Frank, your videos are so entertaining I have and can watch them for hours, you got me doing this too, I see the world differently now, too
Greetings....I really enjoy watching your videos of the inclined shafts. I live in south Florida where the idea of a shaft of any depth to explore is but a dream. I have a question for you. Those inclines seem very steep, I believe you mentioned in one that it was 45 degrees. I am imagining that those ore carts must have been wither just barreling death machines coming down those slopes, or they were somehow controlled. Can you perhaps explain this, I am simply very unfamiliar with mines. Thank you and BE SAFE DOWN THERE!
+Artimus Freeman Thanks for your comments and questions! What you don't see in the video is the mechanism that was used to pull the carts up and down the inclined shafts. Every shaft had a cable of some sort that was used to pull the carts. There would have been a winch at the top with a motor and stuff like that. The reason you don't see that stuff here is because it had been removed a long time ago. Vertical shafts operated on the same principle.
Thank you very much for your response. I assume there were ore carts in most of these mines...how do the explorers before you, or you, get them out when you find them? Thanks again for the great videos. I have been watching them like TV in the evenings. Do you have a patreon page? How does one donate to your efforts?
***** I have no idea how someone would get an ore cart out of an abandoned mine. They are really heavy! It is common in my area to find the ore carts inside the mines with no wheels, however. It seems people take the wheels as souvenirs instead of the whole cart. Thanks again for commenting and watching! Glad to hear you are enjoying the videos. I have a new one coming out this Sunday the 20th at midnight (Pacific Time) featuring a crumbling talc mine that we were in several years ago. Lost footage that I thankfully found again not too long ago. Stay tuned!
The wood behind the stone bolts was probably to give the bolt a bigger area of effect.
But I'm just guessing.
Sounds correct to me! Thanks for providing that bit of insight.
Exploring Abandoned Mines
You're welcome :)
Please stay safe.
1:41 Tell me im not the only one who can see a "shark"
very interesting, thanks for this explore
(more, please!)
More coming soon! Did you know that I upload new content on the 1st, 10th, and 20th of each month? I've got some good stuff coming out in December. And now that I've reached 100,000 subscribers, I'll be doing a 100,000th Subscriber Giveaway contest where you can win some cool prizes! Stay tuned!
Sure seems like there was as much mine preparation and there was actual mining!
+Michael Galle Lots of tunnels in this one! I was unable to find production records for these particular mines, but I'm sure they were big producers in their day.
love your guys works, stay safe and keep the great videos coming! 👍
Thanks, man! Really love hearing from enthusiastic viewers like yourself. Glad you are enjoying the underground vids. Thanks for your support!
+Exploring Abandoned Mines thank u man, I'm heading to death valley in a month ✌
Fantástico buen video amigo
How were these ore carts powered? By a pully system?
Buen vídeo
This guy sounds just like Jeff Tremaine.....
Sad note - that inclined shaft is now thoroughly plugged and not accessible 50 ft from the surface. :(
DesertDog Exploring Wow! Are you totally sure? What about the other adit that is in the area?Also, are you sure you have the right inclined shaft in mind? This video begins with a shot of a headframe and then cuts to an interior shot looking up an inclined shaft towards a headframe - but it’s not the same headframe that was shown in the opening shot. The headframe and the inclined shaft that are shown are hundreds of miles apart. I do that sometimes to throw off those parties
who are interested and hell-bent on sealing and destroying these sites.
Exploring Abandoned Mines and Unusual Places Ah ok, then I'm wrong. The head frame and its inclined shaft is most certainly choked with debris. If you were in a different incline later in the video then I'm talking about one and you're talking about the other. That's good then.
There is the other (uphill) entrance behind the head frame you show, but that's only accessible on rope. I had plenty on hand, but only a noobie climber who doesn't yet have the confidence to trust in the gear.
Outstanding misdirection too, I might add!
+DesertDog Exploring Glad you appreciate the misdirection. You’ll learn these techniques, too, as you go along. LOL I left you a comment on your San Rafael Mine video this afternoon.
Curved Bill Thrasher nests look like that big one.
+Michael Hammor Thanks, Michael! You are the first person to shed light on what that large nest was underneath the ore bin. I have been wondering about that ever since I was there.
Great video I also have seen animals parish underground it is alway unexpected and tragic when you can't help them.
The wooden boards you mention in this video, we call them Wooden Headers here they are still being used this day. When the top or roof is a bit crumbly and you need to hold more area it is cheaper to use a big wooden header than a big Medal plate.
Great video as alway.
When was this shot?
Looks quite a bit different then it did in 08, 09. I did an article on this mine for Rocks and Minerals magazine.
Frank you are amazing
Imagine how crazy the original miners were then. Dirty grimly guys with no water to wash in or laundry. Working in the middle of the desert, living on beans and bacon, no TP. Compared to our lives it was a horrible existence.
Looks like you guys are using the Fenix tk35 flashlight?
I have a Fenix PD32 light. Not sure what Graham has.
Bro!! amazing thanks for share! be safe
R.I.P Poor rabbit
Thank you for the video 👍🏽
Sure thing! Thanks for taking the time to watch and comment.
Please invest in a 360 VR camera. I would have fun exploring the mine in VR with you. I'm new to your channel as of this week. I'll be showing your channel off to my dad who use to enjoy touring mines. I would love to surprise him with a VR experience of a mine because his knee gives him trouble these days so he don't get out much.
+FolixOrision Thanks for your comment and suggestions! It's funny you mention that because I just saw a virtual reality video on UA-cam taken at Disneyland on one of the roller coasters there. Seems like that is the latest technology. I'll have to look into it. In the meantime, thank you for stopping by here and watching some videos. I appreciate your interest and support.
It would of been really interesting to see how far that second ladder would of gone down, but safety first
It made me sad about the jackrabbit because imagine dying of first in a dark mine with no hope but to wait for your death suffering truly sad to know how harsh mother nature is rip my man jackrabbit